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The Great McGinty

Play trailer Poster for The Great McGinty 1940 1h 22m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
In a dive south of the border, bartender Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) stops a young man from committing suicide after a moment of dishonesty, and relates how a moment of honesty brought him down in a flashback. As a young man, McGinty joins a crooked political boss and rises from extortionist to alderman. Urged by the boss to marry his secretary to give respectability to his run for mayor, McGinty agrees -- only to fall in love with his wife and decide to do an honest thing for once in his life.
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The Great McGinty

Critics Reviews

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Walter Goodman New York Times 01/10/2018
''The Great McGinty'' was the great Preston Sturges's first showing as a director, and a happy occasion it was. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 11/13/2007
Sturges displays plenty of ability in accentuating both the comedy and dramatic elements of his material, withal maintaining a consistent pace in the unreeling. Go to Full Review Tom Milne Time Out 06/24/2006
A wonderfully dry satire. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 11/02/2024
2.5/4
The Great McGinty slowly-but-surely begins to improve as it progresses into an increasingly (and unexpectedly) engrossing midsection... Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 07/31/2023
Sturges' tastes were precisely in synch with the public’s... Go to Full Review Michael J. Casey Michael J. Cinema 06/01/2021
3/5
Sturges would go on to become one of the best and wittiest auteurs of the studio era, but before you can run, you gotta crawl. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 Dec 3 Funny in 01 hour and 22 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Steve D 07/22/2023 Still waiting for the comedy to start. See more Frances H 11/08/2020 Another great Preston Sturgess satire like my favorit, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. This one takes on politics, and is a classic! Don't miss a chance to see it. See more 08/15/2019 A true classic in every sense of the word. See more s r @ScottR 11/08/2016 A feel good reform comedy. See more 09/13/2015 Preston's debut and a political satire, The Great McGinty explores crooked politics and dark ambitions. Its a bit on the low side with jokes, but this is Preston's first so that's forgiven. The players do a good job, so that's all that matters. See more Read all reviews
The Great McGinty

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Cast & Crew

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Preston Sturges

Director

Brian Donlevy

Daniel 'Dan' McGinty

Muriel Angelus

Catherine McGinty

Akim Tamiroff

The Boss

Allyn Joslyn

George

William Demarest

The Politician

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The Great McGinty

The Great McGinty (1940) The Great McGinty (1940) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In a dive south of the border, bartender Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy) stops a young man from committing suicide after a moment of dishonesty, and relates how a moment of honesty brought him down in a flashback. As a young man, McGinty joins a crooked political boss and rises from extortionist to alderman. Urged by the boss to marry his secretary to give respectability to his run for mayor, McGinty agrees -- only to fall in love with his wife and decide to do an honest thing for once in his life.
Director
Preston Sturges
Producer
Paul Jones
Screenwriter
Preston Sturges
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 15, 1940, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 11, 2016
Runtime
1h 22m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.37:1)
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