Sugar Water

Going My Way (1944):
What’s It About?:  Young and optimistic Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) arrives at Saint Dominic’s church, which Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) currently presides over with much debt.  Initially, the two generations clash over O’Malley’s musical methods of pastoral services, but they end up being in agreement once those methods tame a group of wild young men and bring the neighborhood a little closer together. 
How Good Is It?: It’s okay.  It’s sweet and agreeable, without being too overly sentimental.  But it also lacks bite, or any real dramatic narrative.  It also almost completely avoids the war situation, which is not as unwelcome as one might think.  In the end, it’s the kind of feel-good schmaltz that the older generation probably flocked to see, while the youngers were looking for something a little more, um, meaty.  But Crosby and Fitzgerald are rather good, it looks pretty decent, and it did introduce the world to the song “Swingin’ On a Star.”
Was it Best Picture?: Only in the same way that Forrest Gump would beat Pulp Fiction.  It was a fine choice for people that found Double Indemnity too gritty and unpleasant, but the years tell us that Indemnity is not only more fondly remembers and influential, but also simply a better movie.  Although, to be fair, Nickelodeon’s Out of This World would be less memorable without Going My Way.