Movie Review: Going My Way
If anyone would like a suggestion for a good Christmas movie to watch, I would highly recommend “Going My Way”. This movie is what I call a class 3 Christmas movie, in that, while the general theme is not Christmas related, it ends at Christmas time, and that last scene is the one that you are going to want to see.
“Going My Way” stars Bing Crosby as young Father O’Malley and Barry Fitzgerald as the aged Father Fitzgibbon to whom the bishop has sent Father O’Malley to help. Oscars went to the movie for Best Picture, Leading Actor – Crosby, Supporting Actor – Fitzgerald, Director, Story, Screenplay, and Song – “Swinging On a Star”, in the movie called “The Mule”. Also co-starring in the movie is the great Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano, Rise (pronounced Ree-sah) Stevens, as Genevieve Linden.
Some memorable moments:
- The initial meeting between Father O’Malley and Father Fitzgibbon
- Rise Stevens’ saucy performance of “Habanera” from the opera, Carmen
- Father Fitzgibbons trip to see the bishop
- Bing’s performance of Ave Maria, accompanied by the church boys’ choir and Rise Stevens
- Bing’s performance of the award-winning “Swinging on a Star”, accompanied by the church boys choir and the Metropolitan Opera orchestra
- The last scene – If this doesn’t get to you, then you have no heart
This movie is as rich in content as any movie I have ever seen and is one of the few that, in my opinion, is worth watching over and over again. Even though it does not have a Christmas theme and the only part that is directly related to Christmas is that last scene, it is one that we watch every year. If you want to see a movie, rich in content from the first scene to the last, that you will thoroughly enjoy and will make you feel good all over, then try “Going My Way”. It’s not available for streaming on Netflix, but the full movie in parts can be found on Youtube. I’m not sure about the other streaming services.
You can view the trailer on Youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ-clrkwsGM