Review of Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) by Noel V — 17 Dec 2010

Devastating. Veteran Hollywood director Leo McCarey wields his considerable comic skills to this, a profoundly sad film about the fate of an aged couple. Every scene is finely crafted and honed like a polished gem, and if it were all about skill, this would be a tremendous film.

..but to that skill McCarey invests a lifetime of knowledge about human nature, the way we treat one another either humanely or inhumanely, and the results are on another level entirely: tragedy made razor sharp, or comedy with the impact of a shotgun blast to the kneecap.

If I'm being vague with the details, that's deliberate--see this movie cold, then try deal with it by reading any number of fine articles written on the subject (Tag Gallagher's being one of the best).

Need I say it? Great film.