The drab, gritty black and white cinematography of the expressionistic film emphasized the menacing, warping, and harrowing power of alcohol, as some of the booze-soaked scenes were shot through or in the presence of numerous whiskey bottles and shot glasses.With a production budget of approximately $320,000, and box-office gross revenues of $47 million (domestic) and $55 million (worldwide) - one of the most successful films of all time - in terms of its ratio.When Burden realizes that the gullible Willie is being framed by the political machine for their own purposes, he confers with Sadie Burke (Mercedes McCambridge) - a cool, conniving and calculating political aide (a covert mole working for Harrison) - who confirms his fears:Jack: You don""t have to be smart to frame a guy like Willie Stark.Across a huge soft carpet of snow the journey continued, while age-old bells relayed the message along anxiously waiting villages that new blood was being carried to the Kremlin to temper the madness of the holy Russian dynasty.