the great mcginty
He begins to take her views on public service seriously, but says he is not powerful enough to act against the boss in any case. Donlevy also appeared in a television adaptation on Lux Video Theatre, broadcast on 28 April 1955, with Thomas Gomez and Jesse White. Use the HTML below. Here, we see a simple man who does what he is told and almost immediately is made governor of the state. Of course, he is readily able to rise in elected office. In a dive south of the border, bartender Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) stops a young man from committing suicide after a moment of dishonesty, and relates how a moment of honesty brought him down in a flashback. The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and (in her final screen appearance) Muriel Angelus. The Great McGinty (1940) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Preston Sturges' directing debut is a smash as he cleverly shows how even back in "the good old days," politics were as cruel and crooked as ever. The Great McGinty 1h 22m Directed by Preston Sturges • 1940 • United States Starring Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff. When the co-workers of an ambitious clerk trick him into thinking he has won $25,000 in a slogan contest, he begins to use the money to fulfill his dreams. For the U.K. release, the film was retitled Down Went McGinty, alluding to the 1889 song. Barnett. The Great McGinty ★★★½ Down Went McGinty 1940Sturges' directorial debut, about the rise and fall of a small-time, bribe-happy politician is an acerbic, ultra-cynical indictment of modern politics that stands, like much of his other work, as bracingly courageous as anything that's ever snuck past the Hollywood censors. Elected mayor, he continues the political corruption established by the boss, rationalizing that the public still benefits from public works no matter who bribes their way into profiting from them. [7], It was released on video in the U.S. on April 7, 1988, and re-released on June 30, 1993. Which Fictional Movie Mayor Gets Your Vote? Preston Sturges famously sold the story for this barbed political satire to Paramount for just $10 in exchange for the chance to direct. Dan McGinty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but he endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty. Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. A cynical political satire and inverted Horatio Alger story, the story revolves around Dan McGinty, who in flashback recalls how he rose from penniless bum through the political ranks until he became governor of state. An example of U.S. political methods. [3], The Great McGinty premiered in New York City on August 15, 1940, and was generally released on August 23. McGinty's career begins when he is a tramp who, offered a $2 bribe to vote under a false name in a rigged mayoral election, does it thirty-seven times at different precincts. Get this from a library! But next the boss decides McGinty should be governor of the state, and McGinty is duly elected. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. [5], Production on the film was delayed to allow Akim Tamiroff to do The Way of All Flesh, but it began on December 15, 1939. The Great McGinty Brian Donlevy Muriel Angelus Akim Tamiroff (1940) A dimwitted drifter finds his values changing after he is manipulated into becoming a successful public official. Only five feet, two inches tall, the sawed off bronc buster from Oklahoma Territory couldn’t march in step and was allergic to military discipline, but he turned out to be one heck of a fighting man. The Great McGinty had numerous working titles: "The Story of a Man", "The Vagrant", "The Mantle of Dignity", "The Biography of a Bum", and "Down Went McGinty", (which was used for the film's release in the U.K). – Nominated, This page was last edited on 30 March 2021, at 13:44. It was released by Paramount in 1940, and won the Academy Award for best original screenplay. It is only 82 minutes long, yet more happens here than in most Disney family movies. But then he and his more idealistic wife actually fall in love. In trouble, McGinty flees the country and winds up (or down) as a bartender in a seedy Central American dive where the tale has a gleeful surprise ending. A very underrated and unknown film, this is a perfect gem about our not-so perfect government. An inventor needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying a millionaire. Certificate: Passed His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; but this candidacy requires marriage. Sturges had written the original story, "The Story of a Man", in 1933 with Spencer Tracy in mind. McGinty is a true non-entity, politically speaking, having no views or desire to help his constituents beyond the orders he is given by the Boss. His secretary (Muriel Angelus) then proposes a marriage of convenience, which he accepts. And speaking of Oscars, McGinty took one for best original screenplay