Curley’s People  Three generations after James Michael Curley
reshaped Boston politics, we - and our leaders - are still
living with the consequences  (Globe File Photo/Globe Staff
Illustration ) By Peter S. Canellos January 3, 2010  E-mail this
article  Invalid E-mail address Invalid E-mail address  Sending
your article  Your article has been sent.    • E-mail|   •
Print|   • Reprints|   • | Text size +  Back in the ’90s, Turner
Classic Movies produced hourlong documentaries on the great
stars of the ’30s, hosted by actors who were inspired by them.
Susan Sarandon praised Bette Davis for giving working-class
heroines both guts and dignity, Liam Neeson honored Clark
Gable’s effortless masculinity, Michael J. Fox celebrated James
Cagney’s pluck, and so on.  The documentaries drew their
strength from the surprising depth of the connection between the
generations. Each hour was a love story, a display of affection
for a long-dead mentor. The flickering vulnerability that was
visible in the old clips of Vivien Le