Going My Way

Rating

Director

Leo McCarey

Screenplay

Frank Butler, Frank Cavett, Leo McCarey

Length

130 min.

Starring

Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Gene Lokchart, James Brown, Porter Hall, Fortunio Bonanova, EIly Malyon, Rise Stevens

MPAA Rating

Approved (PCA #9613)

Review

Once upon a time, Catholic priests were held as the most trustworthy and caring people in the world. While those thoughts have been shattered by scandal, Going My Way hearkens back to a time when such men existed and turned the lives of the troubled around.

Father Chuck O’Malley (Bing Crosby) has come to St. Dominicon a mission. He is to replace the aging Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald)as the parish priest. However, being the kind and considerate man Chuck is, hecan’t bring himself to tell the curmudgeonly Fitzgibbon and takes on a role as his inferior hoping he can help Fitzgibbon become a more modern influence on his church and congregation instead of having to replace him.

Characteristic of the glossy musical pictures of the World War II era, Going My Way is filled with positive role-models and happy endings. Crosby’s caring young priest is well played although a bit too genial for reality. He definitely cares a great deal about everyone from the poorest parishioner to the wealthiest. O’Malley tries to work miracles, breaking the hearts of the frozen and recapturing the hearts of the disenfranchised. He succeeds in everything he does except the task he began most earnestly to resolve.

Any setback, however, is brief. After Fitzgibbon becomes aware of the young priest’s duty, he becomes distraught and pulls away from everyone, including the housemaid with whom he shared so many amazing and special moments. Fitzgerald gives the film’s best performance without question. He detests change and believes that the way he’s run things for years is sufficient for anyone despite the massive social changes going on around him.

O’Malley and Fitzgibbon have a father-and-son-like relationship. While O’Malley, as the films protagonist has a great deal to teach Fitzgibbon and everyone else who walks through the doors of the church, Fitzgibbon has a few life lessons of his own. Fitzgibbon comes to understand the power of youthfulness while O’Malley begins to appreciate the value of traditionalism.

Putting filmmaking into perspective is a difficult task. Going My Way hasn’t aged as well as movies like It’s a Wonderful Life. It doesn’t have the harsh realistic elements that make it feel a part of whatever era in which it is watched. It feels dated and almost laughably unbelievable but looking at the period it defines, one can easily comprehend why it is so hopelessly banal.

By 1944, the United States had been engaged for nearly three years and the end was not yet in sight. Movies like Going My Way served a purpose during this period. They acted as a distraction from the realities of war that permeated society. While the film, even by 1940s standards, was absurdly lighthearted, the themes were nevertheless universal.

Life is filled with discouraging moments and things can become rough and confused. However, by picking up your hat, dusting it off and pressing on, trying to make the best out of what you’ve been given, anyone can overcome the direst of situations. Going My Way isn’t filled with brilliant performances, engaging dialogue or plausible events. It is, however, what it is and there is no question that it is what it was meant to be.

Review Written

October 21, 2006