LBJ: The Early Years 1987

In 1934, Lyndon Baines Johnson (Randy Quaid), then a clerk for Texas Congressman Richard Kleberg, sprints up the Capitol steps to greet the future Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn (Pat Hingle), who believes Johnson will one day stand beside him in Congress. Rayburn’s confidence foreshadows a career built on persistence, political finesse, and a willingness to push through obstacles.

Johnson and his fiancée, Lady Bird Johnson (Patti LuPone), rush from Texas to Washington, D.C., after he impulsively takes his boss’s Cadillac to pick her up at her father’s home. The ride back is tense, and they confront Kleberg’s aloof wife, who suspects Johnson is maneuvering for personal gain rather than genuine service.

After being fired by his employer, Johnson wakes to news of a vacancy: another Congressman has died, opening a seat that could be his. He presses Judge Alvin J. Wirtz (Barry Corbin) to give him a real chance, and Wirtz warns that the widow might run, saying he’ll need $10,000 to mount a contest. Lady Bird’s father steps in with the money, and the widow’s decision not to run clears the path. Johnson then tours the Texas hill country with his father and his wife, pledging to bring basic services—power and running water—to the people as he campaigns with tireless energy, cigarette after cigarette and bottle after bottle of Milk of Magnesia marking the grind.

A brutal period of campaigning culminates when Johnson collapses from abdominal pain; he undergoes an operation to remove a ruptured appendix. Upon waking, Lady Bird is at his side, telling him he has won and greeting him as “Congressman.” Back in the Capitol, he rides an elevator up with his ally Rayburn, a moment that underscores his new standing and the long road ahead.

Tragedy strikes with the death of his father, leaving his mother in debt. This hardship nudges Johnson toward alliances with powerful lobbyists to secure the funds needed for both campaigns and his hydroelectric project. At a party hosted by a major backer, he meets the vivacious Alice Glass (Morgan Brittany), a figure who becomes a catalyst for his ambitions. Yet Lady Bird remains a steady source of support, balancing ambition with devotion.

The narrative leaps to 1948, when Johnson pursues a Senate seat as a retiring incumbent’s replacement. He faces Governor Coke Stevenson in a high-stakes Democratic caucus contest, with corruption rumors and vote-fixing swirling around the race. A 28–28 deadlock breaks when Johnson’s staff orchestrate a crucial vote from a drunken member, despite goons trying to block the effort, sealing Johnson’s Democratic nomination. He then wins the Senate seat in November, launching a lengthy and influential tenure.

As a Senator, Johnson engages deeply with his colleagues, clashing with McCarthy and pushing for civil rights, while shaping amendments to the Taft-Hartley Act. A new, ambitious candidate emerges in John F. Kennedy, and a planned visit by Robert F. Kennedy to Texas hints at the Kennedy family’s growing influence—an orbit in which Johnson weighs his own ambitions against the changing tides in national politics. An offer to become Vice President from Kennedy is initially refused, but after consultation with Sam Rayburn, Johnson accepts the position, signaling a pivotal shift in his career.

When JFK is elected, Johnson finds himself briefly sidelined as the President, and the nation watches as he navigates power in Washington. The fateful Dallas moment reshapes everything: Kennedy is assassinated in 1963, and Johnson ascends to the presidency. He travels with Jacqueline Kennedy (Robin Curtis) and his wife back to Washington, takes the Oath of Office aboard Air Force One, administered by Judge Sarah T. Hughes, and the film closes with a still image and a concise audio overview of the events that follow.