Going My Way (1944)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Leo McCarey (story)
Frank Butler (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 October 1944 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Sing, Bing . . . . You're A Grand, Gay Guy In Your Greatest Picture !

Plot:

A new priest shows up at the parish of a crusty old priest named Father Fitzgibbon. The new man, Father O'Malley...

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Church | St. Louis Browns | Opera | Runaway

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Father Chuck O'Malley
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Father Fitzgibbon
Frank McHugh	...	Father Timothy O'Dowd
James Brown	...	Ted Haines Jr.
Gene Lockhart	...	Ted Haines Sr.
Jean Heather	...	Carol James
Porter Hall	...	Mr. Belknap
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Tomaso Bozanni
Eily Malyon	...	Mrs. Carmody
The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir	...	Choir
Risë Stevens	...	Genevieve Linden

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | USA:Approved (PCA #9613)

Filming Locations:

Lakeside Country Club - 4500 W. Lakeside Drive, Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA

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.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Father O'Malley is talking to Jenny while she is getting ready to perform, the conductor can be seen taking out his cigarette case and opening it twice, in two adjacent shots.

Quotes:

Father Chuck O'Malley: Hail, Alma Mater, thy time-honored halls shall echo with our praise till we die; and round our hearts are the ivy-covered walls of East St. Louis High.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Departed (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Day After Forever

When Priests Were The Good Guys

It's always been strange for a movie buff like me to see how things change over the decades. In the 1940s and 1950s, Catholic priests were the good guys and likable actors like Pat O'Brien, Spencer Tracy and even Bing Crosby made them even more attractive. Since the '60s, Hollywood went in the opposite direction and made them villains more than anything else.

Frankly, I never found a nun who looked like Ingrid Bergman or Audrey Hepburn, or a priest who could sing like Bing Crosby, but, what the hell, er heck....better to see a positive cleric image than a negative, I believe.

The first hour of this movie was very good and the film might have wound up a favorite of mine but the second half petered out quickly and never regained steam, except for a nice ending. The films bogs down with a romance that has nothing to do with the story. The music also lost its appeal to me when Crosby's fine voice was finished for the film, replaced by the operatic high notes of Rise Stevens.

Overall, the film has a number of nice, touching moments and Crosby is very likable but the story goes on too long and is not one I would watch a second time.