The Great Man Votes

John Barrymore is a down and out drunken widower with two children in "The Great Man Votes," a 1939 film also starring Virginia Weidler, Peter Holden, and Katherine Alexander. Barrymore plays Gregory Vance, a brilliant Harvard graduate, a once well-known intellectual, and a raging alcoholic. His two children, however, (Weidler and Holden) adore him, and he is an attentive dad. When his kids beat up the taunting son of the local political boss, Iron Hat McCarthy, Gregory loses his night watchman job. But when McCarthy meets with the party head, he's told the 13th precinct always votes the party in and he has to deliver; on being told the 13th precinct is voting the party, the rest of the precincts will follow. One problem. There's only one registered voter in the precinct - Gregory Vance. As Vance tries to parlay a deal for himself, his in-laws seek to take his children.

This is a heart-warming story with a brilliant performance by Barrymore. Pompous but loving, he makes Gregory Vance a likable character the audience roots for through the entire film. He's bombastic and over-dramatic, which is perfect for the character. His stage experience really shines through. The kids, Virginia Weidler and Peter Holden are excellent - and you'd never know Barrymore didn't like to work with kids.

As enjoyable as "The Great Man Votes" is, it leaves one feeling sad; Barrymore died when he was 50, his best screen years as a character actor were still ahead of him. So we have to take what we can get - and one of his best performances is in "The Great Man Votes."

Scholar Gregory Vance (John Barrymore) has fallen into drunkenness after the death of his beloved wife. His children, Joan and Donald, still love him but they get bullied at school for being the children of a drunk. They have relatives who want to take them away from their father. Due to an odd situation, he is the only registered voter in his precinct and everybody wants his vote.

The plot is very similar to the 2008 movie Swing Vote. Like that one, there is a good amount of fanciful mechanics being written and some kind of civic lesson being promoted. Also like that one, I like the kids more. It is interesting that Gregory is portrayed as a happy drunk. This is a light comedy with an ambitious premise and most of it is fine.

I have nothing objective to add to Theowinthrop's commentary on THE GREAT MAN VOTES here at IMDb, but I want to add my own observations concerning and reactions to the film. It had been only a few months since I'd seen John Barrymore, with Delores Costello in WHEN A MAN LOVES (1927), and I liked this role better than that of a man in love fighting the powers that be for the love of a girl and that girl's honor. Simple stuff.

In this one, Barrymore plays Gregory Vance, a "Great Man" under the thumb of the bottle since the death of the love of his life. He loves his two children, who are part of her, and they believe that he is still a "Great Man." The kids at school label him a drunk, and that's what he is to them.

Hearing Vance speak, learning his history, you know he was a Great Man, and you yearn for him to be one again, for his sake and for that of his children. He has that opportunity, and his children are happy for it. (They kids handle the negotiation. It's splendid.) But does he have to sell his soul, in a manner of speaking, to attain it? There's a heavy streak of partisan politics, though the party name is never specified, and you have a ward boss called Iron Hat who doesn't seem so bad as his awful son.

This movie worked. Since this was Barrymore's last important leading role, he goes out on a wonderful note. And, yes, he played a good drunk.

Increasing alcoholism and aging in general ended a remarkable acting career. John Barrymore was a stage star at the time of the San Francisco Earthquake (which he survived), and it peaked on stage with his HAMLET on Broadway in 1922. By that time he had become the most notable stage star in America to turn towards the movies, with films like DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE and BELOVED ROGUE. He was strong enough to retain leading man status until 1932/33. I would say his last leading men A-features are ARSENE LUPIN, SVENGALI, and GRAND HOTEL. But after that year, while he is still a star and still appearing in grade-A features it is in supporting roles. He does do TWENTIETH CENTURY in the lead, but nothing else followed. Some of these are still first rate films (SPAWN OF THE NORTH, DINNER AT EIGHT, TRUE CONFESSIONS, MAYTIME), but he is becoming more and more of a joke in the industry.

1939 is his last year for appearing in first rate films or to even have a lead. THE GREAT MAN VOTES is his last lead role of value. As Gregory Vance he is a former college professor of national reputation who has drunk away that reputation. But he lives for the sake of his children (Peter Holden and Virginia Weidler). They are all he has left since the death of their mother (the event that sent him into his alcoholic haze).

By sheer chance his voting district is the key one in a Mayoralty election. However, William Demerest (gearing up for his politico in the following year's THE GREAT MCGINTY) informs the party regulars that the nation is following this city's election closely (it is an off-year otherwise), and the winning party may well determine the voter's views nationwide the next year. Demerest wants them to make sure their party wins.

It seems that Vance's son has recently been bullied by a boy who is the son of the local district leader (Donald McBride). McBride is feared more than loved (at one point his son has to be pulled out of some cement, and a cop who has watched this looks at the impression of the boy's bottom in the wet cement, and says, "The spitting image of his old man!"). McBride spends the movie doing cartwheels to keep Barrymore sober and ready to vote for the party's candidate for Mayor. It seems that Vance's vote (which is neutral) will decide the district's direction, and so Vance has to be kept on the bandwagon. With such a weight on his shoulders we have to watch if Barrymore/Vance will vote or not. What is important, his public feelings or public duty?

The cast is game and lively, including Barrymore up to the sardonic concluding line of the film. It was a good performance for the great actor to conclude his leading role career. Shortly after he also appeared in an important leading role in Mitchell Leisin's MIDNIGHT (supporting Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche). There too he was in top form.

But by then he needed to have cue cards outside the range of the cameras with his dialog on them. He refused to learn the lines by heart (he claimed he would only do that with Shakespeare or great poetry). In fact, he probably could barely remember scripted dialog any longer. After 1939 his great days in movies was actually over. He soon was appearing in films like THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. He would turn to radio, appearing as himself (and as a cartoon version of a drunken ham actor at that) on Rudy Vallee's show. He did go back to Broadway with a play MY DEAR FAMILY, which was a comedy about him as an alcoholic ham actor again. He died in 1942, but artistically he'd been dead for years.

For a movie which is little more than a light diversion, this turns out to be constructed with a surprisingly high level of craftsmanship and sensitivity. I would find it difficult to believe that anyone could dislike this short but delightful comedy.

On the surface, the movie is about a group of local politicians whose spin doctors have managed to use the media to manipulate the public to the point that the vote of one "great" man will determine the entire outcome of the elections. Ignore the specifics and this political satire is as relevant today as it was when it was made 60 years ago. But the real story is about a father's love for his children and this is what truly makes him "the great man". It isn't presented with much depth - what can you expect from a short simple comedy? - but it is done with enough sensitivity to create a real feeling of warmth and affection.

All of it's characters could easily have lost their humanity by falling into predictable stereotypes, but the movie manages to completely avoid this. The main character is continually drunk, but he never has to resort to slurring or stumbling to portray this, and his drunkenness is never exploited for a cheap laugh. His two precocious children manage to entertain without ever having to be excessively cute. It's rare to see a low budget comedy which has the confidence to show this kind of restraint. The confidence is well deserved; this is a movie which is sure to put a smile on your face.