Wilson

Wilson, a biographical film about the rise and fall of United States President Woodrow Wilson, held the distinction for a time for being the most expensive film ever made. With a budget of $5.2 million (over $95 million by 2025 dollars), it was lavish, expensive, and it needed a miracle to break even, let alone make a profit. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck, studio head for 20th Century Fox, saw this film as a passion project and oversaw the entire production, throwing money at it to accurately recreate settings such as the Democratic convention and the White House, details of which didn’t come cheap. 

The final results are a movie that looks great, invokes a period in time that many people in 1944 would remember well, and accurately portrays this moment in then recent history. Unfortunately, in the quest for accuracy and realism, this film is largely uninspiring, has long periods where little of interest occurs, and ends in defeat. That, coupled with the United States Department of War prohibiting the film’s showing on screens in Armed Forces bases during the Second World War under the provisions of the Soldier Voting Act, left the film with a deficit of more than $2 million. 

Critical responses to the film were mixed as well, with many citing the excessive length and the subject matter as difficult for the average consumer to enjoy. That didn’t stop it from securing ten nominations at that year’s Academy Awards, winning five, all of which are on the technical side. Now, over eighty years later, the question needs to be asked: is it worth seeking out this film and reexamining it after all this time?

This film covers a lot of years while really only glossing over the major events, yet it clocks in at over two and a half hours in length. We begin with Woodrow Wilson (Alexander Knox) as President of Princeton University in 1909. He has authored several novels on the democratic process, which has caught the attention of the local Democratic Party political machine, who sees him as a good candidate for governor of New Jersey. He accepts their offer to run for the office but, upon winning the election, proves to be independent of their interests, fighting instead for progressive causes, something that aligns with the changes going on in national politics.

These changes have managed to split the Republican Party, opening a path for Wilson to run against them on the Democratic ticket. He does so and, despite initial predictions of a sweeping loss, manages to secure the presidency thanks to some last-minute support by California. The film then follows Wilson through eight years of presidency as he signs numerous bills into law and pushes through a series of programs called ‘The New Freedom.’ When World War I breaks out, though, he refuses to get American involved in it, splitting the nation between those who want to fight and those who believe we have no business in Europe. Of course, eventually, America will have to take up arms, and President Wilson does what he can for the war effort but is eventually defeated on the home front once the peace treaties are signed and he tries to get America involved in the newly established League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations. 

There are a lot of aspects to this story that are truly fascinating, yet because the film tries to cover such a large period of Wilson’s political life, we are treated instead to a lot of lengthy montages and only fleeting glimpses behind the scenes. The film spends a lot of time on speeches and posturing, then punctuating it with things like the cliché of all clichés, shots of newspaper headlines. The pacing to get this across is all over the place, making the film feel not of a whole. It’s disappointing because there is a good story here, but the film tries to tackle too much and fails to reel it in. 

Alexander Knox is a good choice for the lead. So much of the film relies on us liking him as a character, and even though he is a bit stodgy, he also has a wry sense of humor and is a loving and caring husband. Early into his first term as president, his wife dies from Bright’s disease. His sorrow is palpable and humanizes him. Likewise, his romance and marriage to widow Edith Bolling Galt (Geraldine Fitzgerald) adds a new spark to his life, and the two complement each other well. 

Aside from these brief glimpses at humanity, this film keeps us much of the time at a distance from him. We learn little about Wilson’s background and nothing about his professional life that led him to a spot where he caught the attention of the local Democratic Party in the first place. The film is so set on presenting us with a greatest hits of his accomplishments that it forgets to give us a compelling character. If you went into this film having no opinion one way or the other about Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, this film will not sway you in either direction. 

Capping all of the narrative problems is an ending that is less than satisfying. A more modern-day equivalent would be a film about the presidency of George H. W. Bush that ends with him being defeated in his re-election campaign in 1992. In the case of Wilson, he returns from Paris at the end of World War I with the plans for the League of Nations, a program designed to eliminate war on a global scale. But he faces opposition from many Republican senators, represented by Henry Cabot Lodge (Sir Cedric Hardwicke). This opposition builds, effectively preventing America from joining the League, a reality that undermined the League of Nations on a global scale and led to its eventual failure. President Wilson takes this issue to the people by traveling around the country giving speeches, but the physical toll is too great, and he suffers a stroke. By the time his second term in office ends, Wilson is a broken man, weakened by health problems and defeated on the political scene. 

This is, of course, true to the real history. But by focusing on Wilson’s entire political career instead of narrowing it down some, it leaves this story with an ending that makes for poor drama. This film tried to tackle too much, and because of that, it becomes too broad and loses our interest far too often. The family drama and the scene between Wilson and the troops heading off to war are amongst the best this film has to offer. Unfortunately, these are often juxtaposed with a lot of dry speeches and political rallies; most of which are of interest primarily to history scholars. There is a great film within this story, but, alas, this just isn’t it. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Motion Picture: Darryl F. Zanuck

Best Directing: Henry King

Best Actor: Alexander Knox

Best Writing -Original Screenplay: Lamar Trotti (won)

Best Music - Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Alfred Newman

Best Sound Recording: Edmund H. Hansen (won)

Best Art Direction - Color: Wiard Ihnen and Thomas Little (won)

Best Cinematography - Color: Leon Shamroy (won)

Best Film Editing: Barbara McLean (won)

Best Special Effects: Fred Sersen and Roger Heman Sr.

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Release Date: August 1, 1944

Running Time: 154 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Ruth Nelson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, William Eythe, and Mary Anderson

Directed By: Henry King