NFR Project: 'Going My Way' (1944)

 

NFR Project: “Going My Way”

Dir: Leo McCarey

Scr: Frank Butler, Frank Cavett

Pho: Lionel Lindon

Ed: LeRoy Stone

Premiere: Aug. 14, 1944

126 min.

Ah, Der Bingle. Most people don’t remember today, but Bing Crosby (1903-1977) was one of the most popular entertainers of the 20^th century. The suave and relaxed crooner started off as a musical and radio star, but he later expanded his work into films and television as well. Going My Way won him a Best Actor Oscar (it won six other Oscars to boot), and cemented his position in American culture as a genial, kind-hearted fellow who happened to sing beautifully.

He started performing in high school, continued in college, and set out as a performer in night clubs and vaudeville houses. His singing approach was fundamentally different from what was the standard at the time. Back then, the unamplified singers were expected to hit the back wall of the theater with loud, brash voices. Crosby worked differently.

Using the microphone to his advantage, and strongly influenced by the relatively new art form of jazz, he modulated his voice. He kept his tone conversational and concentrated on expressing the lyrics. His liquid tone and effortless phrasing were magnetic; women swooned over him and men thought of him as a pal. It turned out he could successfully sing just about anything – love songs, pop songs, blues, country, hymns, even novelty numbers – you name it. Before he was done he had recorded somewhere north of  1,600 tunes, and sold millions of records.

He appeared in many films throughout the 1930s, honing his acting skills and perfecting his easygoing, comfortable, nonchalant persona. By the time Leo McCarey concocted Going My Way, Crosby was firmly ensconced in the public imagination.

Here he plays Father “Chuck” O’Malley, a young priest sent to the New York City parish of St. Dominic’s to take over as pastor of the congregation from a 45-year veteran of the job, Father Fitzgibbons (Barry Fitzgerald, who had a lock on playing comic Irishmen in film). The two priests don’t see eye to eye at first, but as the parish has money troubles, they join forces to get St. Dominic’s out of the red. Father O’Malley starts a boy’s choir in the church basement, and soon they are so successful they go on tour, their proceeds enriching the church.

O’Malley is a bit of a tunesmith, and a peppy number he composes (“Swingin’ on a Star,” a song that Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke wrote, which became a smash hit) is sold to a music company, saving the church. In the meantime, Father Bing befriends Fitzgibbons, counsels some young people, mends fences with the community, garners big donations, and generally gets the church back into fighting shape. He's the original magic Christian. He croons a few tunes as well. The bishop declares that Fitzgibbons can remain as the head of St. Dominic’s, and O’Malley moves on to his next assignment.

There is plenty of gentle humor here and some nice moral uplift as well. (Look carefully and you will find Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer from the Our Gang comedies in a teen role.) In wartime America, this was just the kind of “feel-good” movie that people wanted to see. It would prove one of McCarey’s most successful films at the box office.

And who didn’t love Bing? As Artie Shaw said of him, "The thing you have to understand about Bing Crosby is that he was the first white hip person born in the United States."

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Hail the Conquering Hero.