*** 1\2 (out of ****)
Preston Sturges spins a wickedly humorous tale about politics, the American dream, and morality in his directorial feature-film debut, "The Great McGinty" (1940).
Preston Sturges was an "auteur" before American audiences used the term. His brilliant comedies had unique characteristics enabling the audience to recognize the same man was behind them. Few comedy filmmakers dominated the cinematic landscape the way Sturges did during the 1940s. He reigned supreme between 1940 - 1944, writing and directing "The Lady Eve" (1941), "Sullivan's Travels" (1941), "The Palm Beach Story" (1942), "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" (1944), and "Hail the Conquering Hero" (1944). The streak came to an unfortunate end after the release of "The Great Moment" (1944), Sturges' first critical and financial flop. Though he continued writing and directing he was never able to duplicate the success he found in those early years. The sole bright spot during this period would be "Unfaithfully Yours" (1948) which wasn't a success upon first release but developed a strong following over the years. It remains my favorite of Sturges' comedies.
As a teenager, wishing and hoping to one day become a comedy filmmaker, I turned to Preston Sturges for guidance. My admiration for comedy encompassed an extensive range from the physical / slapstick antics of Chaplin and Keaton to the insults of Jack E. Leonard and Don Rickles and to the verbal wit of Groucho Marx and Woody Allen. Writing my first screenplays my instinct was to throw in everything I found funny, blending different comedy styles, sacrificing tone and character development in the process. I could never find the proper balance to incorporate physical and verbal humor but Sturges seemed to be a master at it. He quickly became one of my favorite filmmakers and a prime topic to be discussed during the "year of me" - my year long celebration of my favorite artists and filmmakers, inspired by my 40th birthday.
"The Great McGinty" may have been Sturges' directorial debut but he was not new to Hollywood and movie-making. He was a script writer for several years before making the jump to director. He had written "The Good Fairy" (1935), "Easy Living" (1937), and "Remember the Night" (1939) among others. Legend has it Sturges sold his script for "The Great McGinty" to Paramount for either $1 or $10 (depending upon who tells the story) just so he could direct it. Due to his script writing experience, "The Great McGinty" contains the comedic traits we would come to expect from Sturges throughout his career. Watching the movie retrospectively it is astonishing how immediately he was able to develop his style as a writer and director.
Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) is a derelict that gets involved with machine politics. He agrees to help re-elect Wilfred T. Tillinghast (Arthur Hoyt) as Mayor. The machine is offering soup to "forgotten men" to lure them into voting. To add even more incentive, each man that votes will earn two dollars. McGinty sees an opportunity to exploit the arrangement. Instead of simply casting one vote for two dollars, McGinty offers to vote multiple times in different voting precincts. In total he votes 37 times, earning him $74.
McGinty's tenacity impresses the political boss, credited as Boss (Akim Tamiroff). Despite McGinty's hot-headed ways the Boss decides to offer him a job as a muscle - collecting debts from those who the Boss provides "protection" for. If McGinty can keep it up he may become an integral part of the political operation.
Obviously Sturges and "The Great McGinty" at this point are scathing the political system and figures like "Boss" Tweed and Tammany Hall. Sturges writes the great line, "If it wasn't for graft, you'd get a very low type of people in politics." What I found particularly interesting was Sturges using the formula from gangster movies like "Scarface" (1932) and "Little Caesar" (1931) to tell his story. McGinty is comparable to a small time hood, looking for a way to get ahead in the world. He meets someone who introduces him to a crime boss, who brings him into their racketeering outfit. Then one day the small time hood decides maybe he should be the new boss and take over the territory. Sturges however didn't bother with gangsters but instead focused on the real criminals, politicians!
Staying true to the formula McGinty does indeed grow within the machine, being promoted to Alderman, Mayor and eventually Governor of the unnamed state, though we can assume it is New York. "The Great McGinty" is telling us a rag-to-riches story, exemplary of the American dream. With a little hard work you can achieve anything. And McGinty is content to maintain the status quo. He is doing better than he could have ever imagined. It is when he is elected Governor that he grows a conscience and morality sets in. Does he dare stand up to the Boss and break free from the machine? McGinty decides he no longer wants to be a yes man but actually create positive change for people. He starts talking about child labor laws and tenements. Can politics and a pure conscience mix?
