The Great McGinty (1940)

Director:

Preston Sturges

Writer:

Preston Sturges (writer)

Release Date:

23 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Dan McGinty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics. But endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty...

Plot Keywords:

Mayor | Political | Solitaire | Election | Dachshund

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Brian Donlevy	...	Daniel 'Dan' McGinty
Muriel Angelus	...	Catherine McGinty
Akim Tamiroff	...	The Boss
Allyn Joslyn	...	George
William Demarest	...	Skeeters - The Politician
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Tommy Thompson
Harry Rosenthal	...	Louie (bodyguard)
Arthur Hoyt	...	Mayor Wilfred T. Tillinghast
Libby Taylor	...	Bessy (maid)
Thurston Hall	...	Mr. Maxwell
Steffi Duna	...	The Dancing Girl
Esther Howard	...	Madame Juliette La Jolla
Frank Moran	...	The Boss' Chauffeur (as Frank C. Moran)
Jimmy Conlin	...	The Lookout
Dewey Robinson	...	Benny Felgman

Also Known As:

Biograhy of a Bum (USA) (working title)
Down Went McGinty (UK)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:U (re-rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

On August 19, 1939, Paramount issued a check to contract writer Preston Sturges to buy the story and screenplay of this movie, in the amount of $10. Sturges promised to sell the script for that amount if he could direct. The studio took him up on it and the film was a hit and won an Academy Award for the screenplay, probably making it the cheapest Oscar-winning script in history.

Quotes:

The Politician: If it wasn't for graft, you'd get a very low type of people in politics, men without ambition, jellyfish!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Louise

What's Up is Down, What's Wrong is Right

The Great McGinty grabbed me with its verve and jaunty iconoclasm from the beginning. "This is the story of two men who met in a banana republic. One of them never did anything dishonest in his life except for one crazy minute. The other never did anything honest in his life except for one crazy minute. They both had to get out of the country." In McGinty, a guy on the outs votes for a politician something like 72 times, and for this he is rewarded with a political boss's favor--"The Boss," and what a boss. Akim Tamiroff is simply wonderful: "Where you get that horse blanket?" And: "What a wonderful opportunity. This state needs everything. ... We'll need - you'll kiss me for this - a new dam. ... You think a dam is something you put a lot of water in. A dam is something you put a lot of concrete in. And it doesn't matter how much you put in there's always room for a lot more. ..." As the lead, "The Boss's" counterpart and equal, it's Brian Donlevy as he never had been before, never was again. McGinty (and Sturge's second movie, Christmas in July) may not quite be up there in the stratosphere with his absolute best like The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, or Unfaithfully Yours, but they are nevertheless both wonderful movies with the Sturges stamp of buoyant uniqueness.