Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1062452
DGA QUARTERLY 83 S T H E T H C E N T U R Y P O L I T I C I A N Lord Acton famously intoned, "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The maxim is proven by history, which is fi lled with populist leaders, of- ten rising from humble roots and seemingly good inten- tions, who ultimately succumb to base instincts. These characters, usually toppled by their own hubris, are par- ticularly ripe subjects for fi lmmakers, whether fact-based or not. The following are a few examples: PHOTOS: (ABOVE) PHOTOFEST; (RIGHT) EVERETT By Steve Chagollan A > ELMER GANTRY This riveting 1960 drama, adapted from the Sinclair Lewis novel by director Richard Brooks, stars Burt Lancaster as the con man/huckster-turned-evangelist of the fi lm's title, and Jean Simmons as a revivalist modeled after Aimee Semple McPherson. Gantry is portrayed as a silver-tongued, fi re-and-brimstone preacher who sells religion as a cure-all, like moonshine o the back of a fl atbed truck. Intoxicated by his own magnetism, Gantry rises to the height of power before being felled by sexual scandal. Brooks varnishes the fi lm with exquisite craftsmanship, and elicits Oscar-winning performances from Lancaster and Shirley Jones as Gantry's Jezebel.