Going My Way story
Going My Way is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest taking over a parish from an established old veteran. Crosby sings five songs with other songs performed onscreen by Metropolitan Opera's star mezzo- soprano Risë Stevens and the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir. Going My Way was the highest-grossing picture of 1944, and was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning seven, including Best Picture. Its success helped to make movie exhibitors choose Crosby as the biggest box-office draw of the year, a record he would hold for the remainder of the 1940s. After World War II, Crosby and McCarey presented a copy of the film to Pope Pius XII at the Vatican. Going My Way was followed the next year by a sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's. In 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
24 total · 2 choice · 8 major · 14 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| compassion | choice | The centerpiece of the story is Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley, and the remarkable empathy with which he approached the parishioners and their many problems. |
| human characters in contrast | choice | The centerpiece of the story is the outgoing and progressive Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley, and the stark contrast he made with the grumpy traditionalist Father Fitzgibbon. |
| Catholicism | major | While the religion, as such, is not a particular topic of discourse, the story is set in and around St. Dominic's Catholic Church and follows Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley in his various escapades. |
| coping with aging | major | Father Fitzgibbon felt his age when a younger, more vigorous priest, Father O'Malley, was appointed to take over running the church Fitzgibbon had been at for the past 45 years. Father Fitzgibbon was a traditionalist and didn't initially take well to Father O'Malley's newfangled ways. |
| facing being evicted from one's home | major | Father Fitzgibbon would have been thrown out of the church he'd called home for the past 45 years had Ted Haines Sr. followed through on his threat to foreclose on St. Dominic's Catholic Church. Mrs. Quimp faced eviction. Carol would have been evicted from her apartment had her landlord not falling in love with her. |
| leadership | major | The bishop sent in Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley to take over St. Dominic's Catholic Church because Father Fitzgibbon had long mismanaged the church's finances. Father Chuck proved to be effective at his new job, and handled taking over for Father Fitzgibbon in a tactful manner, and was ultimately beloved by all. |
| music | major | Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley used his remarkable musical talent to woo the deviant parishioners he had the charge of. He coached Carol at the piano and cajoled Tony Scaponi's boy gang into becoming the church choir. |
| old flames | major | Father O'Malley met his old flame, Jenny Tuffel, whom he had left to join the priesthood. Jenny later helped save St. Dominic's by connecting Father O'Malley to some generous music executives. |
| predatory financial practices in society | major | Ted Haines Jr. was taken aback when he father, Ted Sr., threatened to foreclose on St. Dominic's Catholic Church, as nobody had presumably foreclosed on a church before. |
| religious occupation | major | The centerpiece of the story is Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley and his good works at St. Dominic's Catholic Church. |