Black & White World

The Great McGinty (1940)

The story goes like this:  Preston Sturges wanted to try his hand at directing, but he was already pretty successful at Paramount as a screenwriter.  The studios being what they were in those days, his bosses didn’t want to lose his talents as a writer just to see him go off and fail as a director, so they were reluctant to give him any jobs behind the camera.  So Sturges sold Paramount his script for The Great McGinty for $1, with the caveat that they let him direct it.  Paramount agreed, and an auteur was born.  At least, that’s how I’ve heard the story.

What I love about The Great McGinty, what I find to be just genius about it, is how it’s exactly the American Dream—backwards.  A man marries a woman and adopts her two kids—then, a year later, he falls in love with her and becomes a father to the kids.  The same man works his way up to be governor of the state—then becomes interested in politics and taking a stand for The Little Guy.  Even before the movie really gets started, it gets turned on its ear.  We start out in a dive bar somewhere in, as the titles tell us, “a banana republic,” with a suicidal, drunk young man, who starts to tell his sob story about how he was once a stand-up guy with a wife and a home and a good job, and how he screwed it all up and had to escape to this little haven.  And just when you think the story’s going to turn out to be all about him and how he got here—blip!  The cameras turn and the bartender starts telling the drunk how he got here instead.

The performances here are all first rate, particularly Brian Donleavy as Dan McGinty and Akim Tamiroff as “the Boss.” The Sturges Stock Company is already beginning to form in this, his directorial debut—William Demarest, Esther Howard, Frank Moran, Jimmy Conlin.  One casting aspect that seemed to allude Sturges quite often was the leading lady.  I think he got very lucky with Claudette Colbert, Betty Hutton and Barbara Stanwyck, maybe you can make a case for Veronica Lake as well, but for the most part, he cast his leading ladies on the basis of gams alone—occasionally leading to trouble, such as Ella Raines in Hail the Conquering Hero.  A pretty face, but no acting chops whatsoever.  Muriel Angelus is serviceable here, but my mouth waters when I consider what someone like Jean Arthur or Colbert could have done with the role.

Newly available on DVD (thanks, Mike!), so you have no excuse for not renting it—drop it in your queue today!

1. Since I got the same set this year, I finally put this one on yesterday. I agree that the character actors were the strongest (loved The Boss and William Demarest), and since I watched Sullivan’s Travels the day before, it was kind of fun to watch all the bit part actors swap out roles (Frank Moran, Esther Howard).

   So which one are we watching next out of the box?

   Posted by LilyG  on  01/07  at  02:36 AM

2. I’m leaning towards Christmas in July next; it’s been a fair while since I’ve seen it.  But I have a rather a pile-up of movies this weekend, it will probably be next week before I get to it.

   Posted by  on  01/07  at  01:34 PM

3. You’re supposed to go in order!

   Posted by Mike  on  01/07  at  02:35 PM

4. Christmas in July *is* in order!

   Posted by  on  01/07  at  02:37 PM

5. It’s a shame that the Sturges box doesn’t contain THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK, my personal favorite film (which, of course, features a cameo by McGinty and the Boss).  At least MIRACLE is available on a stand-alone disc.  After MIRACLE, HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO would run second; then MCGINTY.

   By the way, nice place you’ve got here.

   Posted by garv  on  01/08  at  08:56 PM

6. Hi, Garv - welcome to Stennieville.  I had the same complaint as you about the Sturges box—why they would include The Great Moment over Morgan’s Creek, or even Unfaithfully Yours, is beyond me.  Sounds like it is a rights issue—Paramount still has the rights to Morgan’s Creek.  At least the stand-alone DVD for MoMC is cheap!

   Posted by  on  01/09  at  03:11 PM
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