The great mcginty 1940 preston sturges brian donlevy. The great mcginty 1940 letterboxd your life in film. Dan mcginty brian donlevy is a tramp who impresses a local crime boss akim tamiroff by voting 37 times in a rigged mayoral election. I like it because he isnt playing the heavy like he does in many of the film noir movies he was in. Preston sturges the classic film aka the biography of a bumb that debuted the talents of screwball comedy director and screenwriter preston sturges with an oscarwinning original script. The film also features robert benchley, susan hayward and cecil kellaway. The great mcginty 1940, tv promo trailer brian donlevy muriel angelus preston sturges by retro rabbit ears. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from the boss, who finally decides hed be ideal as a new, nominally reform mayor. In accordance with the directives of government and health authorities, we have temporarily suspended operations. Remember the night is a 1940 american romantic comedydrama christmas film directed by mitchell leisen, and starring barbara stanwyck and fred macmurray. Told in flashback, dan mcginty s brian donlevy tale is a cynical american success story narrated by a badguymadegood. This film is considered to be one of his best performances by the critics.
As a result, the completion of sturges pet project would prove to be an unhappy affair for the director. The great mcginty won him the 1940 oscar for best original screenplay, the raffish tale of a bum brian donlevy who ingratiates himself with the political machine of a heartland city by successfully voting 37 times in one election, then rises to become reform candidate for governor. Before reaching the midpoint of the film, mcginty has already grown powerful enough to be favoured by the boss for the mayors own job. It was the second animated feature film produced by disney, made after the. The butler 20 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Movie title from the film the great mcginty 1940, directed by preston sturges, starring brian donlevy, muriel angelus, akim tamiroff. Sturges escaped with one completed film, the sin of harold diddlebock. Mcginty is dan mcginty, from the earlier film by preston sturges, the great mcginty 1940. The film also stars two men who would become part of the sturges group of actors, akim tamiroff and william demarest. Demille and starring barbara stanwyck and joel mccrea. It has nothing to do with sports cards, but my dad thought it was a very witty reference. The film was reedited after completion and is made up of 2 flashbacks.
Tamiroff and donlevy would reprise their roles from this film in the amazing miracle of morgans creek, which leaves me wondering the. If youre a crook, stay a crook, because honesty will get ya every time. The film was written by lewis meltzer and an uncredited preston sturges based on a story by jo swerling. Brian donlevy is the great mcginty in this 1940 film written and directed by preston sturges. The film was shot in the late 70s but couldnt be given a proper release due to complications in securing the rights to the 22 songs on the soundtrack. Most leaders dont even know the game they are in simon sinek at live2lead 2016 duration. Dan mcginty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but he endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty. Remember the night is a 1940 american christmas romantic comedy trial film directed by mitchell leisen, and starring barbara stanwyck and fred macmurray. Sturges always had interesting beginnings or ends to his films. So what makes them some of the funniest films ever made. The greatest movies of our time was a twohour television special that aired on march 22, 2011, on abc in the united states. For writing, he lost to preston sturges for the great mcginty, and for acting to james stewart.
The great mcginty 1940 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Wonderful supporting performances by warren oates and lee grant. Writer the great dictator considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of hollywood, charlie chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. That film, for which sturges essentially waived his writers fee in order to direct, won. Akim tamiroff also appears as the boss, reprising his role from the earlier film. The son of famed director preston sturges searches for the dad he. Some characters are so popular with viewers they are brought back in new movies. The bartender is also an american, dan mcginty, who tells his patron that he was once governor of a state in the u. Eighty years ago, the still quite young art of motion pictures hit a pinnacle that, to this day, most film buffs consider unequaled. The great mcginty 1940 full movie download full hd youtube. Haycox based his novel upon the experiences of a civil engineer, charles h.
Sturges would only get better as the years developed. You wont make a mistake, believe us, if you stuff the ballotbox for the great mcginty. Old movie posters film posters vintage movies old movies classic tv classic movies warren oates norman jewison best actor oscar. She is a distant relative of brian donlevy, so i figured one of his dvds would be a nice gift.
