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This irresistible Oscar winner from writer-director Leo McCarey (
An Affair to Remember) stars Bing Crosby as a low-key, crooning priest who joins the parish of a no-nonsense but sweet old Irish man of the cloth (Barry Fitzgerald). While Bing turns local toughs into a choir, the elder priest worries over the church building fund and whether he'll get a chance to see his old mother back in Ireland before she dies. One would have to have a heart of stone not to be won over by this charmer, with a lovely ending guaranteed to make you bawl for a week.
--Tom Keogh
Review
Going My Way is a pure Hollywood feel-good movie, with enough social message and star performances thrown in to make it appear more substantial that it is. Nonetheless, it scores very high for avoiding the maudlin sappiness that has hindered many similar films, and there is true chemistry between the film's stars, Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. The film has high production values and interesting extras that enhance the story. For example, there are several fine musical sequences for Crosby, a major musical star who became an acting star. It is natural for him to sing, and the musical presence of Rise Stevens, an opera star of considerable stature, gives the film one of its finest moments. Going My Way was popular with both audiences and AMPAS, who gave it seven Oscars, including Best Picture and acting awards for Crosby and Fitzgerald. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide