The Last Hurrah (1958)

Set in an unspecified New England town, the iron fisted mayor (Spencer Tracy) of the city is running for re-election. A man of the people as opposed to his conservative money backed opponent, he and his strategists do whatever it takes to win the election. Based on the novel by Edwin O'Connor and directed by John Ford. As a political film, it's not very interesting but its central character is and Tracy gives a wonderful performance as the son of Irish immigrants who hasn't forgotten his roots in the often mudslinging world of politics. It's his life and he's sacrificed everything for it and when it's taken away, it kills him (literally). I don't have the statistics to back me up but I'll wager Tracy's death scene is one of the longest ever put on film, it seemed like a half hour. The film is crammed with familiar character actors, many of them veterans of Ford's films. The large cast includes Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, John Carradine, James Gleason, Jane Darwell, Anna Lee, Wallace Ford, Frank McHugh, Edward Brophy, Helen Westcott and Ricardo Cortez.