Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald
Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett
Directed by Leo McCarey
“When you’re young, it’s easy to keep the fires of hope burning bright. But at my age, you’re lucky if the pilot light doesn’t go out.”
Going My Way is about two ministers of two distinct generations who share a deep love for God and His people, and very different ideas of how best to serve them. That the ministers in question happen to be Catholic priests (and sons of the auld sod of Erin) is less pertinent than the dilemma they share with the faithful of any calling, in any era: what do the leaders gradually passing from the scene owe those rising to take their place? And vice versa?
Father Chuck O’Malley (Bing Crosby) has been assigned to replace aging Father Fitzgibbon as parish priest of a failing inner-city church – but without letting the good man know he’s being phased out. That dubious assignment becomes all the more awkward when the older minister and some of his parishioners take an instant dislike to the younger one’s easygoing style, taste in clothes, and more modern taste in music. Sound familiar?
But Father Fitzgibbon is not entirely set in his prejudices, and Father O’Malley is not out to lead an ecclesiastical revolution. Despite their personal frustrations, they grow to admire each other’s sly sense of humor, wry grasp of human nature, and rather creative notions of what it takes to stoke the fires of an apathetic congregation.
If the younger man is more effective stirring faith in the neighborhood’s rowdy delinquents, the older man is better at bearing with the biddies. Both men nourish real compassion for the lost souls around them, and a thoughtful sensitivity to the quiet hurts each nurtures in his own heart.
The movie features several likable songs and many enjoyable side characters, but the focus is on two pastors whose already difficult ministry could easily be marred by wounded pride and swelling egos. Instead, they decide to look for the best in each other, and to concentrate on the needs of their very human flock. It’s an example ministers of all denominations could learn from.
And if, in the end, only one of them can stay … the film knows exactly how to accomplish that painful transition, with one of the most exquisite fade-outs in all of movie history.
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