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:

My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night

Oh you jaded lot...

I saw HUMAN COMEDY when I was a young teen and its story haunted me. Now I'm grownup, jaded, if I saw it again I'd probably make snide comments like so many others here -- "LB Mayer wanted to sell the lie of homespun values all wrapped up pretty; if the movie had been made at Warners the set decoration certainly would've been grittier," etc etc.

But I come to its defense on the basis of my viewing it at a young age. Consider the story: Young boy lies about his age to get a job, ends up delivering telegrams informing families their sons are dead... that's potent. Probably even at age 13 I was able to figure out the invevitable ending: What would the FINAL telegram be? But it stayed with me in a way that few movies have...

Would it be more acceptable if it were classified as adolescent literature?