"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there" L. P. Hartley. The go-between.
I thought of this great opening line from “The Go-Between” the other night as I sat down to watch one of my favorite childhood movies “Good Sam”, which I had seen on one of those programs of my youth that would show movies from the 30’s and 40’s and thought to myself the past is a childhood movie, they look differently there.
Made in 1948 by Leo McCarey on the cusp of post war prosperity and the coming of the cold war, the film starred two great performers of Hollywood’s golden years Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan (this may have been the first time I had seen Sheridan, and I fell madly in love forever and a day with her) as Mr. And Mrs. Sam Clayton of any town USA. Cooper tall, lanky and still good-looking plays good Sam who is an executive- manager in a large department store with a hands on approach to his job and is treasured by his employees and customers alike. He is kind and helpful with a heart of gold, to the dismay of his wife. Sam thinks nothing of lending his car to his neighbors so they can get away for a weekend (never mind the neighbor would qualify as being legally blind), He lends a lot of money to a young couple so they can open a gas station, lets his lazy brother in law live with them, and takes in a troubled young employee of his store played by the talented Joan Lorring.
Some of the golden moments that I loved as a kid are still hilarious like the scene where Sam holds up a bus so a woman who is running to catch it, can get aboard. The bus driver played by Dick Wessel is annoyed by the delay and the woman played by the marvelous Florence Auer get into a heated argument, with Florence getting the last laugh when she discovers he’s bald and his name is Melvin Z. Wutzberger announcing all of this in a loud voice to the crowded bus, as Wessel does a slow burn.
I also love the scene in the department store where the great Ida Moore appears befuddled asking for street directions and of course good natured Sam takes the time to draw her a detailed map, much to the chagrin of the store’s president played by Edmund Lowe. Also in the packed character actor laden cast are Almira Sessions, William Frawley, Minerva Uracal, Louise Beavers, Ray Collins, Irving Bacon and in a very small role a very young Ruth Roman. There are also two of the most natural and realistic portrayals of children I’ve seen in a movie.
McCarey Knew movie comedy having directed the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Mae West, W.C. Fields, and Harold Lloyd. Some of his classic films are “The Awful Truth” for which he won his first directing Oscar, made the same year as his sublime “Make Way For Tomorrow” which McCarey thought he should have won the Oscar for instead of “Truth” and “Ruggles Of Red Gap” with the great Charles Laughton giving a surprising comedic performance.
But he also had a long sentimental streak and this is apparent in “Good Sam”. The film opens on a Sunday morning church service and its happy ending arrives on Christmas Eve which made me think of Frank Capra. This streak could also be seen in his famous and popular “Going My Way”, which I still cannot bring myself to watch because of my distaste for the Catholic church and Bing Crosby. This 1944 film won many Oscars including best picture and best actor and was McCarey’s final best directing award.
As time went on he became more right wing and conservative becoming a member of the notorious The Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA) which was founded by him and other Hollywood conservatives who wanted to defend the film industry against Communist infiltration. He was also a friendly witness at the political witch hunt hearings held by Un-American Activities Committee in Congress where he named names of supposed Communist supporters working in Hollywood. As his film career dwindled he made one more popular success, 1957’s “An Affair To Remember” which was a remake of his hit romantic film of 1939 “Love Affair.” Brightly colored and cinemascoped it starred Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as the doomed but eventually happy lovers and made many a woman (and probably some men) weep copious tears but is not a favorite of mine, it’s way too sentimental to me even for McCarey and 1950’s standards.
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This pre-war popular M.G.M. glossy movie made my jaw drop.
The jaw dropping had nothing to do with the special effects aerial scenes or
with Clark Gable’s dimples, but with the tangled triangle love affair between
Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy. All three stars were at the top of their
game, and Tracy would go on to win his 2nd Oscar for the sentimental
“Boys Town” later that year. Gable who plays the test pilot of the title is a
gung ho try anything flyer with the Gable persona in tact and Tracy plays his
best friend and mechanic named Gunner. The two are inseparable even living
together, but things start to get dicey when Gable has to force land his plane
on Myrna Loy’s family farm in Kansas and they meet cute. Loy who looks no more like
a farmer than Alf Landon looked like a president is soon swooning all over
Gable’s profile, and falling madly in love with him. They get married, and
that’s when the trouble with Tracy begins and that’s when I started picking up
on what was going on underneath and between the spoken lines and action. Tracy
is jealous of their relationship and is in love with Gable. This action
picture, this boy’s Saturday matinee, this romantic jab at the movies is
suddenly something else. I suppose one could see this film as a male bonding
movie, with a romantic but sharp edge (Loy is having problems with Gable’s
absences, his drinking and his death defying job). However the kisses that
Tracy blows at Gable every time he takes off on a flight and those goo goo eyes
of remorse and longing along with his moaning and groaning all over the place
speak volumes and screams out repressed homosexual longing and love, yes even
in 1938. The three rent a nice
apartment on 81st for $150.00 a month from the landlady played with
elegant reserve by Marjorie Main (no stranger to homosexual longing herself)
and it’s uncomfortable coziness for about 3 minutes. In one-scene Gable showers Tracy with kisses all over his head,
which Tracy looks like he’s enjoying very much even though he plays it rough.
There is a somewhat happy ending except for Tracy who exits the film in the
usual way for conflicted characters. Directed by the male butch masculine house
director Victor Fleming in a no nonsense butch style which is what he was noted
for. A good old boy who played hard and fast and is credited with directing two
of the most loved movies in the history of film. Questions still arise over
what actually he contributed to both The Wizard Of Oz and Gone With The Wind,
especially so with GWTW that started filming with the gay George Cukor who left
the film for reasons that are as smoky today as the burning of Atlanta. Oscar nominated for a best picture Oscar in
1938. 
