Editing Broderick Crawford (section)

===''All the King's Men'' and stardom===
[[File:All-the-King's-Men-Willie-Stark.jpg|thumb|left|Crawford as Willie Stark in ''[[All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men]]'' (1949)]]
In 1949, Crawford was cast as Willie Stark, a character inspired by and closely patterned after the life of [[Louisiana]] politician [[Huey Long]], in ''[[All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men]]'', a film based on the popular novel by [[Robert Penn Warren]]. The film was a huge hit, and Crawford's performance as the bullying, blustering, yet insecure Governor Stark won him the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

The film was made by Columbia who put Crawford under contract. He co-starred with [[Glenn Ford]] in ''[[Convicted (1950 film)|Convicted]]'' (1950), then starred in another hit 'A'-list production with [[William Holden]] and [[Judy Holliday]], ''[[Born Yesterday (1950 film)|Born Yesterday]]'' (1950), directed by [[George Cukor]].

Crawford starred in ''[[The Mob (film)|The Mob]]'' (1951), a crime drama. Under the direction of [[Phil Karlson]] he starred in ''[[Scandal Sheet (1952 film)|Scandal Sheet]]'' (1952), based on a novel by [[Sam Fuller]].

MGM borrowed him to play the villain in ''[[Lone Star (1952 film)|Lone Star]]'' (1952), opposite [[Clark Gable]] and [[Ava Gardner]]. He went to Warner Bros. to star in a comedy, ''[[Stop, You're Killing Me]]'' (1952).

Crawford returned to Columbia to star in some Westerns, ''[[Last of the Comanches]]'' (1953), and ''[[The Last Posse]]'' (1954). [[20th Century Fox]] borrowed him to co-star with [[Gregory Peck]] in [[Nunnally Johnson]]'s ''[[Night People (1954 film)|Night People]]'' (1954).

Crawford was reunited with Glenn Ford in ''[[Human Desire]]'' (1954), directed by [[Fritz Lang]]. [[Edward Small]] used him in ''[[Down Three Dark Streets]]'' (1954) and ''[[New York Confidential (film)|New York Confidential]]'' (1955).

In 1955, Crawford assumed the starring role as Rollo Lamar, the most violent of convicts in ''[[Big House, U.S.A.]]''. In the film, Crawford's character is a hardened convict so violent he commands the obedience of even the most violent and psychotic prisoners in the prison yard, including those portrayed by such famous tough-guy actors as [[Charles Bronson]], [[Ralph Meeker]], [[William Talman (actor)|William Talman]], and [[Lon Chaney Jr.]]

[[Stanley Kramer]] cast him in a good supporting role in ''[[Not as a Stranger]]'' (1955) with [[Robert Mitchum]] and [[Frank Sinatra]], which was a big hit. He received an offer in Italy to star in ''[[Il bidone]]'' (1955), directed by [[Federico Fellini]].