Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Viña Delmar (writer)
Josephine Lawrence (novel)

Release Date:

7 October 1937 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An elderly couple are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in.

Plot Keywords:

Elderly | Based On Play | Based On Novel

Cast

Victor Moore	...	Barkley 'Pa' Cooper
Beulah Bondi	...	Lucy 'Ma' Cooper
Fay Bainter	...	Anita Cooper
Thomas Mitchell	...	George Cooper
Porter Hall	...	Harvey Chase
Barbara Read	...	Rhoda Cooper
Maurice Moscovitch	...	Max Rubens
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Cora Payne
Minna Gombell	...	Nellie Chase
Ray Mayer	...	Robert Cooper
Ralph Remley	...	Bill Payne
Louise Beavers	...	Mamie
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Doctor
Gene Morgan	...	Carlton Gorman

Also Known As:

The Years Are So Long (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Quotes:

Pa: Two old-fashioneds, for two old-fashioned people.

Soundtrack:

M-O-T-H-E-R

An honest-to-God tearjerker...

An elderly couple lose their home and their grown children don't want them around, so where can they turn? After a creaky start, this thoughtful film becomes absorbing and very touching. It thankfully never resorts to feel-good measures: the oldsters are not painted as saints (in fact, Beulah Bondi's "Ma" is realistically nagging and nosy) and their kids are completely selfish (which is entirely believable). The picture has one of the most haunting endings that I can recall, and it's even more powerful to consider how timely it all is (and how this situation still rears its ugly head today). An emotionally gripping, wistful, memorable movie. ***1/2 from ****