Review of Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) by Meredith M — 27 Jul 2010

This is a devastatingly sad movie from the era of social security legislation in the US of an old married couple forced apart by economic circumstances. McCarey is able to use melodrama in such a way that even as it strains credulity (as all melodrama does) it nonetheless is effective in evoking an emotional response that overcomes its conventional stiltedness.

It is a fantastic film with a number of set pieces and characters that seem to be about the ability to sympathize with others in a way that is rarely portrayed so effectively.