Review of Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) by Kevin N — 28 Apr 2012

This neglected film by neglected director Leo McCarey is known around film circles as one of the most tender and mature films of the thirties, or of the golden age of Hollywood in general. Orson Welles called it the saddest film ever made, and it is hard to deny its ability to jerk tears, yet on the whole I found the film surprisingly uplifting- probably because I had always put it off thinking it would be something that would completely break me down.

In actuality, it is a beautiful thirty minute love story surrounded by acts that involve tragedy and loss. It's a story that encourages us to love the moments we have with a loved one, not in anticipation of loss but because living in the moment is the only way to remain youthful, the only way to hold on to that feeling of fresh love.

This film is about two lovers who are just about as old as they come: Barkley and Lucy, played by Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi. As the film begins, it distances the couple from the rest of the world, showing a pair of people who are lost in a time long past, unable to keep up with the speed of modernity.

It is, in its first act, decidedly pessimistic, even stating in its opening title cards the impossibility of connecting the space that lingers between one generation and the next. Yet the script, written by Vina Delmar, is determined to blow down that fallacy.

As the movie progresses and the couple decides to take a more aggressively active position in their own lives they find this new era more and more responsive. They grab ahold of their world and make the most of their present, and they fall in love with each other all over again.

If it weren't for this encouraging change in tone, I think the ending would be sadder than it is. However, I see the final frames as ones laced with hope, and I left the film feeling empowered. This is a film lined in melancholy to be sure, but it is also a drama which celebrates people, across any generation, and suggests that we take our lives and make them worthwhile, no matter our surroundings.