The Great McGinty was the first of a series of films written and directed by Preston Sturges for Universal. After having written several successful films, Sturges managed to convince the studio to let him be Writer/Director on his next picture, something almost unheard of during that time in Hollywood. Sturges great run of films for Universal only ran for about four year, but in that time he carved an excellent body of work for which he is still fondly remembered today. Sturges had a lot of control over his own projects, and was able to create his own storytelling technique and personal stamp. The Great McGinty was the first in these series of films.
The story concerns Dan McGinty, a tough bum who lives on the streets, with only his name and no money. The film covers an impressive amount of time, where McGinty rises from bum to the Governor of the state, grabbing opportunities that comes him by. The film is essentially a political satire and comedy, showing how much of the inner workings of politics work. McGinty is played by Brian Donlevy, who does an excellent job. At first he seems like a fairly one-sided character, but as the film progresses so does the protagonist, and by the end he is almost unrecognizable from the person he was in the beginning, it’s a great character arc. What the film and its director do very well is creating a very engaging story that develops efficiently, and a main character through his brutal honesty is very easy to root for. There’s also a love interest, of course, but it doesn’t start quite like that. Initially the two are married in a scam marriage so McGinty can portray himself as a family man to the public, but as the story progresses they both start to fall in love with each other, although McGinty struggles at first to realize this, as he has to soften his tough exterior.
While McGinty grabs every opportunity he gets, he is not in control. He answers to the local mob boss, simply referred to as The Boss. They’re relationship is interesting, as they both hate each other from start to finish, yet both need each other to succeed. It’s both a humorous and volatile relationship. McGinty doesn’t have any moral compass or fears doing anything that might be considered wrong, but throughout the film he starts to build up a conscience, with no little influence from his wife. As a politician he is very much a man who impresses with big projects, but doesn’t really care for “the little guy”. However he soon starts to see the errors of his ways. For a film that is less than 80 minutes, the film really has an epic time span and character arc that really convincingly transforms the character. It’s really fascinating to see the journey that McGinty goes through, and the film arrives at a satisfactory, although not particularly happy, ending. Sturges visual style is simple but effective, and it is impressive how quickly and effectively he manages to tell the story.
The Great McGinty is an excellent first effort from Sturges as a writer/director. The story is simple yet epic. The characters are interesting and the humor is spot on. It’s a great political satire akin to Mr. Smith goes to Washington, but with less sentimentality and more sting. It also boasts some of the ensemble cast that would become a standard fare in all of Preston Sturges films.
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