THE GREAT McGINTY

(1940)

Starring Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff, Muriel Angelus; dir: Preston Sturges

Even second string Sturges like this is a cut above most comedies and well worth catching.  His enduring qualities of rudely muscular dialogue and sly undermining of pretense and cant, all energized by the robustly physical comedy of pratfall and collision, are present here in abundance. 

After years as a successful screenwriter (Easy Living, The Power and the Glory), Sturges pushed the envelope by dangling this script in front of Paramount at a price tag of just $10 - provided he could direct.  Its success made the rest history, as McGinty paved the way for his 1940s golden age of corrosive classics like Hail The Conquering Hero, Miracle At Morgans Creek, etc. 

McGinty itself however runs out of puff in the second half, and seems to end almost prematurely.  Just as strained coincidence propels McGinty into the Governors' Mansion he develops a conscience and next is behind bars - wha' happen?!?   This lack of plot development and the near absence of story arc diminishes the film's impact.  We are reliant on a written prologue to explain to us that the two main characters' fates are sealed by their respective momentary lapses into uncharacteristic honesty and dishonesty (such as they are).  It's not all that clear, and would be even more obscure without this tipoff.  Yet this script inexplicably won Best Screenplay Oscar!  (Was this a weak year?  1940?!?)

Two interesting observations from the time tunnel:  McGinty's use of the line "in case of a war" to support highway building projects says something about the pervasive state of military preparedness in 1940; and what a delightful curio is female lead Muriel Angelus, a British actor whose attractively complex performance here makes her retirement the same year both a loss and a mystery.