This seldom seen classic, whose original negative was destroyed by fire many years ago, is often considered a forerunner of Citizen Kane. Preston Sturges’ script tells the rags-to-riches story of railroad executive Tom Garner (Spencer Tracy) through a series of flashbacks narrated by his longtime friend Henry (Ralph Morgan). Contemporary audiences may find the narration heavy-handed and trite at times, but they should enjoy speculating to what extent the film’s non-linear construction, plot and innovative cinematography (by James Wong Howe) influenced Orson Welles while he was planning Citizen Kane. The studio coined the word “narratage” to describe the use of flashbacks whit narration over them, and this “narratage” style can also be seen in The Sin of Nora Moran. The Power and the Glory was loosely based on the life of C.W. Post, the cereal tycoon and grandfather of Sturges second wife, Eleanor Hutton. The film’s producer, Jesse Lasky wrote in his autobiography, “It was the most perfect script I’d ever seen”. It became the first original screen story written on a royalty basis in much the same way as a stage play. This shocking precedent made producers nervous about the strong creative muscle writers would start exerting. Like the Hearst figure in Citizen Kane, Tom Garner symbolizes the best and worst of industrialization. But Tracy’s depiction is more sympathetic and less menacing than Welles’.

Donna Rossin UCLA Filmand Television Archive–Tenth Festival of Preservation, 2000