Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

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

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Viña Delmar (screen play), Josephine Lawrence (based on a novel by)

Stars:

Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Beulah Bondi	...	Lucy Cooper
Victor Moore	...	Barkley 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

Storyline

At a family reunion, the Cooper clan find that their parents' home is being foreclosed. "Temporarily," Ma moves in with son George's family, Pa with daughter Cora. But the parents are like sand in the gears of their middle-aged children's well regulated households. Can the old folks take matters into their own hands?

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Plot Keywords:

family relationships | old age | senior citizen | ingratitude | family reunion | 

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Taglines:

A Human Story of Domestic Affairs!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1937 (France)

Also Known As:

Years Are So Long

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 85 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leo McCarey spent almost a year making the film. He worked for a greatly reduced salary, refused to cast any stars and ignored Paramount chief Adolph Zukor's pleas for a happy ending.

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Goofs

The position of Mr. Rubens' arm changes when telling Bark that kids are ashamed of parents.

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Quotes

Rhoda Cooper: Why don't you face facts, Grandma?
Lucy Cooper: Oh, Rhoda!
[Pats her hand]
Lucy Cooper: When you're seventeen and the world's beautiful, facing facts is just as slick fun as dancing or going to partis, but when you're seventy... well, you don't care about dancing, you don't think about parties anymore, and about the only fun you have left is pretending that there ain't any facts to face, so would you mind if I just went on pretending?

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Connections

Referenced in Rebel Rabbit (1949)

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Soundtracks

Let Me Call You Sweetheart
(1910) (uncredited)
Written by Leo Friedman, Harold Rossiter and Beth Slater Whitson
Played by hotel band in ballroom and later sung by Victor Moore in cab

User Reviews

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 ****