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IMDbPro

Going My Way

  • 19441944
  • PassedPassed
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, and Risë Stevens in Going My Way (1944)
When young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.
Play trailer2:20
1 Video
97 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Music
When young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.When young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.When young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
12K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Leo McCarey
  • Writers
    • Frank Butler(screenplay)
    • Frank Cavett(screenplay)
    • Leo McCarey(story)
  • Stars
    • Bing Crosby
    • Barry Fitzgerald
    • Frank McHugh
Top credits
  • Director
    • Leo McCarey
  • Writers
    • Frank Butler(screenplay)
    • Frank Cavett(screenplay)
    • Leo McCarey(story)
  • Stars
    • Bing Crosby
    • Barry Fitzgerald
    • Frank McHugh
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 86User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 7 Oscars
      • 19 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Blu-ray Trailer
    Trailer 2:20
    Blu-ray Trailer

    Photos97

    James Brown in Going My Way (1944)
    Bing Crosby, Fortunio Bonanova, Frank McHugh, Risë Stevens, and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in Going My Way (1944)
    Bing Crosby and Jean Heather in Going My Way (1944)
    Going My Way (1944)
    Going My Way (1944)
    Adeline De Walt Reynolds in Going My Way (1944)
    Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way (1944)
    James Brown, Jean Heather, and Gene Lockhart in Going My Way (1944)
    Bing Crosby and Frank McHugh in Going My Way (1944)
    Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way (1944)
    Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way (1944)
    Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, and Frank McHugh in Going My Way (1944)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bing Crosby
    Bing Crosby
    • Father Chuck O'Malley
    Barry Fitzgerald
    Barry Fitzgerald
    • Father Fitzgibbon
    Frank McHugh
    Frank McHugh
    • Father Timothy O'Dowd
    James Brown
    James Brown
    • Ted Haines Jr.
    Gene Lockhart
    Gene Lockhart
    • Ted Haines Sr.
    Jean Heather
    Jean Heather
    • Carol James
    Porter Hall
    Porter Hall
    • Mr. Belknap
    Fortunio Bonanova
    Fortunio Bonanova
    • Tomaso Bozanni
    Eily Malyon
    Eily Malyon
    • Mrs. Carmody
    The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir
    • Choir
    • (as Robert Mitchell Boychoir)
    Risë Stevens
    Risë Stevens
    • Genevieve Linden
    Arnet Amos
    • Singer
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Clements
    Stanley Clements
    • Tony Scaponi
    • (uncredited)
    Adeline De Walt Reynolds
    Adeline De Walt Reynolds
    • Mrs. Molly Fitzgibbon
    • (uncredited)
    Tom Dillon
    Tom Dillon
    • Police Officer Pat McCarthy
    • (uncredited)
    Bobby Dolan Jr.
    • Joseph
    • (uncredited)
    Jimmie Dundee
    Jimmie Dundee
    • Fireman
    • (uncredited)
    Virginia Farmer
    Virginia Farmer
    • Parishioner
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Leo McCarey
    • Writers
      • Frank Butler(screenplay)
      • Frank Cavett(screenplay)
      • Leo McCarey(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Barry Fitzgerald was nominated by the Academy for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards for the same performance, for the same film, the only time this has happened. (Al Pacino received a Best Supporting Actor nomination and a Best Actor nomination for his role as Michael Corleone, but his nominations were for the first and second Godfather films, respectively.). Fitzgerald won the Oscar in the supporting category but lost in the lead category to co-star Bing Crosby. (This is no longer possible under Academy guidelines.) Due to wartime metal shortages, Fitzgerald received a plaster Oscar (instead of a gold-plated britannium one) for his performance. A few weeks after he won, he broke the head off his plaster Oscar while practicing his golf swing.
    • Goofs
      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 Fitzgibbons: A golf course is nothing but a poolroom moved outdoors..

    • Alternate versions
      Since Paramount could not get the European copyright clearance for Bizet's "Carmen," an additional sequence was shot from Smetana's "The Bartered Bride" which replaced Carmen for foreign prints.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood and the Stars: The One and Only Bing (1963)
    • Soundtracks
      Going My Way
      (1944)

      Music by Jimmy Van Heusen

      Lyrics by Johnny Burke

      Sung by Risë Stevens with The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir

    User reviews86

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Bing Goes His Own "Way"
    In `Going My Way,' director Leo McCarey taps into one of the basic tenets of human nature, that being the fact that even the most selfless individual has wants and needs that often go unrecognized or unexpressed. It's a matter of understanding the human condition, being sensitive to what drives our fellow man and responding to it. A young woman of eighteen leaves home because of a conflict with her parents, yet has nowhere to go; a man with a touch of `Scrooge' in him, who runs a Savings & Loan has trouble setting his priorities; a gang of street-wise kids need some direction; an elderly priest after forty-five years has allowed his parish to slip into financial straits. All circumstances that are affecting in their innate humanity, and it's into this that McCarey taps directly with his story, and it's the reason for the success of his film. Simply put, it has heart-- and it makes it timeless.

    Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) has been at St. Dominic's in New York since it was built, but the financially strapped parish is in arrears on the mortgage payment, and Mr. Ted Haines Sr. (Gene Lockhart), of the S&L that holds the note, would like nothing better than to be able to foreclose on the church, because then he could raze the building and turn it into a parking lot. Meanwhile, the Bishop has sent a young priest, Father Chuck O'Malley (Bing Crosby) to St. Dominic's to look into the situation, and very quickly the good Father finds that he has his hands more than full.

    Sent to take charge without `taking charge,' in deference to Father Fitzgibbon's tenure, Father O'Malley has his work cut out just trying to save the church; but that's not all he has to contend with. Found alone on the street by a local policeman, a girl named Carol James (Jean Heather) is brought to St. Dominic's, and Father O'Malley realizes that without some help, she's headed for nothing but trouble. He also encounters a lad named Tony Scaponi (Stanley Clements), the leader of the gang that has been terrorizing the neighborhood, and turning that situation around becomes a priority on Father O'Malley's `to-do' list. Then there is Mr. Haines Sr. to deal with. But most especially in need of all (though he doesn't realize it himself) is Father Fitzgibbon, and this, too, Father O'Malley recognizes. Now it's just a matter of addressing all of these needs at once; and as Father O'Malley finds out, it's no easy task.

    There's something of the Angel, Dudley (played by Cary Grant in `The Bishop's Wife'), in Father O'Malley, as he is not only sensitive to the needs of those he encounters, but knows how to resolve their conflicts in a way that suits the best interests of all concerned. His solutions may be those of a perfect, pie-in-the-sky world and not necessarily a reflection of reality, but it works because it captures the spirit of what this movie is all about: caring and lending a helping hand to those who need it. The solutions may be unrealistic and overly simplified, but the feelings and emotions of the characters are very real, and McCarey's ability to capture that essence of humanity is what earned this film the Oscar for Best Movie of 1944 (McCarey received Oscars, as well, for Best Director and Original Story).

    As Father O'Malley, Bing Crosby gives one of his best performances, which earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. But as good as he is in this part, the award is something of a surprise; the Father O'Malley Crosby presents has the patience of a Saint and insight to match, and his mild mannered approach to the character makes his portrayal the kind that are usually overlooked and under-appreciated because of the apparent facility of the delivery. And Crosby does make it look easy-- which also makes it very real, striking a chord as perfect as the solutions to the problems he solves along the way. It's interesting to note that when Crosby recreated the role a year later in `The Bells of St. Mary's,' though he slipped back into the character readily enough, it didn't seem to have that same depth or impact as in this one, but more of a `been there, done that' feel. Then again, this story and the characters with which he is surrounded here are much richer and have much more definition than those of the sequel, and this film is much more emotionally involving.

    Barry Fitzgerald received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Father Fitzgibbon, and well deserved it was. Father O'Malley may be the anchor of this film, but Father Fitzgibbon is it's soul. And the final scene-- unexpected and extremely moving-- leaves no doubt about it. That scene, in fact, so powerful in it's simplicity, veritably sums up the sentiment of the entire movie. It's a triumph for Fitzgerald, as well as McCarey, but the one who really comes out the winner is the viewer.

    The supporting cast includes Frank McHugh (Father Timothy), William Frawley (Max), James Brown (Ted Haines, Jr.), Rise Stevens (Genevieve Linden), Eily Malyon (Mrs. Carmody), Carl `Alfalfa' Switzer (Herman) and Adeline De Walt Reynolds (Mrs. Molly Fitzgibbon). A heart-felt and uplifting discourse on the brighter side of the human condition, `Going My Way' reflects the good there is to be found in humanity if we but take the time to seek it out. An entertaining, feel-good film, this is what the magic of the movies is all about. I rate this one 9/10.
    helpful•38
    5
    • jhclues
    • Dec 28, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 2, 1944 (Brazil)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Con Đường Tôi Chọn
    • Filming locations
      • Saint Monica's Catholic Church - 715 California Avenue, Santa Monica, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,221
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 6 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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