St. Patrick’s Day is every American’s favorite day to pretend they’re Irish, whether their ancestors came from the Emerald Isle or not. Although the shamrock merchandise, green beer, and “plastic Paddy” commercialism of “St. Paddy’s Day” can be festive, they have come to overshadow the original meaning of this feast day honoring Ireland’s patron saint.
In America, one of the best ways to celebrate this holiday is to watch a great classic movie featuring Irish American characters. Two films, in particular, seem appropriate for St. Patrick’s story of bringing religion to wayward pagans and driving out serpents, whether literal or spiritual.
Although different in tone, they have the similar premise of a priest who befriends a group of wayward boys to turn them away from their delinquent tendencies. Of course, these priests are played by two of the most beloved Irish American actors from the Golden Era of Hollywood—Pat O’Brien and Bing Crosby.
A James Cagney gangster film wouldn’t appear to have a lot in common with a Bing Crosby musical. Yet “Going My Way,” 1944, bears a lot of similarities to 1938’s “Angels With Dirty Faces.”
Both feature a Catholic priest of Irish descent who makes it his mission to mentor a group of young hoodlums. There are similar themes of unlikely heroes and the power of peer pressure. Both also highlight how tempting it is for people from big families with poor backgrounds to try to exploit the American dream through criminal means.
‘Angels With Dirty Faces’
“Angels With Dirty Faces” tackles that subject head-on. One of the decidedly Irish and one of James Cagney’s most acclaimed gangster films was made under the Motion Picture Production Code.
The film is based on a story by Rowland Brown, who was rumored to have gangland ties in real life. Two childhood friends from poor Irish families take very different paths in their lives. While Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) becomes a murderous gangster, making a fortune by bootlegging during Prohibition, Jerry Connolly (O’Brien) becomes a priest.
Their reunion is bittersweet as Rocky returns to their childhood neighborhood after 15 years. Most of the time he was away was spent first in reform school and then prison.
Although their lives have taken very different paths, it’s obvious that the two men still have great affection for each other. Jerry is deeply saddened that Rocky is proud of his criminal record, yet he doesn’t judge or condemn him. Instead, Jerry offers loving advice to gently guide Rocky back to the right path of right.
It’s not a tale of a good boy and a bad boy who are friends in their youth but end up drifting apart because of their differing moral compasses. It’s the story of two juvenile delinquents whose lives take drastically different directions because of a strange twist of fate.
Young Rocky (Frankie Burke) is clearly the more belligerent youth and the leader of the duo, but Jerry (William Tracy) is tagging right along with his pal. When the boys are stealing pens from a freight train, the police manage to catch Rocky, while Jerry escapes.
Although Jerry wants to share the guilt with his friend, Rocky advises him not to be a sucker. Thus, Rocky goes to a reform school. This sadly begins his training in organized crime, while the experience makes Jerry rethink his life choices.
‘Going My Way’
Whereas “Angels With Dirty Faces” features just one religious character in a cast of laypeople, “Going My Way” features not one, not two, but three priests as main characters.
The protagonist is an unconventional young priest, Chuck O’Malley (Crosby). His superior is Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald). O’Malley’s lighthearted school chum, Father Timothy O’Dowd (Frank McHugh), also pursues the priesthood.
The plot is set in motion by Father O’Malley’s arrival at the struggling St. Dominic’s, a church in a poor parish of New York City. Father Fitzgibbon is initially horrified that his new assistant introduces himself in a sweatshirt and passes time between prayers by playing golf and composing tunes.
However, the older man eventually realizes that Father O’Malley has a very sincere heart for helping the people in the parish; he approaches parishioners with sensitivity and understanding instead of disapproval.
Bad Boys
In both stories, there’s a group of boys whose afterschool activities are far from wholesome. These adolescents have strong New York accents, common street slang of the day, and little regard for authority.
We see right away that both groups have criminal tendencies and are already dabbling in petty larceny. Since “Angels With Dirty Faces” is a crime story, its gang of wayward youths is more nefarious. The boys in “Going My Way” are introduced when they are stealing live turkeys from a poultry truck. The earlier film focuses more on the boys as they reach a moral crossroads, while the boys in the later film play a smaller role in the overall story.
“Angels With Dirty Faces” famously featured the Dead End Kids. This notoriously rowdy group of young actors appeared together first on the stage in New York City and eventually made many movies.
Leading the group are characters played by Billy Halop and Leo Gorcey. These tough kids are similar to Tony Scaponi (Stanley Clements) and Herman (Carl Switzer) in “Going My Way.”
While Herman is a more comical character, Tony embodies the irreverent cockiness of the Dead End Kids. This isn’t surprising. Stanley Clements had already acted in the East Side Kids and Bowery Boys series of films. Both were spinoffs of the Dead End Kids movies, and featured a random assortment of some of the original actors.
Singing to Save Souls
St. Patrick reached the souls of the pagan Irish people by communicating with them in simple terms. He defined the concept of the Holy Trinity with the three-leaved shamrock.
Similarly, the priests in these movies reach the irreverent boys by meeting them at their own level. The priests befriend the boys, take them to sporting events, coach their games, and lead them in song.
Boy choirs play important roles in both films. An interesting connection is that the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir provided the angelic singing in both movies.
When Rocky first returns to his childhood church, he mouths the words to the hymn the boys are practicing. Although his own life has gone astray, his heart isn’t too hard to be touched by the beautiful music and the sincerity of his friend’s faith.
Father O’Malley uses music to turn the wayward boys in his parish to a more constructive use of their time and attention. He shows them how making music can be a fun yet meaningful way to earn money.
Throughout the month of March, which is recognized as Irish American Heritage Month in the United States, honor the rich culture of Ireland and its influence on American culture by watching these two entertaining and poignant films.
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