The Human Comedy (1943)

Teenager Homer Macauley stays at home in small-town Ithaca to support his family, while his older brother Marcus prepares to go to war.

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

William Saroyan (from the story by), Howard Estabrook (screenplay)

Stars:

Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, James Craig

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mickey Rooney	...	Homer Macauley
Frank Morgan	...	Willie Grogan
James Craig	...	Tom Spangler
Marsha Hunt	...	Diana Steed
Fay Bainter	...	Mrs. Macauley
Ray Collins	...	Mr. Macauley
Van Johnson	...	Marcus Macauley
Donna Reed	...	Bess Macauley
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins	...	Ulysses Macauley (as Jack Jenkins)
Dorothy Morris	...	Mary Arena
John Craven	...	Tobey George
Ann Ayars	...	Mrs. Sandoval
Mary Nash	...	Miss Hicks
Henry O'Neill	...	Charles Steed
Katharine Alexander	...	Mrs. Steed

Storyline

Homer Macauley remains in a small town looking after his widowed mother and younger brother. Homer's older brother is fighting the war in Europe.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | army | telegraph office | orphan | hurdles | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 February 1944 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

A Comédia Humana

Filming Locations:

Clarence Brown Ranch - Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 117 min (Turner library print) (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer William Saroyan wanted desperately to direct the film despite having no experience in directing. Louis B. Mayer told Saroyan that he would consider the request and assigned the writer to direct a one reel short. The short film was a disappointment and studio stalwart Clarence Brown was promptly assigned. Saroyan was so bitter about the experience he wrote a play about Mayer soon after titled "Get Away Old Man". He also adapted the story he wrote for the film into a novel, which was published within weeks of the movie premiere and became a best seller.

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Goofs

Near the end of the film when Homer and his friends walk to the telegraph office Homer's tie is tied up short (the tail below the broad part of the tie) but when Homer enters the office and in the following scenes, the tie is tied correctly.

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Quotes

Mr. Macauley: I am Matthew Macauley. I have been dead for two years. So much of me is still living that I know now the end is only the beginning. As I look down on my homeland of Ithaca, California, with its cactus, vineyards and orchards, I see that so much of me is still living there - in the places I've been, in the fields and streets and church and most of all in my home, where my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions still live in the daily life of my loved ones.

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Connections

Referenced in Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (2002)

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Soundtracks

"My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night"
(1853) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Foster
Sung a cappella by Ernest Whitman
Also sung by Mickey Rooney and Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins

User Reviews

A gentle glimpse into another time

While the years may not have been entirely kind to "The Human Comedy," they have certainly been kinder than some of the comments I've seen here, the venom and churlish malice of which frankly astonish me.

In 1943, M-G-M commissioned author William Saroyan to develop a screen story about the World War II homefront. The result was this, which Howard Estabrook turned into a screenplay and Saroyan himself expanded into a novel -- which explains why the film was released before the book was published.

Yes, "The Human Comedy" is propaganda, but with a difference. Most of the propaganda of WWII arose from anger and grim determination, and films like "Air Force" and "Operation Tokyo" look excessive and embarrassing now that passions have cooled. The propaganda of "The Human Comedy" rises not from anger but from fear -- the fear that the crucible of war might be too harsh for the spirit of small-town America to survive.

To be honest, much of "The Human Comedy" also looks excessive and embarrassing now the fears have been alleviated. But few films struck such a chord in audiences of the time by showing them, if not as they were, then at least as they liked to picture themselves.

The film's appeal now is more than just as a historical curiosity, however. Despite the Andy Hardy sentimentality and Saroyan's blue-collar pseudo-poetry, "The Human Comedy" has much to recommend it if you can resist viewing it through the prism of our own time, with the war safely won these 50 years. It has, for example, one of Mickey Rooney's best and most restrained performances and a charming performance by Jackie "Butch" Jenkins as his baby brother -- he became a child star on the strength of this film, but was never this good again.

Frank Morgan, too, is first-rate as a sad old man taking pride in his work and refuge in his bottle; Morgan was an idiosyncratic actor, but he was capable of great depth and deserves to be known for something besides "The Wizard of Oz." Director Clarence Brown, now sadly neglected, shows once again his sure touch with Americana and his sensitive handling of child and teen actors.

"The Human Comedy" is a bit cloying, perhaps, but it's also a compassionate and generous-spirited film. It deserves to be regarded with the same generosity.