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Our Columnists Reflect on Oscar's Best Films |
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 Bing Crosby, left, joins fellow priest Frank McHugh for a song. |
How does this sentimental
religious story play today?
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"All the monkeys aren't in the zoo; every day you meet quite a few..." |
By JOYCE KIEFER
of TheColumnists.com
As the battle of Iwo Jima was being fought in the South Pacific, “Going My Way” charmed seven Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including Best Picture of 1944.
The opposition for top prize was fairly heavy entertainment: the dark “Gaslight” and “Double Indemnity;” the reminder of home front reality, “Since You Went Away;” and the edifying bio-pic “Wilson.” What this country needed was a sweet story where the audience knew from the beginning that trouble would be trumped by simple, warm-hearted morality.
Pit a young priest against a curmudgeonly old pastor, make everyone Irish-Catholic, and cast a singing Bing Crosby in the lead and you score a Hollywood hole-in-one.
The year it was released, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther's review of “Going My Way” called it “rich, warm, and human to the core.”
My atheist aunt said, “It’s about a priest but it’s good.”
But 63 years later, does the pas de deux between today’s viewer and this sentimental film about Catholic clergy work in the movie’s favor? Does “Going My Way” deserve its place in the canon of great movies?
The story revolves around the young Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby), who is assigned to an inner city parish headed by the elderly, Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald). The bishop has given Father O’Malley a secret mission–take over management of St. Dominic’s because it has become insolvent under the long reign of its pastor.
The first thing Father O’Malley does in the movie is hook up with a group of street boys about 10-15 years old. The clergy scandals of the past few years stopped me right there. Some well-loved priests had abused the young boys they worked with–kids who looked up to them. And the bishops responded to complaints by transferring these priests to unsuspecting parishes. How can this movie avoid the stain of unintentional irony?
The charming innocence of the young toughs hooked me into the willing suspension of disbelief that the best-told stories coax from those who hear them.
Mind you, Father O’Malley’s boys were not the drug-using, four letter word-spouting gang you expect on the mean streets of a large city. These kids showed how tough they were by wearing body-hugging striped T-shirts, sporting bad hair cuts, and saying “ain’t.” Their big heist was boosting a couple of turkeys from a poultry truck and giving one to the priests.
To get them off the streets, Father O’Malley dares the lads to form a choir. Their first song is “Three Blind Mice.” Just when Father Fitzgibbon decides his new assistant has gone daft, the boys break out in beautiful harmony. Later on they save the parish by singing “Swinging on a Star” (Oscar for best song) to a music publisher who pays handsomely for the piece. He drops the money in the collection basket, making the pastor think his eloquent preaching has finally worked.
A half-century later this story line still appealed to Hollywood and the public. In “Sister Act II” Vegas lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopie Goldberg), turns into Sister Mary Clarence and saves a school from closing by organizing a Gospel choir that wins a competition. The curmudgeonly Sister Superior is Maggie Smith.
When I was growing up in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s in St. Matthew’s parish, most of its priests and nuns had Irish roots. They gave the impression that the Irish were the quintessential Catholics and we all agreed. Every St. Patrick’s Day the parish youth club put on a high school musical that worked in all the Irish songs we kids had ever heard on the radio–“Danny Boy, “Molly Malone”, “McNamara’s Band.” Like Father Fitzgibbon, our pastor, Father Lyne, was stern and preached with Gaelic eloquence in a thick brogue. He gave long penances in Confession, so we kids tried to avoid him.
“Going My Way” could survive as a shot of nostalgia. But Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald step beyond a dated sentimentality to charm the viewer with a timeless blend of old ways versus new, youth versus age, smarts versus wisdom. Bing croons a tune at just the right moment; Barry looks over his spectacles to speak in his lilting brogue.
Writer/director Leo McCarey based the Father Fitzgibbon character on the real Father Nicholas Conneally who showed up at his door, asking for a donation. He was pastor of a church in Santa Monica. Leo McCarey won Oscars for best writing of an original story, as well as for directing. Barry Fitzgerald was nominated for two Oscars for the same role: best actor and best supporting actor. (They've changed the rules since then, so that can't happen again.) He won the latter, beating Clifton Webb in “Laura,” among others. Bing won the Best Actor Oscar, outpointing Fitzgerald.
Bing Crosby became the idol of the nuns at our St. Matthew’s when they were allowed to see “Going My Way.” Art and life were a blend. Later Bing grew feet of clay. When his autobiography came out 10 years later, one of the nuns dismissed it because of its title, “Call Me Lucky.” Bing should have known better. God was the one who provided his good fortune, not chance. Later his son Gary wrote “Going My Own Way” and portrayed Bing as an abusive dad.
Worst of all, Bing turned out to be only one quarter Irish. His father was English and his mother was Finnish as well as Irish.
As Oscar time comes up I ask myself: Does all that I’ve learned about the actors and the Catholic church plus my own maturity in a cynical world invalidate the film? Or do its characters still call forth a willing suspension of disbelief?
I’ll respond with my favorite scene.
Father Fitzgibbon has just found out that Father O’Malley was sent to replace him. He wanders about in the rain and is returned to the rectory by the neighborhood cop. He goes to bed and Father O’Malley sits down by his bedside. He suggests they share a “wee drop.” Father Fitzgibbon has his own stash, renewed annually by his mother in Ireland. The bottle rests in a music box that plays a lullaby. “Do ya know. 'Toora Loora Loora'?” he asks the young priest. O’Malley replies by crooning “Toora-loora-loora, Toora-loora-li,. . . just an Irish lullaby.” The old priest falls asleep like a baby.
Or does he?
As Father O’Malley shuts off the light, the priest surprises him by saying “Goodnight.” Despite all, the old man loved his young assistant anyway.
©2007 by Joyce Kiefer. The colorized photo is courtesy of Paramount. This column first posted Feb. 19, 2007.
THE OTHER 1944 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES: "Double Indemnity," "Gaslight," "Since You Went Away," "Wilson."
TRIVIA ITEMS: "Going My Way" was such a huge hit that a sequel went into production immediately and also became a huge hit: "The Bells of St. Mary's," bringing back Crosby as Father O'Malley at a new parish, this time confronting a very independent nun played by Ingrid Bergman. Bergman had won the Best Actress Oscar for "Gaslight" in 1944, so the 1945 film paired both 1944 winners in the same film..."Going My Way" also provided a great showcase for opera star Rise Stevens, who played a friend of Father O'Malley who helps raise funds for his church with a concert performance...Stanley Clements, who played the leading "street boy" who joins O'Malley's choir, was a veteran of the "Dead End Kids"/"East Side Kids" movies and never really got out of that groove. In his 40s, he briefly became the star of the "Bowery Boys" movies when star Leo Gorcey retired...Another member of the street boys choir was Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer from the "Our Gang" comedies...In the 1962-63 TV season, ABC brought "Going My Way" to television with dancer Gene Kelly as Father O'Malley and Leo G. Carroll ("Topper") as Father Fitzgibbon. It was not renewed for a second season...Crosby's recording of "Swinging On A Star" became one of the biggest hits of his career...Director Leo McCarey's first choice to play Father O'Malley was Spencer Tracy because of his 1938 Oscar-winning performance as Father Flanagan in "Boys Town." McCarey was then at RKO, but the studio lost interest when a deal couldn't be made for Tracy or McCarey's second choice, James Cagney. When McCarey settled on Crosby, the project went to Crosby's studio, Paramount, but Paramount had to loan Crosby to RKO for a later picture in order to close the bargain.
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