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#434 - Going My Way
Leo McCarey, 1944
A young and easy-going Irish Catholic priest is transferred to a new parish and comes into conflict with the strict old priest who already resides there.
It could be very easy to just hate Going My Way and its unapologetically sentimental tale that would help to lay the groundwork for decades of Oscar-bait to come, but as far as those particular types of film go, this one isn't exactly bad. A lot of that is due to the charming presence of Bing Crosby as the charismatic Father O'Malley, whose arrival into the local parish is almost too easy to predict. There's his being set up as a free-spirited alternative to the crusty old Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald), whose grouchy traditionalism makes him the closest thing this story has to an antagonist; even then, he still comes across as a somewhat likeable curmudgeon more so than a genuine villain. Due to the presence of such a talented singer as Crosby, the attempts to try to reform local delinquents and care for a runaway woman naturally come about in the form of musical numbers, which don't grate for the most part.
What could easily have descending into irritating fluff has just enough quality to it so as to be merely tolerable instead. The film does seem to know just how schmaltzy it can be and its self-awareness is a point in its favour, but self-awareness only goes so far when the film is padded with some generally average numbers. Crosby and Fitzgerald make for good actors who anchor the film reasonably well, though their abilities only go so far in otherwise passable company. There's enough charm so that you can't really hate it, but it isn't exactly spectacular either.
Leo McCarey, 1944
A young and easy-going Irish Catholic priest is transferred to a new parish and comes into conflict with the strict old priest who already resides there.
It could be very easy to just hate Going My Way and its unapologetically sentimental tale that would help to lay the groundwork for decades of Oscar-bait to come, but as far as those particular types of film go, this one isn't exactly bad. A lot of that is due to the charming presence of Bing Crosby as the charismatic Father O'Malley, whose arrival into the local parish is almost too easy to predict. There's his being set up as a free-spirited alternative to the crusty old Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald), whose grouchy traditionalism makes him the closest thing this story has to an antagonist; even then, he still comes across as a somewhat likeable curmudgeon more so than a genuine villain. Due to the presence of such a talented singer as Crosby, the attempts to try to reform local delinquents and care for a runaway woman naturally come about in the form of musical numbers, which don't grate for the most part.
What could easily have descending into irritating fluff has just enough quality to it so as to be merely tolerable instead. The film does seem to know just how schmaltzy it can be and its self-awareness is a point in its favour, but self-awareness only goes so far when the film is padded with some generally average numbers. Crosby and Fitzgerald make for good actors who anchor the film reasonably well, though their abilities only go so far in otherwise passable company. There's enough charm so that you can't really hate it, but it isn't exactly spectacular either.