Radio review – Cavalcade – “The Great Man Votes” (1941) **

Orson Welles would seem to be an obvious choice to step into John Barrymore’s last decent film role, a drunken grandfather who finds himself to be a one-man electorate in a crucial eletion, but actually he’s not. Both could play great bombastic hams, but Barrymore was a famous drunk who could convey weakness; Welles loved a tipple but he wasn’t (too my knowledge) an alcoholic – and he always conveyed strength (corrupt strength to be sure, but strength). The story remains entertaining; there is a pompous finale where the narrator talks about the Bill of Right and how great American is – this aired shortly after Pearl Harbour, which explains this.