The Power and the Glory

Spencer Tracy plays a self-made industrialist who worked like a dog to become a major railroad baron. Somewhere along the way, though, he lost track of what motivated him to do this in the first place and by the end of the film he realized, too late, that his work was in vain.

The review by jdeamara seemed right on when it said that this movie suffered because the way of presenting the movie by bouncing back and forth to tell the story seemed haphazard and that the characters needed to be further developed. Spencer Tracy is a complex character but instead of showing him in a comprehensible manner, the story bounces around so much that you never really come to know who he is or his motivations. The same went for many of the supporting characters--especially his wife. When he and his wife argued, it seemed like much of the context was missing. Plus, whether or not Tracy played a jerk or not wasn't really answered--and this question is the basis for the movie that is told by Ralph Morgan through flashbacks.

An interesting effort but that is all. For a much, much better film about the millionaire industrialist starring Tracy, try watching EDWARD, MY SON--a far more complex and enjoyable film.

By the way, according to IMDb the rumor started by Pauline Kael that this film was the inspiration for CITIZEN KANE was unfounded. As for me, I didn't see the parallel either.