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. The trademark sturges dialogue is in rare form here, each character armed with a quiver full of tart jabs and putdowns. Tcm 1940 best original screenplay 1of4 the great mcginty intro duration. The film was made in 1942 but sat on the shelf due to misgivings about its box office appeal.
Lux video theatre presented a television adaptation of the film on may 5, 1955, starring dennis okeefe and jan sterling. When this lowbudget effort became a boxoffice success, sturges suddenly found himself with the clout to make projects that were even more unusual. The bartenders flashback, brian donlevy recalling his first encounter with the political machine, inducted by the archetypal politician william demarest, early in writerdirector preston sturges the great mcginty, 1940. The 8 essential films of preston sturges indiewire. 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. Campillo coauthored laurent cantets incredible time out, a different kind of zombie film about the deadening effects of too much work on the human psyche, and they came back is almost as. Preston sturges made christmas in july in june 1940, after hed shot his directorial debut, the great mcginty, but before that film was released in august. Film directors articles on the internet several online articles can be found here. A witty, satirical, and cynical look at corrupt american politics and society, told with a stock cast of comical. Its rather amazing how far the film is able to coast on its uniquely fascinating premise, even if it isnt much of a stretch for its director.
The result was the great mcginty 1940, which came to be widely regarded as one of the most original comedies of the 1940s. The film was released on 31 october 1941, a full 10 months after the completion of principal photography. The full swing of the pendulum would always be as close as sturges came to completion. Sturges got the idea for this film from a chicago area judge who shared stories with him about city elections. In christmas in july 1940, about a working man who mistakenly believes. Piloting an original story and screenplay of his own concoction, sturges displays. Based on the novel trouble shooter by western fiction author ernest haycox, the film is about the building of the titular railroad of the same name across the american west. By this time, he had already written a handful of very successful films in. In a seedy banana republic barroom a bartender recounts the chain of events that led to his endoftheroad downfall in preston sturges consistently shrewd combination of comedy and social drama, the great mcginty 1940. The great mcginty 1940 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Jul 02, 2015 the great mcginty doesnt quite live up to its name but thats understandable for a firsttime director. Recording sessions begin for frederick hollanders score for the great mcginty 1940 riz ortolani born 1926 ron jones records his score for the star trek.
Sturges emerges article by stu kobak for films on disc. Preston sturges great director profile senses of cinema. Union pacific film wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Roughly 197 were killed in action and approximately 150 missing or taken prisoner before the 194 remaining men were rescued. The great mcginty 1992 stream and watch online moviefone. Seventyfive years ago, on august 14, 1940 back when studios still owned theatres the great mcginty. Please support tcmdb by adding to this information. Brian donlevy portrayed a hoboturnedrising politician who ultimately casts corruption aside. It tells the story of h t morton, the discoverer of the use of ether as an anaesthetic for surgery. I married a witch is a 1942 american fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by rene clair, and starring veronica lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with fredric march as her foil. Film tersebut menampilkan veronica lake, fredric march, robert benchley, susan hayward dan cecil kellaway referensi. The great mcginty was preston sturgess opportunity to hinder studio interference by directing one of his own screenplays. The great mcginty premiered in new york city on august 15, 1940, and was generally released on august 23.
In a seedy banana republic barroom a bartender recounts the chain of events that led to his endof the road downfall in preston sturges consistently shrewd combination of comedy and social drama, the great mcginty 1940. 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. In the heat of the night steiger and poitier are both stunning as collaborators in solving a nasty crime in the deep south. New york town is a 1941 american romantic comedy film directed by charles vidor and starring fred macmurray, mary martin, akim tamiroff, and robert preston. Sir charles spencer charlie chaplin, kbe 16 april 1889 25 december 1977 was an english comedian actor and film director. For a comprehensive guide to our site, please see the site index. On one level, if one forgets the supernatural elements, alias nick beal is as good an abject lesson in the back room deals of american politics as the comedies the senator was indiscreet or preston sturges the great mcginty. Brian was great in roles which allowed him to play a more comedic role. The great mcginty, his first directorial effort, is certainly one of sturgess most satirical films. Hosted by tom bergeron and cynthia mcfadden, it was a collaboration between abc news and people magazine that gave american film fans the chance to choose their favourite movies of all time. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his. Pinocchio is a 1940 american animated musical fantasy film produced by walt disney productions and based on the italian childrens novel the adventures of pinocchio by carlo collodi.