As it happens in so many other movies, it is a woman that inspires a man to change. In "The Great McGinty" that woman is his wife, Catherine (Muriel Angelus, in her final film role). Initially a marriage of convenience - she consents to marry McGinty before his run for mayor, so he can get the women's vote. They won't vote for an unmarried man! The two end up falling in love as she begins to express how McGinty is not living up to his potential. He is a good man that can accomplish great things. She is the one to first speak about child labor laws and tenements. McGinty doesn't want to let her down and is now faced with a moral question. It is not only a question of what type of politician does he want to become but what type of man does he want to be?
"The Great McGinty", like nearly all of Sturges' films, benefits from a terrific cast. Today, Donlevy may be known for his roles in various noir films but he actually started off as a "B" movie actor and got he first real taste of success after appearing in "Beau Geste" (1939) for which his performance earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. But the real pleasure in watching a Preston Sturges comedy is the eccentric cast of character actors in supporting roles. These actors would become the most significant actors in Sturges' "repertory company". Many of those familiar faces are seen in "The Great McGinty" - William Demarest, Arthur Hoyt, Thurston Hall, Jimmy Conlin and Frank Moran. And though he wasn't one of Sturges' stock actors, Tamiroff is an absolute delight to watch as well. You may not recognize these names but you will know their faces. In this sense Sturges was like Federico Fellini in his affinity to cast those with unusual faces.
For a movie made during the enforcement of the Hays Code - a series of moral guidelines that motion pictures had to adhere to - "The Great McGinty" addresses topics which were a bit ahead of their time. Like all great filmmakers however Sturges found ways to dance around this censorship. One didn't often find characters in marriages of convenience. Characters like Catherine - single mother with two children - were not typical for the time period. A successful single mother was not something the Hays Code wanted to promote since that was viewed as an indecent lifestyle. The movie also implies our government leaders are dishonest and politics is a crooked business - pay attention to a speech about cement. But notice how Sturges was able to slyly acquiesce to the censorship board without really compromising on his vision. Yes, McGinty and Catherine couldn't continue their arrangement of a loveless marriage and had to allow Cupid to strike. McGinty couldn't remain a tough, crooked politician and needed to show a soft side. He's the male variation of the trope "the hooker with a heart of gold", a crook with a heart of gold. For example he accepts Catherine's children as his own.
But look at all "The Great McGinty" got away with. Just beneath the laughs this is a cynical story that warns us that the only time a man truly gets in trouble is not when he breaks the law but when he tries to be honest. Sturges even manages to avoid the mandatory admonishment of "crime doesn't pay". Yes, some sacrifices were needed to be made by some characters but the long arm of the law doesn't prevail.
Granted it was not all smooth sailing for "The Great McGinty". By the third act the movie was beginning to lose my vote. Sturges didn't seem to know how to resolve his story and rushes to a conclusion that is disappointing and unsatisfying. It could have worked if there was more of a build-up to it. It could have followed in the tradition of pre-code melodramas like "The Sin of Madelon Claudet" (1931). But a particular character's noble gesture didn't feel as noble or sacrificial as what Helen Hayes did in "Claudet".
Despite whatever my objections may be to the movie's screenplay, "The Great McGinty" was the only screenplay Sturges ever won an Academy Award for. Throughout his career Sturges was nominated three times for best original screenplay with two of those nominations in the same year. And yet movie critics (AKA sheep) never acknowledged "The Great McGinty" as one of Sturges best - that praise was reserved for "The Lady Eve" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" - but they did admire it.
With so much to enjoy watching "The Great McGinty" to focus on the movie's faults is a fruitless exercise. For me "The Great McGinty" ranks as one of Sturges' best comedies, alongside "Unfaithfully Yours" and "Hail the Conquering Hero". In a world where Donald Trump was indicted on RICO charges, "The Great McGinty" also proves its relevance and serves as a reminder that politics (not crime) doesn't pay.
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