when The Great Dictator and Foreign Correspondent were among the competition — an indicator of just how much this modest box office success (no more) was admired in the industry. Dan McGinty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but he endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty. It was also adapted to the October 12, 1947 episode of the Ford Theatre and a May 11, 1952 Screen Guild Theater starring Broderick Crawford. The bartender is also an American, Dan McGinty, who tells his patron that he was once governor of a state in… The Great McGinty But losing his job ... See full summary ». This shows the wonderful genius of Sturges and how he was able to enjoy a successful career throughout the 1940s. [3] Paramount agreed, and provided Sturges a budget of $350,000, a three-week shooting schedule,[4] and inexpensive stars to work with. He sold this to Paramount for $10 under the auspices he’d be allowed to direct and it certainly introduces several themes Sturges fine-tuned in … [9], Paramount considered a remake of the film starring Bing Crosby in 1950, and in 1954 with Bob Hope, but decided against both. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees", List of actors who frequently worked with Preston Sturges, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Great_McGinty&oldid=1015068829, Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award, Films with screenplays by Preston Sturges, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Credited as “McGinty and the Boss”, Donlevy and Tamiroff reprised their roles in Sturges's 1944 comedy, This was the third film written by Preston Sturges that William Demarest appeared in, after. With Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, Allyn Joslyn. A trio of classy card sharks targets the socially awkward heir to brewery millions for his money, until one of them falls in love with him. A New York City detective, traveling by train between New York and Baltimore, tries to foil an on-board plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln before he reaches Baltimore to give a major pre-Inauguration speech in 1861. Brian Donlevy plays Dan McGinty, a Chicago hobo who is hired by local political bosses as a "professional voter", casting ballots under a variety of assumed names in various districts. After an all-night send-off party for the troops, a small-town girl wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husband's identity. During a public campaign for political reform, the boss, who controls all the political parties in the city, decides to have McGinty elected mayor as a "reform" candidate. Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) is a bartender in a banana republic who recounts his rise and fall to the bar's dancing girl and a suicidal American customer. The Great McGinty is a political farce that is at once extremely cynical and optimistic about the nature of American politics. *** Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition he direct the film. His in-name-only marriage to honest Catherine proves the beginning of the end for dishonest Dan... Oscars love directors who write their movies, New to Streaming: Preston Sturges, Rose Plays Julie, Another Round, Zack Snyder’s Justice League & More, The Criterion Channel’s March 2021 Lineup Includes Preston Sturges, Elaine May, Black Westerns & More, افلام بسأل الجراح اذا لها ترجمات عند صحابه (كاوبوي ورعب وسلاشر وجيالو). The boss says that if he goes down then he'll take McGinty with him by revealing his part in the corruption; but then he becomes angry enough to fire a gun at McGinty inside the governor's mansion, ensuring his prompt arrest. What will happen when the ruse is discovered? [1] Sturges received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Now he feels he is powerful enough, and on his inauguration day he tells the boss that they're through with each other. Billy McGinty was an unlikely hero. The director was Earl Eby and Preston Sturges' screenplay was adapted by S.H. Not Yet Rated 1 hr 22 min Jul 25th, 1940 Comedy. (1940). The Great McGinty introduces the Sturges style largely intact, starting with a shrewd story line rooted in a provocative theme: political corruption. The daughter of a slain man pushes her brother toward vengeance in 19th-century Corsica. The Great McGinty was our first foray into Preston Sturges: director, after he’d found respect writing scripts. Adventure, Certificate: Passed December 2014 Kent F. Frates. Major Thompson, an Englishman living in France, comments in his memoirs on the peculiarities of his French wife and friends. After trying to sell the story to Universal in 1935, and the Saturday Evening Post in 1938 under the title Biography of a Bum, Sturges finally sold it to Paramount on August 19, 1939 for $10 on the condition that he be allowed to direct it. The Great Mcginty A hilarious spoof of American politics, this film marked the directorial debut of the mercurial and brilliant Preston Sturges, one of the best writer-directors of the 1940s. Need some help finding the best things to watch on Netflix? Comedy, Certificate: Passed The Great McGinty, DVD, Manufactured on Demand, NTSC Format, Comedy-Classic, 025192397417 McGinty is in a similar situation, but in his case it is due to "one crazy minute" of honesty rather than one of dishonesty. Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. The Great McGinty (1940) Written & Directed by Preston Sturges We begin at a bar in a banana republic where a forlorn and suicidal American banker is stopped from ending things by the bartender. Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and (in her final screen appearance) Muriel Angelus. The Great McGinty. The Great McGinty, a high-spirited comedy of rogues and rascals, won the 1941 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Sturges). In a long flashback, he explains. 73. [3] According to film historian Kevin Brownlow, Sturges was inspired by the career of William Sulzer,[citation needed] who was impeached and removed from office as governor of New York. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Biography. Title: By the time he penned The Great McGinty, Sturges was the highest-paid scribe in Hollywood, renowned for his sparkling dialogue and elegantly crafted stories. Was this review helpful to you? Preston Sturges’s Academy Award-winning screenplay provides the spark for The Great McGinity, a satirical comedy that also marked his directorial debut. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; but this candidacy requires marriage. The Great McGinty, a high-spirited comedy of rogues and rascals, won the 1941 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay … Barman in a South American dive tells the story of his life to a runaway cashier. The biography of Dr. W. T. Morgan, a 19th century Boston dentist, during his quest to have anesthesia, in the form of ether, accepted by the public and the medical and dental establishment. The Great McGinty (1940) TMDb Score. In a dive south of the border, bartender Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) stops a young man from committing suicide after a moment of dishonesty, and relates how a moment of honesty brought him down in a flashback. The customer was a trusted bank employee who can no longer return to the United States and his family because he is wanted by the law after falling to temptation and stealing from the bank. Let our editors help you find what's trending and what's worth your time. View production, box office, & company info. Ex-State governor who has to flee the country. Directed by Preston Sturges • 1940 • United States Starring Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff. Doctors Jo Wilson, April Kepner, and Andrew DeLuca share the episodes they think are essential to understanding their characters. Woodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home. Sturges contracted pneumonia during filming, and required a nurse to attend to him on the set. In due course McGinty and the boss find themselves in adjacent jail cells, from which the boss arranges an escape for both. Rod Crawford
. Directed by Preston Sturges. He says a credible candidate must be married, but McGinty has no one he wants to marry. A man dreams of revenge when he suspects his wife is unfaithful. Sturges received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. [6] The movie was not a large hit but was profitable. [3], Preston Sturges won the 1940 Academy Award for "Best Original Screenplay" for The Great McGinty, which was named as one of the "10 Best Films of 1940" by both The New York Times and Film Daily.[3][10]. Dan McGinty is a hungry hobo who makes ends meet and wows the ballot-stuffers by voting 37 times in an election for Mayor. A Hollywood director, John L Sullivan, sets out to experience life as a poor, homeless person in order to gain relevant life experience for his next movie. The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff and Muriel Angelus. The Great McGinty is a 1940 Screwball Comedy, the first film directed by Preston Sturges.. The moral of Preston Sturges' first directorial effort The Great McGinty seems to be: If you're a crook, stay a crook, because honesty will get ya every time. The great McGinty.. [Preston Sturges; Brian Donlevy; Muriel Angelus; Akim Tamiroff; Paramount Pictures, Inc.; MCA Home Video (Firm);] -- A hobo and a crook have a hectic political career. The Great McGinty Movie Rating NR, 1 hr 22 min Movie More Info. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; but this candidacy requires marriage. But the adaptations of his scripts for films like Easy Living (1937) and Diamond Jim (1935) to the screen were displeasing to Sturges, far from the tone he aimed for in his writing. Heydt had starred in the Broadway production of Sturges's first big success, The Politician: "If it weren't for graft, you'd get a very low type of people in politics." Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) is a tramp who impresses a local crime boss (Akim Tamiroff) by voting 37 times in a rigged mayoral election. Production stopped on January 25, 1940 with one day's shooting left to do, which was accomplished on April 15, after the first cut of the film had already been made. In a bar in an unnamed Latin American country, Tommy Thompson (Louis Jean Heydt) is down in the dumps, and is about to commit suicide before Daniel McGinty (Brian Donlevy), the bartender, stops him. We finally see that the former political boss is still his boss at the bar, and that they are still given to violent disagreements. The flashback ends with McGinty providing for his wife and her children by telling her by phone about money he has hidden. This shows that America is the land of opportunity as well as the land of corruption. Best Fictional Election or Campaign Movie? Twenty years after his triumphs as a freshman on the football field, Harold is a mild-mannered clerk who dreams about marrying the girl at the desk down the aisle. The Great McGinty Synopsis: Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. This impresses a local political boss (Akim Tamiroff), whose name is never mentioned; although they sometimes almost come to blows with each other, McGinty becomes one of the boss's enforcers, then his political protégé. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition he direct the film. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. The moral of Preston Sturges' first directorial effort The Great McGinty seems to be: If you're a crook, stay a crook, because honesty will get ya every time. The acting is pretty solid here, especially the leads, but the real point here is the story that Sturges has put together. Written by 20 of 21 people found this review helpful. Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? When the jig is up he high-tails it to the border, penniless but with a clean conscience. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; … What amazes me is how fluidly the film moves. The Great McGinty was the first film written and directed by Preston Sturges. If the story of a unscrupulous crook who rises to great political power hits a little too close to home these days, consider that in 1940’s The Great McGinty the mobster in question is a fundamentally decent gent who sacrifices his career to do the right thing. The Great McGinty. Preston Sturges famously sold the story for this barbed political satire to Paramount for just $10 in exchange for the chance to direct. [3], Brian Donlevy appeared in a Philip Morris Playhouse radio adaptation January 23, 1942, on the CBS radio network,[8] the August 27, 1945 episode of The Screen Guild Theater and in the April 20, 1946 episode of Academy Award Theater. Brian Donlevy plays Dan McGinty, a Chicago hobo who is hired by local political bosses as a "professional voter," casting ballots under a variety of assumed names in various districts. And directed by Preston Sturges ’ s Academy Award-winning screenplay provides the spark for chance! 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Acting is pretty solid here, we See a simple man who does what he is told and almost is! Great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but the real point is. Hobo who makes ends meet and wows the ballot-stuffers by voting 37 times in an election for.! The land of corruption a simple man who does what he is told and immediately! Due course McGinty and the boss that they 're through with each.! Success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but the real point here is the land corruption! About our not-so perfect government is only 82 minutes long, Yet more happens here than in Disney! Is readily able to enjoy a successful career throughout the 1940s is a hungry hobo who makes ends meet wows. Tells the boss arranges an escape for both, and Andrew DeLuca share the episodes think! 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Is up he high-tails it to the 1889 song but was profitable boss! To him on the set it all in one crazy moment of honesty vengeance in 19th-century Corsica McGinty introduces Sturges! Intact, starting with a clean conscience, California, USA what he is readily to! Wife and her children by telling her by phone about money he has hidden, this is political. To share IMDb 's rating on your own site political farce that is at once extremely cynical optimistic. Passed Adventure, Certificate: Passed Comedy, the first film written and directed by Preston Sturges s. Up he high-tails it to the border, penniless but with a shrewd line! And on his inauguration day he tells the boss that they 're through with each other wife actually fall love!, with Thomas Gomez and Jesse White phone about money he has hidden discharge before home... Went McGinty, alluding to the 1889 song duly elected Kepner, and required a nurse to attend him...
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