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Good Sam (1948)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
1 September 1948 (USA)
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Tagline:
He'll take the whole world . . . and you to his heart !
Plot:
Sam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. In fact, he likes to help them out so much that he often finds himself broke and unable to help his own family buy the things they need--like a house. | add synopsis
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User Comments:
Character Should Count
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Gary Cooper | ... | Samuel R. 'Sam' Clayton |
 | Ann Sheridan | ... | Lucille 'Lu' Clayton |
 | Ray Collins | ... | Rev. Daniels |
| Edmund Lowe | ... | H.C. Borden |
| Joan Lorring | ... | Shirley Mae |
| Clinton Sundberg | ... | Mr. Nelson |
| Minerva Urecal | ... | Mrs. Nelson |
| Louise Beavers | ... | Chloe, Lu's Maid |
| Dick Ross | ... | Claude, Lu's Brother |
| Lora Lee Michel | ... | Lulu Clayton |
| Bobby Dolan Jr. | ... | Butch Clayton |
| Matt Moore | ... | Mr. Butler |
| Netta Packer | ... | Mrs. Butler |
| Ruth Roman | ... | Ruth 'Ruthie' |
| Carol Stevens | ... | Mrs. Adams |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
114 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
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Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Director Leo McCarey shot two different endings and let remarks by preview audiences determine which one to use.
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Soundtrack:
Jingle Bells
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (7 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Good Sam (1948)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| DVD version? | hunterjlc |
| Not a classic, but still an enjoyable film... | BooBooKitty516 |
Recommendations
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It took three years for Leo McCarey to get back to the screen after directing Bing Crosby in that double barreled triumph of Going My Way and The Bells of St.Mary's. Sad to say, Good Sam didn't quite live up to the standards of those two films. Leo took no Oscar nominations home for this one.
Gary Cooper is a fine upstanding citizen with wife Ann Sheridan and two small kids and a mooching live-in brother-in-law played by Dick Ross. He's an impulsive do gooder, an easy touch for a sob story and a handout. He drives poor Ann to distraction. A sermon by minister Ray Collins at the beginning of the film on the virtues of charity put Cooper's generosity into overdrive.
It's a nice film, maybe a bit too unbelievable. I can't believe that Ann Sheridan hadn't taken Coop in tow by this point of her marriage. Two noted baseball immortals, Babe Ruth and Dizzy Dean, had in common the fact that they both married strong willed women who took charge of the finances lest their hubbys give it all away.
Still I did like the message of the film which is delivered by Harry Hayden who has a small role as a banker. Coop's generosity not only with cash, but co-signing loans for various people has put him as a credit risk. When he needs the money he can't get a loan from the bank. But later on Hayden comes over to the house and tells Sheridan that he changed his mind and approved the loan for their new house. Character and decency should count for something. It was a very similar message to one that was delivered in a far better film, The Best Years of Our Lives when Fredric March as a veteran who returns to his job as a bank loan officer, approves a loan to a veteran on the strength of his character.
Character and decency should count, but Coop's pants pockets still needed a lock put on them.