Rent Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

A remarkable film which deserves wider recognition - Make Way for Tomorrow review by LR

This is an outstanding film for its time (1937) and it is deeply engaging and effective even today. The subject matter is old age, with its concomitant frailty, vulnerability and the feeling of being a burden on one's off-spring. The subject is handled very well indeed, with acute social observation and flashes of wit which lift the mood. However, the seriousness of the subject is never lost - we feel for the old couple who are losing their physical competence and turn to their sons and daughter for help. Anyone who visits an elderly relative in a care home or nursing home, will recognise the truth of the basic scenario and will appreciate the emotional currents which swirl around all the family members - feelings of deep-seated love, guilt, resentment, selfishness, helplessness, etc. The strength of the film is that it faces up to all the complexity of the situation and stirs our emotions as we struggle to find a resolution to the problem.

This film is often described as a 'neglected masterpiece'. I agree. It deserves to be as well-known as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Citizen Kane". It might even be said to be better than either of those films because its humanity is so firmly grounded and so effectively expressed.

Hollywood Realism. - Make Way for Tomorrow review by Steve

When Leo McCarey won the Oscar for best director in 1938 for The Awful Truth he said he should have won it for this one. He was mistaken, but this ultra-sentimental story about the struggles of a couple in their seventies after they lose their home in the depression is a big favourite of critics and other film makers.

Though this is Hollywood realism. The house the couple (Beulah Bondi and Victor Moore) have to give up is a country mansion... We're expected to believe that having lived in extraordinary wealth, they are suddenly plunged into absolute poverty and forced to sofa surf with their reluctant children.

It's unusual territory for a golden age studio film, but McCarey is no social realist. The performances are too folksy and it strays into whimsical fantasy and the cutes. Most damaging of all is the sentimental music score. Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu did all this better as Tokyo Story in 1953, which is even more celebrated.

The obvious conclusion is that USA was in need of national insurance so its people might not live and die in poverty. Which Roosevelt introduced. But McCarey was a Conservative and welcomed Senator McCarthy's blacklist. He was a hugely successful director of christian Americana, but was all wrong for this. The Awful Truth though, is a must.