The Great McGinty, written and directed by Preston Sturges - 9 out of 10

The Great McGinty, written and directed by Preston Sturges
9 out of 10


You can find this comedy drama on The New York Times' Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list.

This film has also won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay.
We could argue that its simplicity is one of its advantages, for other features made after this one, which was launched in 1940, need to add to the original idea and often end up with a complicated, but not successful plot.

The Great McGinty is an exuberant movie about redemption, after the hero behaves like a corrupt individual, he may find a way out and rediscover ethics,morality and munificence.
In the opening scenes, one character is about to commit suicide, when the bar tender stops him and we learn that he used to be a...governor.

This is the expected occasion for a trip back in time, where we see Dan McGinty as a poor man, eating at the free soup kitchen, organized by the mayor who wants to be reelected.
In order to gain victory, his camp is playing a foul game, wherein they pay poor people, like the protagonist, two dollars, if they walk to a voting station, talk to Bill and then cast their votes for the mayor.

The hero is very active on this Election Day, marching fast from one Bill to the next, getting a new name every time, under which he votes for the paying candidate.
However, when he comes to collect seventy four dollars, for the thirty seven votes he has cast, there are not enough money for this febrile activity.

It would attract the attention of The Boss, the real leader behind the rather bland, unremarkable mayor, who wants to meet the man who had gathered thirty seven tickets.
Dan McGinty is a determined, brave, abrasive, strong, gritty individual who acts without fear or respect when he is in front of the Boss of the organization which seems to be something between a crime syndicate and what Trump has made of the group he is leading today.

Consequently, this poor, courageous multiple voter is given the chance to prove his stamina and he is assigned to bring back money owed to The Boss.
When he accomplished that, the over one thousand dollars are left in his possession.

He would change from his shabby clothes to a florid, excessive suit and then to better looking garments.
For the next mayoral elections, The Boss thinks that McGinty would be the perfect candidate, if he marries, which  the hero says he would not.

There is however a young woman working at the office that convinces him that there is a solution and they could become an official couple, just for the sake of this election.
Eventually, the arranged, false marriage becomes a real intimacy, when Dan McGinty realizes that he has fallen in love with...his wife.

She is the angelic, ethical, clever, strong, moral, ideal character that makes her husband realize that he has to stop the corruption, work to improve the life of the destitute, make sure that children are not abused - many were forced to work at that time - and in general work for the public good and not for the enrichment of The Boss and his gang.
Therefore, once he is elected governor, McGinty has a clash with his former partner in crime, who was already drunk with the prospect of a dam and so many other works that he would benefit from.

The Great McGinty is a great film...a pity they have no McGinty in the White House and they have elected The Boss aka Trump instead.