Huey Long

Ken Burns makes some wonderful documentaries, and this two hour special on one of America's most colourful politicians is first rate.

Huey Long was Governor and then a Senator of Louisiana in the 1920s and 30s. When he was assassinated in 1934 he had a complete stranglehold on the state legislature, controlling the state militia and several local police forces, as well as the board of education. He was also making plans to run in the next presidential elections against Franklin Roosevelt.

Burns not only documents these facts - he is a shrewd journalist and appreciates the need for balance. He interviews many people, many of whom believed Huey Long to be a good politician. He did take Louisianans out of the mud by building miles of roads and bridges over the Mississippi - all at public expense. He was the Keynesian economist's dream without knowing it, but would have hated being described as a Liberal.

But watch the film. It is a marvellous insight into the American political process, and shows how one man can exploit the system even though there are supposed to be measures in place to avoid this.

Ken Burns is properly regarded for the outstanding quality of his documentaries. This early work shows the exceptional qualities that would lead to better-known later works like "The Civil War", "Baseball" and "Jazz".

Burns examines Huey Long, Louisiana's Kingfish. Long rose from poverty and became one of the most powerful leaders in the nation's history. Long was an outstanding orator, hero of the common people, advocate of big government, revolutionary political strategist, and totalitarian. Utilizing corrupt practices that had been common in Louisiana since the end of Reconstruction, Long built a political machine that constructed thousands of miles of roads, hundreds of bridges, and millions of school books (every child, black or white, received free textbooks). Long's tenure provided much delayed lasting benefits for regular people in the midsts of the depression.

Secret police were used at first to thwart the illegal efforts of major business efforts opposed to his tax-and-spend programs, and later the political vendetta of his national political opponents, including fellow-Democrat FDR, who dubbed him the "the most dangerous man in America". And yes, his secret police did what secret police do.

Among Long's national causes was the development of Social Security. Long's "Share-Our-Wealth" clubs had millions of members, distributed weekly papers, had weekly radio addresses, and elected many political candidates (including the first woman Senator elected to a full term in her own right, Arkansas' Hattie Caraway in 1932). Huey reputedly planned to run against Roosevelt in 1936 as a leftist third-party candidate, and expected to throw the election to the Republicans, clearing the way for his own 1940 election. Instead, Huey was assassinated in 1935, and largely forgotten outside of his home state.

Long is a truly significant national figure from a pivotal time. He cannot be understood without considering his accomplishments, the force of his enemies and the conditions of 1920's and 1930's Louisiana in addition to Huey's terrible flaws and dangerous corruption. Films don't have much time, but Ken Burns manages to balance all of these issues, presenting a lyric, intimate tale.

You doubt me? You haven't even heard about the "deduct box". Check it out.

Having grown in Baton Rouge, La. most of my life and visited the State Capitol, as a kid on a school field trip, where Huey Long was shot, I was very interested in seeing Ken Burns' documentary Huey Long despite airing on WLPB (our local PBS affiliate) opposite CBS' Two and a Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine as well as NBC's Heroes (shows I usually watch or tape around this time). As with many of Burns' subsequent films, Huey Long explores the state governor and senator's life through many still photos of his and Louisiana's history in the early 20th century. There's also many talking heads of various citizens of Louisiana, rich and poor, pro- and anti-Long, including Long's son Senator Russell Long, and Robert Penn Warren, whose book "All the King's Men" was a thinly veiled bio of Governor Long. Many of Long's exciting speeches have also been preserved here. Balance is provided of Long's good and bad points. But without him, Louisiana might have been worse off without the new school textbooks for all the undereducated kids he helped provide or the paved roads and bridges he helped build. So for anyone interested in the life and career of one of the most colorful figures in both Louisiana and American politics, I highly recommend Ken Burns' Huey Long.

This film, while very good, could have been so much better. Many issues in Huey's personal and political life were briefly covered (e.g. his 1932 campaign tour on behalf of Hattie Caraway for U.S. Senator from Arkansas), other issues were skimmed over (Huey's exercise of influence over the running of Louisiana State University) and still other issues not mentioned at all (the incident in the men's room at the Sands Point [N.Y.] Bath & Country Club; how'd Huey REALLY get that black eye?). Interviews with people who were there with Huey added much perspective.

This is really one very fine documentary. It presents lots of Louisianans who lived through his period of power and who give a wide range of views of him, from those who thought he was God's gift to the people to those who prayed for his early demise.

In the process it gives a great summary of how a modern dictator can engineer his rise to power. The film puts him in the context of Hitler and especially Mussolini. I wish it could have shown how Lindbergh would try something similar just a few years later.

Great use is made of contemporary newsreels and photos. Sometimes, when he is on a podium, Long looked like a caricature of himself. But evidently this did not bother his loyal followers, of whom there were many.

My only small objection: there are too many interviewees for at least me to keep track of, yet most were not identified again after their first appearance. I wish their name had been used every time they reappeared.

But that's a slight point. This is very well done, and I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in American history in the 1920s and 30s.