Going My Way
GOING MY WAYÂ (U)
D:Â Leo McCarey
Paramount (Leo McCarey)
USA 🇺🇸 1944
130 mins
Comedy/Musical
W:Â Frank Butler & Frank
Cavett
DP:Â Lionel Lindon
Ed: LeRoy Stone
Mus:Â Johnny Burke & James Van
Heusen
Bing Crosby (Father Chuck
O'Malley), Barry Fitzgerald (Father Fitzgibbon), Rise Stevens (Genevieve Linden), Frank McHugh (Father Timothy O'Dowd), Gene Lockhart (Ted Haines, Sr.), William Frawley (Max
Dolan), James Brown (Ted Haines, Jr.)
Quite old-fashioned now, but this wonderfully
light-hearted and sentimental comedy-drama gives a good showcase for some great acting talent, with young priest Chuck O'Malley joining a parish with new ideas to appeal with the churchgoers,
which are met with resistance by the cantankerous, more traditional-minded Father Fitzgibbon.
Bing Crosby & Barry Fitzgerald make a great double act
and there's some memorable songs, most particularly "Swinging On A Star".
Perhaps giving it an Oscar for Best Picture of 1944 was
very generous (especially over Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity or Otto Preminger's Laura), but it's still thoroughly enjoyable and perfect viewing for a rainy day.
8/10
