Click here for the review of Going My Way (1944)

Best Picture winner at the 1945 Oscar ceremony.

Didn't Barry Fitzgerald win Best Supporting Actor for this? And I know he was also nominated for Leading Actor...for this role as well.

Yes, he did. In fact the rules were changed after this year to make sure it didn't happen again.

JB, I think you were a little too rough on this movie. Yes, by today's standards it's incredibly corny. Yes, it should not have won Best Picture. But I found it to be pretty entertaining, liked Bing Crosby, and really liked Barry Fitzgerald, especially his final scene at the end. I would rank this third behind Double Indemnity (my pick for Best Picture for this year) and Gaslight (I haven't seen Since You Went Away and Wilson).

Was anyone else amused that the content-specific advertisements on this review linked to "Find Sex Offenders in Your Neighborhood!" Apparently that's what a review which mentions the Catholic Church a lot leads to

In other news, World War II's outcome was indeed decided in 1944: there's no way Germany could have won by that point. Though admittedly I doubt people stateside knew that yet, so I'm saying JB's point is wrong or anything

And in light of JB's dour review and Catholic-scandals undercurrent, I couldn't help but laugh at the trailer at the 1:03 mark. Ah different times...

James, have you seen the sequel The Bells of St. Mary's? I see its at #50 on boxoffice mojo's list of all time box office adjusted for inflation, with 498.8 mill! Don't see Going My Way in the top 100. Wonder why the sequel was so much more popular(haven't seen either, though the presence of Ingrid Bergman makes the latter sound more appealing)

Its always surprises me to see Bells on the list, since almost all the other older titles(say pre 1970) were either biblical epics, Cinemascope spectacles, Disney titles, or classics that are still fairly well known today.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm



Hail the Conquering Hero, Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Lifeboat, & The Uninvited are other top notch films from 1944 imo. None were nominated for Best Picture(though I see Preston Sturges got best screenplay noms for both Hail & Miracle. Wonder how often that's happened)

Wow, I don't recall ever reading a more bitter JB review!

This is one movie where I'm going to land completely on the other side of just about every comment in this review. My wife and I watch it at least once a year, as well as "Bells of St. Mary's"

Case in point:



I don't recall Going My Way being marketed as a drama. Did I miss something? It's a lighthearted comedy that evokes a much simpler time, in a way that is probably more simple than the actual time that it depicted. I'm OK with that, as I don't require every movie to be dark and dour, especially one that makes for good watching around the holidays.

Whether Barry Fitzgerald or Bing Crosby deserved the awards they did or didn't receive speaks more about how relevant or irrelevant the Academy Awards were and still are today. I really like movie, I've watched it probably a dozen times or more, and I didn't even remember that it won or was nominated for any Oscars. The Academy Awards are relevant for about as long as it takes to have the first conversation after they are over, and that's about it. But I digress...

The scandals involving some priests in the Catholic Church should have little impact on whether or not this movie is enjoyable, at least in my mind. Fr. O'Malley is an exaggerated "good guy" character, much in the same vein as the cowboy in the white hat in many westerns. He is a representation of what is good in people more than he is a real character. Fr. Fitzgibbon had spunk for an old guy, and his character adds some fun and fire to the proceedings without being dramatic.

I find Going My Way much more enjoyable to watch than other beloved Christmas classics, like It's a Wonderful Life, which is another movie that features an over-the-top nice-guy character that probably doesn't exist in the real world of its time and would certainly be chewed up and spit out in today's world.

To each his own, I guess...

Very cool Tumnus. Are you going to visit the pub where the Inklings frequented?
JumperooK

Big Screen, thank you for writing such an excellent rebuttal of Berardinelli's review of "Going My Way". You covered the points well, better than I could. I tried (see the link to my post below), but you did much better. I was happy to see your post.

JB called the Bing Crosby's character "insufferably noble". Bing Crosby didn't seem insufferable in the part. I found him very likable. Why should a character be criticized for being "noble"?

BTW, my post was prompted by the TCM channel's airing of "Going My Way" yesterday, 3/20/11. I usually try to check with JB after I watch a movie. Most of the time, I love JB's reviews.

See my related post here:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4197

(I couldn't find this thread. So I started the one linked above.)