Going My Way (1944) - film review

Father Fitzgibbon is the ageing pastor of St Dominic’s parish, a disadvantaged area of New York where stray boys roam the streets in gangs whilst financier Ted Haines threatens his tenants with eviction unless they pay their rent.  The church is in a bad state of repair and faces demolition unless the parishioners can pay off a loan supplied by the uncompromising Mr Haines.  Weary after 45 years of dutiful service, Father Fitzgibbon has difficulty galvanising his churchgoers and so his bishop sends him a young curate, Father O’Malley, to help him.  Right from the start, the older priest is unimpressed with his young assistant, an easygoing man who is just too modern in his ways.  The last straw is when Father O’Malley attempts to convert a gang of streetwise juveniles into a choir.  Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to start by getting them to sing Three Blind Mice...

In the present era of excessively hyped, effects-saturated blockbusters it seems incredible that little more than half a century ago audiences would flock in their millions to watch a sluggish sentimental comedy about two parish priests falling out over how to save their church from ruin.  Yet this is precisely what happened in 1944 when Going My Way slipped unobtrusively onto the big screen and became the highest grossing film of the year.  The film was also loved by the critics and it notched up an impressive tally of ten Academy Award nominations.  The film won Oscars in seven categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Bing Crosby), Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald), Best Screenplay and Best Song (Swinging on a Star).  Not bad going for a film which would today, in all probability, be ridiculed as a piece of religious propaganda. 

It is perhaps not too difficult to divine just why the film was so popular on its first release.  At a time of war, uncertainty and economic hardship, Going My Way offered an oasis of calm and a message of hope for the future, as well as great entertainment value.  What makes the film such an enduring classic is the unforgettable rapport between its two leads, Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald.  The former is the smooth, instantly likeable crooner who can do no wrong and looks as if he could, if he tried, walk on water.  Fitzgerald, by contrast, is the cantankerous oldster, a rough diamond that you just cannot help loving; he may struggle a little with his lines and occasionally appear to be lost on set but he is totally convincing, in a part that looks as if it were written with him in mind.  (For his portrayal of Father Fitzgibbon, Fitzgerald earned the distinction of being the only actor ever to have been nominated for two Oscars for the same film, as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.)  Much of the charm of this film comes from the way in which these two ill-matched characters adapt themselves to each other’s foibles and forge an enduring friendship, providing a lesson which the Church, and society in general, could well learn from, namely that cooperation is inevitably more constructive than confrontation.

Going My Way is at times shamelessly sentimental but director Leo McCarey and his screenwriters somehow manage to prevent it from slipping too far into over-egged mawkishness.  The characters are believable, their situations are all too real, and a contemporary audience would have had no difficulty identifying with the economic and social difficulties which the film portrays so deftly.  Although there is enough background material to make this a gritty social drama, it is actually an altogether different kind of film, an uplifting morality tale which reminds us that all of life’s many obstacles can be overcome in the end, by a little faith and understanding.

The film earned its star Bing Crosby considerable kudos and marked something of a career turning point.  Prior to this, Crosby was only considered suitable for slight roles in musical comedies; afterwards, producers and directors would almost be queuing up to offer him more serious dramatic parts.  Whilst this is where Crosby first earned recognition as an actor, his singing talents are not overlooked.  Going My Way offers several memorable numbers, including the title song, a moving rendition of Ave Maria and, best of all, the Oscar-winning Van Heusen-Burke show-stopper Swinging on a Star.  The latter number was written especially for this film and went on to become a tremendous hit that has been recorded by various artists. 

The enormous popularity of this film resulted in the making of an equally enjoyable sequel, The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945).  Here, to a nation’s delight, Bing Crosby reprises the role of Father O’Malley, and is teamed up with Ingrid Bergman, who, improbable as it may sound, gets to play a boxing nun.  Yes, a boxing nun.  They don’t make them like they used to...

© Steve Chandler 2010

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