THE GREAT MCGINTY: Blu-ray (Paramount, 1940) Kino Lorber

Sold to Paramount for a measly $10.00 by its creator, Preston Sturges, on the promise he could direct it, The Great McGinty (1940) marked both a launch and a turning point in the careers of Sturges and his star, Brian Donlevy. For although both men had kicked around Hollywood since the mid-thirties, Donlevy having modest success, usually playing ‘the heavy’ in B pictures, both men would receive their A-list calling cards in Tinsel Town after The Great McGinty proved a popular bell-ringer with audiences and critics alike. Indeed, it earned Sturges the cache to write his own ticket. And Hollywood was, frankly, agog. Never before had a writer been given so much autonomy in the picture-making biz. In hindsight, never again would one so completely dominate the field, and, excel at building up, then inadvertently tear down his own reputation. By the end of the decade, the name Preston Sturges would be associated with a great run of sardonic masterpieces, a rift with Paramount – the ‘hand that had fed him’, and, a freelancer’s folly to prove disastrous and costly for all concerned – but mostly, for Sturges, who sank everything he had into ‘The Players’ - a money pit of a nightclub, steadily to eat away at his finances and eventually, leave him bitter and exiled, living out his final years in France.

The Great McGinty was Sturges’ passion project. Having written a handful of scripts made into successful movies by other directors, Sturges had become increasingly bored with the process – insulted, even, that the directors could alter his carefully crafted prose at their whim, thereby disrupting his careful construction by an even more meticulous design. Sturges wanted such control. He was desperate to direct, but repeatedly denied the opportunity – mostly, to keep him in his place. Bargaining The Great McGinty on the paltry sum of $10 may not have fattened his coffers, but it helped to swell his head. Indeed, Paramount’s executive brain trust likely afforded Sturges this opportunity merely to prove a point – hedging their bets that a novice director would miserably fall flat and thereafter remain in their employ as a writer only, but forever at their beckoned call. They were to be sorely disillusioned. For although The Great McGinty was not a flop, it was hardly a runaway smash hit.  Instead, it turned a sizable profit – proof enough for the powers that be that Sturges was on to something – perhaps, something big, that could net them all a lot of future profits. And so, Sturges was off and running, commenting in an interview that ‘there were some great pictures’ yet to be made and that ‘God willing’ he intended to make some of them.   

The Great McGinty is the tale of a rube exploited for his gift of gab, but who awakens from this blind-sided reign to become a true man of the people. The picture stars Brian Donlevy as Dan McGinty, a hobo on the breadline, discovered by ‘The Boss’ (Akim Tamiroff); a conman and political puppet master. Through his connections, the Boss transforms McGinty into an alderman, then mayor, and finally governor of the state – along the way, wallowing in graft and kickbacks from useless public works projects McGinty blindly endorses. Unfortunately for The Boss, McGinty’s mind is changed for the better by the love of a good woman, Catherine (Muriel Angelus in a role originally envisioned for Jo Ann Sayers). Cate initially weds McGinty to keep him in line, but then genuinely falls in love with her husband.  Moreover, Cate can see McGinty’s intrinsic value as a good man. Ironically, the success of their union leads to McGinty’s downfall. For when McGinty goes against the political machinery that put him in power, he is ironically deposed by it as a fraud, even though he only has the public’s best interests at heart.

Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff would reprise their roles again for Sturges in his 1944 comedy gem, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. By then, the pair had become an integral part of Sturges’ ‘unofficial’ repertory stock company of players.  In retrospect, the cast for The Great McGinty reveals Sturges’ loyalty towards a wonderful assortment of character actors: George Anderson, Jimmy Conlin, William Demarest, Byron Foulger, Harry Hayden, Esther Howard, Arthur Hoyt, George Melford, Charles R. Moore, Frank Moran, Emory Parnell, Victor Potel, Dewey Robinson, Harry Rosenthal and Robert Warwick – all of whom would turn up again and again for Sturges on subsequent projects. Indeed, Demarest had already appeared in two pictures written by Sturges - Diamond Jim (1935) and Easy Living (1937). Tamiroff’s portrayal of the oily and unrefined puppet master herein proved such an intoxicating blend of cynicism and comedy it eventually became the inspiration for Boris Badenov on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The Great McGinty had long been stewing in Sturges’ creative juices by the time it reached the screen. Begun as The Story of a Man; then, The Vagrant, The Mantle of Dignity, The Biography of a Bum and, finally, Down Went McGinty, (the title used for its U.K. release), the fermentation of the character and story began in 1933 – then, with Spencer Tracy in mind, and, inspired by the political downfall of William Sulzer, who was impeached and removed from office as the Governor of New York.

Marketing his tale, first to Universal in 1935; then, The Saturday Evening Post in 1938, Sturges finally ironed out his $10 deal with Paramount in 1939. The budget affixed at $350,000, a modest three-week shoot, and, populated by inexpensive actors, The Great McGinty was destined to be forgotten…or so Paramount thought. Indeed, production did not get off to a great start after Akim Tamiroff was delayed while shooting The Way of All Flesh, and Sturges, eager to begin, contracted pneumonia as principle photography began, requiring a nurse to attend him on the set. With only a single day's shooting left, production stalled in early January, the pick-up not accomplished until April 15, long after the first rough cut had been assembled. Despite these setbacks, nothing could prevent The Great McGinty from entering the annals of Hollywood as a first – and arguably – best attempt by a writer to direct his own work. The picture opens with Dan McGinty, a bartender in a seedy watering hole in a banana republic, recalling his days as a man of the people to a dance hall gal and American customer. As it turns out, the customer was a trusted banker who can no longer return to the U.S. as he is wanted for embezzlement. Ironically, McGinty reasons his own exile was predicated on "one crazy minute" of clarity – not dishonesty. And thus, the extended flashback begins.

