The Mighty McGurk

Watching a film like The MIghty McGurk and seeing those scenes between former pug Wallace Beery and young English orphan Dean Stockwell you can hardly believe you are seeing one of the great misanthropes of the last century. I can't find anyone who enjoyed working with Wallace Beery..

Still seeing The Mighty McGurk might convince you Beery was the greatest actor who ever lived knowing what we know about him. This film has Beery working for saloonkeeper Edward Arnold as a bragging bouncer on retainer. Beery gets an assignment to pick up Arnold's daughter Dorothy Patrick over from the boat from Great Britain. But he muffs it and winds up with young English orphan Dean Stockwell who has come over to be with his uncle who has taken a powder with company funds.

So the two are kind of stuck with each other. If you've seen Treasure Island or The Champ with Beery and young Jackie Cooper you know what you'll get with this film.

As for Arnold he wants the corner location of the Salvation Army has on The Bowery where former fighter and Beery protege Cameron Mitchell is running the place. He wants Beery's help to get him out one way or another. Gives Beery some critical choices to make. Aline McMahon gets the roles that usually went to Marie Dressler or Marjorie Main as the pawnbroker who Beery parks his championship belt with when he needs a few bucks.

The Mighty McGurk is a pleasant piece of turn of the last century nostalgia.

According to one of his young co-stars (Jackie Cooper), despite making a career out of playing avuncular but rough characters who love kids, he was, quite the opposite. But the public loved his film image and despite apparently disliking kids, he co-starred with a bunch of them*. In this very formulaic film, he's paired with a young Dean Stockwell.

The film finds Slag McGurk (Beery) a bit of a blow-hard. While he lives on his public image as an ex-boxing champ and all around swell guy, he's a bit of a phoney--though few know the truth. But his boss (Edward Arnold) does and keeps it to himself. One day the boss sends McGurk on an errand and the guy ends up getting stuck with a cute British kid whose accent seems to come and go like the wind (Stockwell). The kid, 'Nipper', takes an almost instant like to the guy and believes all his tales of boxing and manliness. However, McGurk only hangs on to the kid because he mistakenly thinks the boy's uncle wants him and will handsomely reward McGurk for caring for him. But when the uncle turns out to be a crook, what is to become of Nipper and McGurk?

As I mentioned above, this is a standard Beery formula. This is not only because of the kid (as many Beery films did NOT have kids) but because Beery plays pretty much the same sort of rogue who eventually proves he has a heart of gold. Enjoyable but also not particularly new or unique if you've seen a few of his films.

Roy "Slag" McGurk (Wallace Beery) is the former heavyweight boxing champion. He barely makes a living in the rowdy Bowery district of New York City. At Ellis Island, he gets paired up with young English orphan Nipper (Dean Stockwell).

This is not the youngest Dean Stockwell I've seen, but he does show off his acting skills by playing British. He tries. He may be able to do more without worrying about his accent. Beery is doing Beery as always and that's what he's good at. The chemistry is what it is. The story is rather random. This is for Beery fans and a chance to see a very young Stockwell.

Wallace Beery who plays former heavyweight champion Roy 'Slag' McGurk encapsulates what a diversified actor must be able to bring to the large screen for not only a successful box office picture, but for a vastly entertaining one for decades of future movie goers such as myself. Beery's facial expressions and body mannerisms are priceless and he utilizes his full ensemble in this charming 1940's black and white family themed picture to draw you in and keep us all entertained.

Director John Waters not only knew what he had in a bonafide star of Wallace Beery's calibre he also surrounded his film The Mighty McGurk with a terrific supporting cast such as with the little English born orphan boy Nipper (played by the great character actor Dean Stockwell), the mean spirited bar owner Mike Glenson (Edward Arnold), a former boxing middleweight turned Salvation Army recruiter named Johnny Burden (Cameron Mitchell) and a high spirited pawn shop owner named Mamie Steeple (Aline MacMahon) round out a uniquely entertaining cast and story.

Oh, did I fail to mention that director John Waters chooses to even bring out the "big guns" in the cutest little dog nicknamed "Pat" because the orphan boy Nipper likes the way his runaway dog "pats" his little tail on the floor? It's a great family film for the ages that centers around an over the hill boxer who wants to be considered a world champion until this orphan boy named Nipper means more to him than all the money in the world and if that is not enough for you, than the dog named Pat will surely win your heart of cold hearts over.

It's a great film for 1947 and surely under rated.

If you're a big fan of Wallace Beery, as I am, you'll be disappointed with this rehash of the common theme that Beery is rough on the outside but sweet inside. Beery's best days were in the 30s, and by 1947 he is far too old to be playing the "Champ" or even the ex-Champ. Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss. Go back and see "The Champ" again. Among my favorite Beery films - "Dinner at 8", "Big House", "Treasure Island".. and for a hoot, "Viva Villa"