AKA how to build a bureaucratic monster. When a frustrated farmer speaks his mind and cultivates a grassroots political following, he’s recruited to throw his hat into a state-wide election. It’s a trick, of course, a ruse by the incumbent to split votes during a contentious campaign, and the initial results are effective. On the trail, our farmer is flustered and overwhelmed, a neophyte in over his head who struggles to maintain his former vigor while remaining on-message. Eventually he figures things out - both the deception and the secrets of electoral success - and, though it’s too late for that first ballot, he applies these lessons four years later with far better returns. While he may still have a lot to learn about the gig, the state’s new governor doesn’t need instruction on everything. Like the correlation between power and corruption.

The core of this idea is strong. There’s pathos in watching a good person fall victim to the system, sacrificing ideals in favor of popular acclaim and personal rewards. Broderick Crawford is exceptional in that role, retaining shades of the simple man he once was in the grand narcissist he eventually becomes. The editing is all over the place, though, and that can make for some very difficult sailing as the plot intensifies and Crawford’s actions grow more erratic. Rumor has it that director Robert Rossen’s original cut was obscenely long and borderline-incoherent, leading to more drastic edits that left countless scenes and stories shredded. Lost subplots are referenced without explanation. Mid-stream conversations abruptly fade to the next scene. Minor characters are never properly introduced, only tossed into the churn. This makes for a frustrating, confusing watch and eventually robs the inevitable climax of some power. Even that crucial moment wasn’t immune to the editor’s knife, it seems.

I feel like this particular best picture winner was rewarded for the potential of what it could have been, more than the reality of what it is. It definitely has the bones to be something great, but the end result is an underachievement.