The Human Comedy (1943)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

William Saroyan (story)
Howard Estabrook (writer)

Release Date:

14 February 1944 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

Teenager Homer Macauley stays at home in small-town Ithaca to support his family, while his older brother Marcus prepares to go to war.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Narration From The Grave | Propaganda | Montage | Prayer

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Mickey Rooney	...	Homer Macauley
Frank Morgan	...	Willie Grogan
James Craig	...	Tom Spangler
Marsha Hunt	...	Diana Steed
Fay Bainter	...	Mrs. Macauley
Ray Collins	...	Mr. Macauley - ghost
Van Johnson	...	Marcus Macauley
Donna Reed	...	Bess Macauley
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins	...	Ulysses ('Useless') Macauley
Dorothy Morris	...	Mary - Marcus's girl next door
John Craven	...	Tobey George
Anne Ayars	...	Mrs. Rose Sandoval
Mary Nash	...	Miss Hicks - history teacher
Henry O'Neill	...	Mr. Charles Steed
Katharine Alexander	...	Mrs. Steed

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8987) | Australia:PG | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Clarence Brown Ranch - Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Writer William Saroyan wanted desperately to direct the film despite having no experience in directing. Louis B. Mayer told Saroyan that he would consider the request and assigned the writer to direct a one reel short. The short film was a disappointment and studio stalwart Clarence Brown was promptly assigned. Saroyan was so bitter about the experience he wrote a play about Mayer soon after titled "Get Away Old Man".

Quotes:

Mr. Macauley: I am Matthew Macauley. I have been dead for two years. So much of me is still living that I know now the end is only the beginning. As I look down on my homeland of Ithaca, California, with its cactus, vineyards and orchards, I see that so much of me is still living there - in the places I've been, in the fields and streets and church and most of all in my home, where my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions still live in the daily life of my loved ones.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "MGM: When the Lion Roars" (1992)

Soundtrack:

All the World Will Be Jealous of Me

I love this forgotten piece of American nostalgia with it's family values, patriotism and sweet sentimentality.

I first saw this film on TV as a child in the 1960s and thought it delightful and sad. All the characters learn about the values of life, family, honesty and love. Yes it's packed with whole-kernel corn but what's wrong with that? I enjoy a good film noir, screwball comedy or even classic horror film but every once in a while it is good to think about the hopes our grandparents had for a better world after WWII and why we fought that war.

So if you don't like the WALTONS style of family values, please skip it and take in a modern film calculated by accountants and marketing departments to separate your money from your pocket.

But if you like a good story packed with an ensemble of very talented actors delivering charming home-spun dialogue in a near dream like world of hope, check this out.

My favorite line is delivered by the stunningly beautiful Marsha Hunt (who is still a beauty today!) when she tries to convince handsome James Craig they are both really in love, "You do love me, don't you? Yes you do, you know you do." Of course he walks away with his head in the clouds, and in love. You will be too when you give this dated cookie a bite!