Going My Way (1944)
Grade: 67
"Going My Way" was the sensation of the 1945 Academy Awards, winning oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Bing Crosby), Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald), Best Director (Leo McCarey), and Best Screenplay.
With all those Oscars, the movie had to be either very good or demonstrate excellent family values. It must have been the latter, for while "Going My Way" is pleasant enough, it doesn't have the depth or drama to be a great film.
The plot has easy-going Catholic priest Crosby taking over aging Fitzgerald's parish. Only Fitzgerald isn't supposed to know that he is no longer in charge. Crosby must win over the Irish curmudgeon, solve the parish's financial woes, reform the neighborhood delinquent kids, help a single mother saddled with kids keep her apartment, and help an attractive young singer (wide-eyed Jean Heather, whom you may recognize from "Double Indemnity") find her place in the world (which is to be married, of course, as 1940s Hollywood would have it no other way). Crosby performs all these miracles with the same grace as his seamless baritone, never breaking a sweat or raising his voice.
Crosby's relationship with Fitzgerald is the centerpiece of "Going My Way". Fitzgerald must be gradually put to pasture. Crosby tries to teach him golf, and talks him into visiting his elderly mother. Fitzgerald is relegated to one of Crosby's projects, like the delinquents or Heather. The two have genuine warmth, and the film relies heavily on their charm.
Crosby has little trouble turning a street gang of hooligan kids into a church choir. This is the biggest problem I had with "Going My Way": it is as if he waved a wand and cast a spell on the formerly troubled kids. Their presence as a choir gives an excuse for Crosby to sing a few numbers. It must be remember that Crosby was the biggest selling pop singer ever prior to Sinatra and Presley. Opera singer Rise Stevens drops by to smile widely and help with the high notes.
http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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