Influence
With Democracy (1880), All the King's Men (1946), and Advise and Consent (1959), The Last Hurrah is among the more successful novels about American politics.
Perhaps most notably, the phrase '"The Last Hurrah" has since become a common phrase in the English lexicon to mean a swan song or, in politics, the last campaign of a politician.
The success of the novel and the Tracy film adaptation greatly benefited Curley, who by 1956 was no longer in office. In addition to giving him new publicity, Curley sued the film's producers and won $46,000. In addition, Skeffington is depicted as rambunctious yet heroic, and improved the public image of Curley. Now he is looked upon with nostalgia, in part due to the book and film.
Read more about this topic: The Last Hurrah
Famous quotes containing the word influence:
“Exhaust them, wrestle with them, let them not go until their blessing be won, and, after a short season, the dismay will be overpast, the excess of influence withdrawn, and they will be no longer an alarming meteor, but one more brighter star shining serenely in your heaven, and blending its light with all your day.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I am always glad to think that my education was, for the most part, informal, and had not the slightest reference to a future business career. It left me free and untrammeled to approach my business problems without the limiting influence of specific training.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
“Cultural expectations shade and color the images that parents- to-be form. The baby product ads, showing a woman serenely holding her child, looking blissfully and mysteriously contented, or the television parents, wisely and humorously solving problems, influence parents-to-be.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)