The Great McGinty
The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and (in her final screen appearance) Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition he direct the film. Sturges received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Plot
Dan McGinty, a bartender in a banana republic, recounts his rise and fall to the bar's dancing girl and a suicidal American customer. The customer was a trusted bank employee who can no longer return to the United States and his family because he is wanted by the law after falling to temptation and stealing from the bank. McGinty is in a similar situation, but in his case it is due to "one crazy minute" of honesty rather than one of dishonesty. In a long flashback, he explains.
Awards
More details
| author | Preston Sturges |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay |
| director | Preston Sturges |
| editor | Hugh Bennett |
| genre | comedy political satire |
| keywords | banana republic bank employee bos dancing girl fall jail cell marriage of convenience married political corruption public service public works rise and fall steal their way want |
| musicBy | Friedrich Hollaender |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay |
| producer | Buddy DeSylva Paul Jones |
| publisher | Paramount Pictures |
| theme | screwball comedy |