It is said, "absolute power corrupts absolutely." So when wannabe outsider Willie Stark decided to run for treasurer of a "typical backwoods county seat" in Louisiana the corrupt machine in charge wasn't amused. To make it worse, word around the state was that Willie was different; he was an honest man. That attracted an adoring press and a campaign of harassment from political foes which culminated in a loss at the polls for Stark. But the story doesn't end there, it's just the beginning chapter in a saga of wealth, greed, power, graft and -- you guessed it -- corruption. Somewhat maudlin and melodramatic, it stands as Broderick Crawford's magnum opus and captured the Oscar for Best Picture in 1949. Based on the life and times of Huey Long.