History Literature / AllTheKingsMen

The novel is almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren himself always denied it -- because, as he put it, if viewed solely through the lens of a fictionalized Long, the entire work would thus be seen as veiled condemnation of (or, even more irritating to Warren, praise for) a real man, rather than as his own creation, and [[invoked]][[ShallowParody would be unable to stand on its own two feet]]. While Long is clearly one of the chief inspirations, and the events of his life and death -- the state hospital, his assassination on the courthouse steps -- inform Stark's, he was not the only influence, as the era proved rife with crooked Southern politicans from which to draw.[[note]]Warren often pointed to the character first being named "Willie Talos", after Talus, the ruthless assassin of Edmund Spenser's ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene''.[[/note]]

The novel is almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren himself always denied it -- because, as he put it, if viewed solely through the lens of a fictionalized Long, the entire work would thus be seen as veiled condemnation of (or, even more irritating to Warren, praise for) a real man, rather than as his own creation, and [invoked][[ShallowParody would be unable to stand on its own two feet]]. While Long is clearly one of the chief inspirations, and the events of his life and death -- the state hospital, his assassination on the courthouse steps -- inform Stark's, he was not the only influence, as the era proved rife with crooked Southern politicans from which to draw.[[note]]Warren often pointed to the character first being named "Willie Talos", after Talus, the ruthless assassin of Edmund Spenser's ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene''.[[/note]]

The novel is almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren himself always denied it because, as he put it, if viewed solely through the lens of a fictionalized Long, the entire work would be seen as veiled condemnation of (or, even more irritating to Warren, praise for) a real man, rather than as his own creation.[[note]]Long is clearly one of the chief inspirations, and the events of his life and death -- the state hospital, his assassination on the courthouse steps -- inform Stark's, but he's not the only influence; Warren often pointed to the character first being named "Willie Talos", after Talus, the ruthless assassin of Edmund Spenser's ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene''.[[/note]]

''All The King's Men'' is a UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize-winning 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. It chronicles the life of radically-liberal (in point of fact, populist-socialist) governor Willie "the Boss" Stark (in the book and films)/Talos (in the never-properly-completed play), through the eyes of LemonyNarrator and eventual main character Jack Burden. In particular, it covers Stark's two campaigns for governor, his chronic infidelity, and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist increasingly frenzied]] attempts to create a new state hospital. Almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren himself always denied it.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Stark justifies his illegal and unconstitutional actions by saying that he's done a huge amount of good for the state, and everyone just makes up morality as they go along anyway. The former is definitely true, and [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment you can decide the latter yourself]].

* NotSoDifferent: Jack is about to sic Sugar-Boy on Tiny Duffy, knowing that he was the one to have goaded Adam into killing Willie, but stops at the last moment, knowing that it's the same dirty tactic that Sadie and Duffy used.

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''All The King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren, which won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize. It chronicles the life of radically-liberal (in point of fact, populist-socialist) governor Willie "the Boss" Stark (in the book and films)/Talos (in the never-properly-completed play), through the eyes of LemonyNarrator and eventual main character Jack Burden. In particular, it covers Stark's two campaigns for governor, his chronic infidelity, and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist increasingly frenzied]] attempts to create a new state hospital. Almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren himself always denied it.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/all_the_kings_men.jpg]]

[[quoteright:191:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/all_the_kings_men.jpg]]

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Some think that the book is a covert biography of Louisiana governor Huey P. Long. WordOfGod [[{{Jossed}} denied it]], but the similarities are so striking that [[DeathOfTheAuthor virtually nobody believes it]].

''All The King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren, which won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize. It chronicles the life of radically-liberal (in point of fact, populist-socialist) governor Willie "the Boss" Stark (in the book and films)/Talos (in the never-properly-completed play), through the eyes of LemonyNarrator and eventual main character Jack Burden. In particular, it covers Stark's two campaigns for governor, his chronic infidelity, and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist increasingly frenzied]] attempts to create a new state hospital. Almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren always denied it. Highly recommended reading.

* AdaptationalNameChange: Willie Stark's name in the original, unproduced ''Proud Flesh'' play and early drafts of the novel was "Willie Talos". Some editions of the novel change the name back to "Talos".

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Some think that the book is a covert biography of Louisiana governor Huey P. Long. This was {{Jossed}}, but the similarities are so striking that [[DeathOfTheAuthor virtually nobody believes it]].

* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: The novel and most adaptations take place in an unnamed state in the American South. The 2006 identifies it as Louisiana, furthering the comparisons between Stark and Huey Long.

** It borders on NoCommunitiesWereHarmed, but the fact that it's never identified, rather than given a different name, is sufficient to keep it on this side of the trope.

* TheUnintelligible: Possibly unintentional. Sean Penn's accent is really thick and half the things he says are metaphors only people from 1930s Louisiana would understand.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Most commentators have noted that Willie Stark, in his actions and ideology, resembled UsefulNotes/HueyLong, which would make sense since Warren lived in Louisiana for a time. He always denied that Stark was based on Long.

''All The King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren, which won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize. It chronicles the life of radically-liberal (in point of fact, populist-socialist) governor Willie "the Boss" Stark (in the book and films)/Talos (in the never-properly-completed play), through the eyes of LemonyNarrator and eventual main character Jack Burden. In particular, it covers Stark's two campaigns for governor, his [[YourCheatingHeart chronic infidelity]], and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist increasingly frenzied]] attempts to create a new state hospital. Almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren always denied it. Highly recommended reading.

* TheUnfairSex: In all the examples of YourCheatingHeart, the female half of the affair get sympathetic treatment and all get off scot-free while the male half of the affair ends up dying.

* YourCheatingHeart: The Boss has an extramarital affair with Sadie Burke, and then cheats on ''her'', first with a random prostitute in Chicago, then with Anne Stanton, which triggers Jack's HeroicBSOD.
** Annabelle Trice cheats on her husband with Cass Mastern, leading said husband to kill himself when he finds out.
** Mrs. Burden cheated on her husband with Judge Irwin, and ends up getting pregnant.

* YourCheatingHeart: Stark is shown to have a harem consisting of loose women from all over the world, including a Spanish ice-skater ("The world is full of sluts on skates") and a Japanese {{geisha}}. For this reason, Jack Burden is referred to sarcastically as "State Director of Pimps."

* RoadShow: The portion immediately after Jack's HeroicBSOD.

Made into a film two times, in 1949 and 2006. The 1949 version, directed by Robert Rossen, was a critical and commercial success, winning three UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s including Best Picture, Best Actor (Broderick Crawford), and Best Supporting Actress (Mercedes [=McCambridge=]). The 2006 adaptation however was a BoxOfficeBomb, and critical failure, despite a huge cast including SeanPenn and Creator/KateWinslet.

''All The King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren, which won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize. It chronicles the life of radically-liberal (in point of fact, populist-socialist) Louisiana governor Willie "the Boss" Stark (in the book and films)/Talos (in the never-properly-completed play), through the eyes of LemonyNarrator and eventual main character Jack Burden. In particular, it covers Stark's two campaigns for governor, his [[YourCheatingHeart chronic infidelity]], and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist increasingly frenzied]] attempts to create a new state hospital. Almost universally assumed to be [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loosely based on the true story]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long Louisiana governor]] UsefulNotes/HueyLong, although Warren always denied it. Highly recommended reading.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Warren never makes clear what state ''All The King's Men'' takes place in (if it even exists), other than that it's Southern. However, the parallels to Huey Long are sufficient to get most people to conclude that it's Louisiana.