The Best Picture of 1944 is…..”Going My Way.” This musical comedy-drama gave Bing Crosby the signature role of his career as the easy going Father Chuck O’Malley, which helped moved him up to the biggest box office draw of the 1940’s, earned him the Best Actor Oscar, and gave him a big hit song “Swinging on a Star.”
Though Crosby carried the picture, it was Leo McCarey who created the project, producing and directing. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning seven: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald), Best Screenplay (Frank Butler, Frank Cavett), Best Original Story (McCarey), and Best Song (“Swinging on a Star,” music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke).
Co-stars with Bing Crosby include Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Gene Lockhart, James Brown, Jean Heather, Porter Hall, Fortunio Bonanova, Eily Maylon, Rise Stevens, Stanley Clements, Carl Switzer, and William Frawley. “Going My Way” was the highest grossing film of the year for producer Leo McCarey and Paramount Pictures. A sequel was released the next year called “The Bells of St. Mary’s” starring Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. It was the highest grossing film of 1945.
Going My Way (1944)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1944 is…..”Going My Way.” This musical comedy-drama gave Bing Crosby the signature role of his career as the easy going Father Chuck O’Malley, which helped moved him up to the biggest box office draw of the 1940’s, earned him the Best Actor Oscar, and gave him a big hit song “Swinging on a Star.”
Though Crosby carried the picture, it was Leo McCarey who created the project, producing and directing. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning seven: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald), Best Screenplay (Frank Butler, Frank Cavett), Best Original Story (McCarey), and Best Song (“Swinging on a Star,” music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke).
Co-stars with Bing Crosby include Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Gene Lockhart, James Brown, Jean Heather, Porter Hall, Fortunio Bonanova, Eily Maylon, Rise Stevens, Stanley Clements, Carl Switzer, and William Frawley. “Going My Way” was the highest grossing film of the year for producer Leo McCarey and Paramount Pictures. A sequel was released the next year called “The Bells of St. Mary’s” starring Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. It was the highest grossing film of 1945.