Make Way for Tomorrow Reviews

MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW is a melancholy tear-jerker that, amazingly, never once goes over the edge into false or maudlin sentimentality. But a sensitive script and flawless acting and direction didn't help at the box office; the issue of "what to do with the old folks" was not attractive to audiences still suffering the aftermath of the Depression. Give Paramount credit, however, for making the film, and Leo McCarey credit for the same skill with sentiment that distinguished GOING MY WAY and LOVE AFFAIR. Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi play Barkley and Lucy Cooper, a poor elderly couple whose home is being taken away. None of their children has the space or the wherewithal to take in both parents, so the couple must be split up. Several scenes depict the difficulties which arise in both houses. In the end, the couple share a beautifully restrained, realistic and moving farewell at the railway station from which they embarked on their honeymoon decades ago. Stage and screen comedian Moore was already 60 when he accepted this unaccustomed dramatic role, and he was simply brilliant. Bondi was only 46, but Wally Westmore's makeup convinces the eye that she is two decades older. Critics loved it, and MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW made many of the Best Film lists, although it was nominated for no awards by the Oscar crowd. Thomas Mitchell, as a son, and Fay Bainter as his wife were both just 16 years younger than Moore, although no one noticed. Bring several hankies for this one. The one song, "Make Way For Tomorrow," had about as much acceptance as the film.