- Starring
- Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff
- Writer
- Preston Sturges
- Director
- Preston Sturges
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 82 minutes
Overall Score
Rating Summary
The Great McGinty follows Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy), a bartender in a banana republic, who tells his story through flashbacks, in which he, as a Depression-era tramp is bribed by the city’s political machine to help them commit voter fraud. His success impresses The Boss (Tamiroff) who decides to have McGinty elected mayor as a “reform” candidate. He marries his secretary Catherine (Angelus) as part of the requirement for his candidacy, but the two grow to genuinely fall in love with each other, which changes his views on public services, and his willingness to partake in the flagrant corruption that he’s swimming in.
A political satire in this vein from this era could’ve easily felt dated, with its political references flying over the heads of modern audiences. But Preston Sturges is smart to avoid focusing on elements overly specific to the era he and his movie are in; rather he humorously, and quite viciously, calls out the corrupt ways that seedy politicians turn tricks to unfairly gain positions of power, told through a messy, sometimes violent rise-and-fall tale, and you’re never really asked to feel sympathy for our scheming main character.
There is something to be said about how appealing the celebrity part of being a politician is made to seem on the surface, at least to McGinty; this is especially highlighted in the frantic crowd scenes, but Sturges never puts too much emphasis on any one particular element of the story, letting every individual component compliment each other, and delivering true insight into the corruption within the American political system. It helps that his screenwriting – particularly his dialogue – is as razor-sharp and acerbic as ever – allowing Donlevy to tear through the clown show with searing one-liners without delving into caricature. He is especially effective at showing McGinty evolve from a hapless bum to a surprisingly thoughtful man. Tamiroff is also a hilarious scene-stealer as the unnamed boss, likewise managing to find the nuance in his character, and his violent catfights with Donlevy are a highlight.
Serving as Sturges’ directorial debut, he does a solid job keeping The Great McGinty economic, tight and to-the-point. It runs at a brisk 83 minutes and transitions between story beats with effortlessness. But his direction ultimately doesn’t draw a whole lot of inspiration. While not bad by any means, his inexperience shows which may leave some wishing for more moments of visual humor like the dog dragging around the dog-house he’s tied to. Furthermore, the romance between Dan and Catherine, while not without its moments of tender sweetness, feels underdeveloped, which is a problem when it’s supposed to be a major selling point for Dan’s political credibility within the film, leaving some to wish the film could’ve been a bit longer to make the romantic subplot have more impact. Compared to something like another 1940 movie, Charlie Chaplin’s classic The Great Dictator, it does feel like some of its ideas are undercooked and not fully formed.
All things considered, it’s remarkable how well this movie’s satire and political commentary has aged, and it also doubles as a frequently hilarious comedy. With The Great McGinty, Preston Sturges landed an admirable starting point to plant the seeds for bigger, better things in his future.
still courtesy of Turner Classic Movies
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