Down Went McGinty

source: Down Went McGinty

This is one of the great movies. It's up there with Citizen Kane and Casablanca. Indeed, in some respects it's even better. The story portrays the corruption inherent in the American political system and does this in a nonabrasive and a political manner. That is, Sturges presents the story and lets the audience draw their own conclusions. Judging from this movie, Sturges shows how the political process is a sham and causes one to reasonably conclude that the only way to get something done is through extra-legal means. Although made in 1941 the movie's story is as relevant today as it was 67 years ago. Brian Donlevy gives an outstanding performance as a down-and-out nobody who rises from the soup kitchen to the governor's office and when he attempts to actually try to reform the system learns some hard lessons about politics and life.

Preston Sturges was a unique figure in Hollywood history, a writer- director of witty, cleverly plotted comedies that combined wacky fun with occasional sharp satiric potshots at social institutions and human foibles. If Hollywood had a Moliere, Sturges was that. The Great McGinty (1942) shows Sturges' writing at his satiric best in a clever piece about a corrupt politician whose successful career begins to unravel spectacularly when he tries to go straight! It's the sort of piece that, if made now by ham-fisted committee-style Hollywood, would stink in its obviousness, but Sturges makes it work thanks to fast pacing, zippy dialogue and a rogues gallery of memorable and even likable political hacks led by Akim Tamiroff and William Demarest.

Brian Donlevy plays Dan McGinty, a depression era bum who has an aptitude for "persuasion", so is chosen by a corrupt party boss for the city's political machine to ensure voter fraud in the local election. He is then promoted within the organization, and is eventually selected to be the "reform" minded mayor, but has to get married to do so, and his new wife Catherine discovers that she wants Dan to institute real reforms, much to the consternation of "the boss"(played by Akim Tamiroff). Dan finds that his career is now in serious jeopardy... Good premise, but aspirations of Frank Capra fall short; film just isn't that funny or insightful, though there was potential.

Preston Sturges couldn't get any studio interested in doing his "Story of a Man," nor could he even get it published when it was retitled "Biography of a Bum," so he offered it to Paramount for $10 on condition he could direct it. It was an offer the studio bosses couldn't refuse and it paved the way for other writers, such as John Huston, to take control of their own work by directing its film production. The script, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, has some extremely funny moments, with almost all of them involving Akim Tamiroff, who steals the movie as "The Boss," the man who pulls the political strings in the entire state. He is the perfect counterpoint to the rather bland Brian Donlevy, who is in the title role, as a bum who votes thirty seven times in an election for mayor to get the two dollars per vote. This makes a deep impression on Tamiroff, who likes his chutzpa, and eventually runs him for alderman, then mayor, and finally governor. The pace of the film is slow at its start, but picks up when Donlevy starts his story (in flashback) until he's elected mayor, and then slows down again. The condition that he marry to win any election begins his downfall, because he marries his secretary, Muriel Angelus, who wants him to do great things and eliminate the graft in politics. Although it's a marriage of convenience, he falls in love and wants to please her. And you see what she means when Tamiroff is all smiles as he says, greeting the new governor: "What a wonderful opportunity. This state needs everything. ... We'll need - you'll kiss me for this - a new dam. ... You think a dam is something you put a lot of water in. A dam is something you put a lot of concrete in. And it doesn't matter how much you put in there's always room for a lot more. ..." The level of writing is first rate, but I wish there were no flashbacks in the screenplay construction, since you know how it ends from the start. I've always felt the flashback construction in nine out of ten films is detrimental to their enjoyment. The supporting cast includes William Demarest, who has the classic line "If you didn't have graft, you'd have a lower class of people in politics!" Muriel Angelus was and is a relatively unknown actress who quit making movies after 1940. Sturges had severe budget constraints and couldn't use high salaried actors, which would have benfited the film.

In his golden five years 1940-44, Preston Sturges was the writer & director for eight movies for Paramount, ALL GOOD and MOST of them BRILLIANT. I first came to know these movies when five of them were shown on the BBC at Christmas in the early 1990's, including my personal favourites 'The Lady Eve' and 'The Palm Beach Story'. Since then I have had to wait for the invention of the DVD, and then last year's Preston Sturges DVD box set, when at last I could check out the other three. Of those three, 'The Great McGinty' was the first movie to be "Written & Directed by Preston Sturges", and has to go into the GOOD rather than the BRILLIANT category. But for his first such project to be so good has got to be seen as a brilliant achievement for Sturges. I know how long he had to wait, and how hard he had to bargain to get that opportunity. He knew he had to succeed, not in his own terms but in those of his bosses at Paramount. In other words he had to bring in an economical movie that was conventional enough to be popular with audiences and critics alike. The lead, Brian Donleavy plays McGinty as quite a straight character who has comic moments in set pieces with other players. The best comedy of the movie probably comes from Bill Demarest as "the Politician" and especially Akim Tamiroff as "the Boss", who drives the movie and its plot along, as he pushes McGinty and his career forward. The second movie in the Preston Sturges golden period would be 'Christmas in July', again not one of his brilliant best, but beginning to include more of the lunacy and eccentric characters of a true Preston Sturges movie. By the time of his third project 'The Lady Eve', Sturges would be at the top of his form and the top of his art, and 'The Great McGinty' has to be seen not only as a good movie in itself, but as the first step in that direction.