He made eight movies for paramount between 194044 seven of them are. The moral of preston sturges first directorial effort the great mcginty seems to be. The film is a glowing example of sturgess penchant for. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Lux radio theatre presented a radio adaptation of the film on march 25, 1940, with mcmurray and stanwyck reprising their roles. The great mcginty initiates preston sturges into the directing ranks, after a long stretch as a film scenarist. June 1, 1945 also known as sam blum or samuel blum, was an american character actor whose career spanned both the silent and talking film eras. Great mcginty, the movie clip dont forget the mayor. Told in flashback, depressionera bum dan mcginty is recruited by the citys political machine to help with vote fraud. Hail preston sturges article by devra maza for the writers guild of america website. The movies success let sturges achieve his ambition to direct his. Tcm 1940 best original screenplay 1of4 the great mcginty. Great britain continues the films act in effect, freezes 50 per cent of american.
The film was written by preston sturges, and it was the last of his scripts shot by another director, as sturges began his own directorial career the same year with the great mcginty. The original ending of the film featured a parade of the germanamerican bund, but this was reshot. The great mcginty is nevertheless a tale of domesticity as much as of politics. New york town, based on the story, night time by jo swerling, was originally to have been directed by mitchell leisen, but when he was assigned to do i wanted wings, charles vidor was borrowed from columbia. The great mcginty was the great preston sturgess first showing as a director, and a happy occasion it was. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our and websites. Akim tamiroff, allyn joslyn, brian donlevy, louis jean heydt, muriel angelus, william demarest official content from universal. He was famous also for his great sense of humor and slapstick comedy skills. The great mcginty burlesqued that very idea, declaring the entire political. Other titles for this project were biography of a bum and down went mcginty. It was filmed and released in the united states one year before the u. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid classical hollywood era of american cinema. The film portrays the rise and fall of daniel mcginty brian donlevy, a bum who, by the film s end, will flee the country after being elected a state governor through dishonest means. The film was written by preston sturgeshis last as a writer before he became a writerdirector with the great mcginty.
Told in flashback, dan mcgintys brian donlevy tale is a cynical american success story narrated by a badguymadegood. The studio took him up on it and the film was a hit and won an academy award for the screenplay, probably making it the. Full text of film daily year book 1940 internet archive. Christmas in july is the tale of jimmy dick powell, a smartbutdesperate. The lost battalion is the name given to the nine companies of the 77th division, roughly 554 men, isolated by german forces during world war i after an american attack in the argonne forest in october 1918. One was the title character, played by brian donlevy. Subscribe to read articles from august 1940 part 4 site. If the great mcginty had established a trademark character in the sturges. The next generation episode the royale 1989 tan dun wins his first score oscar, for crouching tiger, hidden dragon 2001. This run of incredible fortune began with the screenplay for the great mcginty, which sturges sold to paramount for one dollar on the condition that hed be allowed to direct. We begin at a bar in a banana republic where a forlorn and suicidal american banker is stopped from ending things by the bartender.
Unfaithfully yours did not fare so well at the box office, either. It is only 82 minutes long, yet more happens here than in most disney family movies. Dga quarterly magazine summer 20 dvd classics preston. In 1940, writerdirector preston sturges introduced two memorable creations in his political satire the great mcginty. I like sturges at his most bitingly satirical, sullivans travel is a masterpiece. The great mcginty 1940 the great mcginty 1940 user. The great mcginty introduces the sturges style largely intact, starting with a shrewd story line rooted in a provocative theme. Chaplins first talking picture, the great dictator 1940, was an act of defiance against nazism. After completing his book, tom sturges noted that the lifelong search.