We meet McGinty - the tramp, offered a $2 bribe to vote under a false name in a rigged mayoral election. This, he does a record 37 times at different precincts. His zeal for corruption impresses political puppet master, ‘The Boss.’ And although the Boss and McGinty occasionally come to blows, his stalwart loyalty earns McGinty a hallowed place among his enforcers. Indeed, The Boss begins to consider McGinty his personal political protégé. During a public campaign for reform, the Boss, who has his fingers on the pulse of virtually every political party in the city, orchestrates McGinty’s electoral win as mayor. Problem: the public views married men as more viable and trustworthy candidates. Since McGinty is so rough around the edges no sane woman would ostensibly want him, The Boss finagles a marriage of convenience between McGinty and his secretary, Catherine. The ruse works. The public votes McGinty and he, in turn, helps push through the agendas of the Boss, rationalizing the public nevertheless benefits, even if the projects in the hopper are dominated by graft and kickbacks. The plan is solid. What could possibly go wrong? Answer – love: true, undiluted and genuine as Cate and McGinty begin to confide in one another with openness and sincerity. Taking his public service more seriously, McGinty recognizes he lacks the clout to go against the Boss.

Unaware of his change of heart, the Boss decides McGinty should be Governor of the state. With effortless aplomb, McGinty gets duly elected. Naively believing he now possesses the clout to call his own shots, McGinty dissolves his partnership with the Boss. Only, the Boss is not yet ready to surrender his commission in politics. Indeed, if he cannot be in charge, he will see to it neither can McGinty. Enraged, the Boss attempts to murder McGinty inside the Governor’s mansion. Instead, he is promptly arrested. But now, the Boss’ political machinery kicks into high gear, exposing McGinty as a fraud. The public is outraged for having been duped and retaliates with a show of violence. Unable to prevent his ousting from power, McGinty quickly finds himself arrested and thrown in jail for corruption. Ironically, his cell is adjacent to the Boss. And while McGinty clearly views this as the end of the line, the Boss is not without friends on the inside. Thus, the Boss orchestrates a daring escape for them both. We regress to the present, McGinty regaling the customer at the bar with the final bits of his story; how he managed to get a secret message to Cate, revealing a hidden stash she now enjoys and is using to raise her children. The Boss emerges from the backroom, still managing McGinty’s life. Disgusted and inflamed in their mutual contempt, the Boss and McGinty get into another of their violent altercations, proving unequivocally that some things will never change.  

The Great McGinty is one of Preston Sturges’ most sobering and sarcastic satires. Indeed, Sturges’ own contempt for authority has morphed from Hollywood’s hoi poloi to the political arena with a caustic, racy wit that holds up even under today’s scrutiny.  Sturges inhabits his farcical fable with Russian-born Akim Tamiroff – one of the greatest foils in film history – and William Demarest, as the crusty and unscrupulous slime, doling out $2 bills in exchange for votes. Sturges directs with eviscerating charm, the scenes depicting old-fashioned politicking, reeking of its rotten malaise, reinvigorated by Sturges’ own sass and class.  The picture trucks along on its spirit of rousing greed run amok and the delicious exchanges between these obsequious opportunists – the all-American ‘sucker’ and his Depression-era handler, a wonderfully inverted case of the ‘lamb bites wolf’ scenario on which virtually all of Sturges’ career would be predicated. Brian Donlevy, in his greatest role, is a tower of plain dumb thoughtfulness – a guy, so true to his own calling, he cannot bear false witness to anyone once he realizes the real power behind the throne is just a lot of smoke and mirrors. Muriel Angelus serves as the moral compass here – far more refined and level-headed then either of the feuding fellows in her midst. It may be a man’s world, but it certainly remains the woman’s prerogative to set them straight when the chips are down. In the final analysis, The Great McGinty reveals a bittersweet charm that truly set it apart from other comedies of the day. Today, it endures as one of the standard bearers in great writing.

Well, it’s about time The Great McGinty found its way to Blu-ray. One of Sturges’ finest comedies now has a hi-def pedigree to match and distribution from Kino Lorber – fast, becoming one of the best third-party distributors of vintage Hollywood product. The new 4K remaster (albeit, dumbed down to 1080p) reveals its superiority to the 2006 DVD with nearly 5 times the bit rate and a clean-up effort that yields some stunningly handsome visuals to boot. The gray scale here is gorgeous, delineated by pristine whites and rich and velvety blacks, with all the tonality one expects to find from a meticulously preserved remastering effort. Film grain looks very indigenous to its source.  Kino’s DTS 2.0 mono sounds very good indeed. Kino has also shelled out for a new audio commentary from historian, Samm Deighan who provides a comprehensive overview of Sturges – the man, the writer/director, and, the movie. Bottom line: The Great McGinty is a great film, primarily because Preston Sturges has given everything, he had in service to a story he truly believed in from the outset. The picture sparkles in this new 1080p offering and is a blind purchase ‘must have’ for anyone who appreciates solid writing and expert picture-making. Very highly recommended!

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

5

EXTRAS

1