lasttimeisaw
It is galling that this vintage Oscar BEST PICTURE winner (7 wins, including BEST DIRECTOR, BEST LEADING and SUPPORTING ACTORs) might be best remembered for the sole happenstance in the Oscar history when Barry Fitzgerald was nominated in both LEADING ACTOR and SUPPORTING ACTOR categories for the same performance (which he won the latter), although the Academy speedily changed the rules to stave off any future embarrassment, nevertheless, it belies the perpetually ongoing category placement controversy which has been widespread until today.Directed by the prominent comedy maestro Leo McCarey, and green-lit as a Bing Crosby showcase, GOING MY WAY tells the story of a young and forthcoming priest Father Charles O'Malley (Crosby), aka. Chuck, who is commissioned by the bishop to take over the parish in NYC from an elder pastor Father Fitzgibbon (Fitzgerald), who has presided over the church since day one, for almost 45 years, only now, the church has been in the mire of financial difficulties, and Father Charles is sent to straighten out the problem and make the transition as smooth as possible.So, a major plot device is that Father Fitzgibbon has no inkling of the function transference in the first place, Chuck is introduced simply as his assistant, so when the lid is blown off, a dramatic collision is what viewers would expect. However, against the hype, in McCarey's staunch execution, the revelation comes quite early in the storyline, and is rendered with utter aplomb and mutual understanding, as two mature clergymen, there is no need of making a scene, albeit their different approaches (the blasé traditional vs. unorthodox tug-of-war, only milder), they are fighting for the same honorable cause, it may sound like church propaganda on paper, yet in the film, the cordial atmosphere and contagious compassion is superbly tangible.There are no villain or whatsoever in the story, the parishioners, from a juvenile street gang lead by Tony (Clements) to a young maiden Carol (Heather), who has run away from home and resolves to find her footing in one way or another, music is wielded as the ultimate gospel, Chuck forms a boy choir and hones up their skills, eventually it will pay back lucratively to save the church from its dire situation. The romance between Carol and Ted Haines Jr. (Brown), the son of the church's mortgage-holder, Ted Haines Sr. (Lockhart), has also keenly and timely goaded through Chuck's music, the titular tune GOING MY WAY, into marriage instead of living in a sinful status. And a completely platonic friendship between Chuck and his old-time girlfriend Jenny (the mezzo- soprano Risë Stevens), never risks betraying any carnal attachment and Jenny's one-sided munificence can be only justified by her hail-fellow-well-met good nature.For my money, Fitzgerald and Crosby are the two co-leads here, and the former doesn't has recourse to singing bent to win over audience, on the contrary, Fitzgerald's performance is decidedly more evocative of sympathy, laughter and esteem than Crosby's pristine, but comparatively stale apotheosis of a stand-up guy who is aggravatingly flawless and is tailor-made to elicit nonjudgmental bonhomie, but the truth is, Crosby is such a nonpareil crooner, that's where lies the abiding charm of the picture if its gently preachy modus operandi tends to be rather impertinent and spoon-feeding by today's yardstick.In sum, GONIG MY WAY is a beatific but regressively antiseptic tribute of Catholic church's noble vocation and suggests a more liberal viewpoint in its progress, as though it were the cure-all for all our mundane problems, indeed, the biggest accomplishment of the movie is that it makes us wish only if it were true!
gavin6942
Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy, but his level gaze and twinkling eyes make it clear that he knows he made the right choice. After joining a parish, O'Malley's worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of kids looking for direction and handle the business details of the church-building fund, winning over his aging, conventional superior, Father Fitzgibbon.So, this is a role Bing Crosby had a few times... and it seems odd, a man who liked to golf with gangsters playing a Catholic priest. But maybe that makes sense, especially for the kind of priest he plays. He sees the value in helping the downtrodden and "lesser" members of society. That is a true hero.This also happens to be a very musical film, again not surprising given Bing's history. But in it we also mix street kids singing, an opera and even a classic Irish song.
Lee Eisenberg
If you've read my reviews of musicals then you'll know that I usually watch them so that I can heckle them like on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". "Going My Way" was no exception. Most of my jeers are unrepeatable here. Among the repeatable jeers were: (while the opening credits were rolling and I saw that one of the cast members was named James Brown): "Wow! I feel good..." (when the golf ball lands in the hole): "Hey, there's a gopher down there! Someone send Carl Spackler after the varmints!"Part of the thing is that I have a low opinion of Bing Crosby. I understand that Crosby was very strict with his family to the point of cruelty. I don't think that you're going to find many people born after World War II who consider him one of the greatest entertainers ever. I like to think that Crosby did double-flips in his grave when his son starred in "Friday the 13th".Long story short, I have nothing positive to say about "Going My Way". It looks especially inane now that we know about the numerous instances in which priests molested children. The cool focuses on the Catholic clergy in popular culture are "The Flying Nun" and "Sister Act". Hell, Sally Field and Whoopi Goldberg could've bitch-slapped Bing Crosby without even trying.Just avoid the movie and stick with something fun. I recommend "Army of Darkness" and "Machete".
celinda-616-414987
Didn't read very much about Rise Stevens' role in the above reviews. It's because she's in it that my husband (who loves opera) is willing to watch _Going My Way_ with me tonight. She sings "Habanera", from the opera _Carmen_ while Bing's character stands in the wings, wanting to say hello to his old girlfriend (they had gotten out of touch, then he became a priest) .-- What got us thinking about _Carmen_--and Rise Stevnes-- was listening to the Met broadcast of it today (Sat. Feb. 23). Rise Stevens did the role at the Met in 1952, and her "Habanera" was played during the intermission for radio listeners (PBS). I really loved her in _Going My Way_ (she sings a lot of other things, too). Rise Stevens will celebrate her 100th birthday this year, we were told on PBS! --My mother didn't take us to see Bing Crosby movies back in the day--too sentimental for her (she was a New Yorker mag. reader). She took us to a lot of other movies, though, which were very good. Anyway, it's a treat to see some of the ones I missed as a child.