Preston Sturges wanted to direct THE GREAT McGINTY so badly that he made a deal with Paramount for selling his story to them "on the cheap" if they would let him direct. They did and the result is a fairly involving story of corruption and politics starring BRIAN DONLEVY in the colorful title role with MURIEL ANGELUS as the woman who becomes his supportive wife. But it's AKIM TAMIROFF who almost steals the film as "The Boss," a corrupt party loyalist who finances McGinty's rise to governor but turns his back on him the moment the man decides to become honest. The result is an ending that may not satisfy everyone, but getting there is part of the fun. Not nearly as witty or funny as other Sturges satires, it nevertheless holds the attention with some innovative surprises. ALLYN JOSLYN is completely wasted as Donlevy's rival for the affection of Angelus, but everyone else in the cast seems to be having a high time. Summing up: Personally, I prefer Sturges in a zanier, more comic mood.

This is yet another Sturges classic. My favorite is the scene with Madame La Jolla, another turn from Sturges regular Esther Howard, a classic comedienne. (She's also my great-aunt, but hey, I'm not biased!) A delightful evening rental.

Brian Donlevy is "The Great McGinty" in this 1940 film written and directed by Preston Sturges. The film also stars two men who would become part of the Sturges group of actors, Akim Tamiroff and William Demarest. Muriel Angelus plays McGinty's wife. Sturges always had interesting beginnings - or ends - to his films. This one begins: One man was always evil and had a moment of honesty; another man was always good and had a moment of evil. They both had to leave the country (paraphrasing). In a foreign country, a bartender tells his story to a suicidal man, an embezzler whom he has just saved, and a woman who works at the establishment. His story is a wild one - he was once governor of a state. As the story unfolds, McGinty - that's the man's name - was a hobo when he was paid $2 to vote to get a man into office. He voted 37 times and attracted the attention of a crooked political boss (Tamiroff) who gets him elected as alderman, mayor, and finally puts him up for governor. Along the way, he marries his secretary (Angelus) in order to have the appearance of a stable, good man. It's a marriage of convenience - she has two children and a dachshund. But he falls in love with all of them, and with her encouragement, decides to turn his back on the graft and the stealing and start thinking of the people. That's when he gets into trouble. "The Great McGinty" isn't a crazy comedy like "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" or "The Palm Beach Story." The humor comes out of the fact that this bum rises to the office of mayor and locks horns with the big boss. The best scenes are between Tamiroff and Donlevy, who work beautifully together, particularly when they're trying to kill one another. Though one of the last scenes is a sad one, Sturges gives us our smiles back with the last moments of the film. Brian Donlevy, who is usually in a supporting role, does a terrific job as McGinty - tough and belligerent, but with a kind side even he didn't know he had. Donlevy repeated his role of McGinty in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" in a cameo. Muriel Angelus, a British leading lady who retired to raise a family in 1946, is lovely as Mrs. McGinty, who never wanted to get married again and then falls in love with her husband. Tamiroff makes a powerful "Boss" who has a volatile relationship with his puppet, who sometimes gets out of his strings. An excellent movie that pokes fun at political machinery and behind the scenes plotting. It also shows us what can happen when a little love comes into our lives.

A blah Preston Sturges "comedy" about a bum (Brian Donlevy) who climbs up the political ladder in corrupt Chicago as a stoolie for a crime boss (Akim Tamiroff), but who discovers a conscience and a genuine desire to do good work along the way. Compared to some of Sturges' other sparkling films, like "Sullivan's Travels" and "The Palm Beach Story," "The Great McGinty" is a resounding dud. Donlevy doesn't have the screen presence to carry a film, and there's nary a laugh to be had. The only thing that felt fresh about the film was its unpredictable resolution. Sturges had a knack for ending movies on a high note; unfortunately, in this case the rest of the movie doesn't live up to the ending. Grade: C+