O Grande O'Malley

THE GREAT O'MALLEY (Warner Brothers, 1937), directed by William Dieterle, stars Irish actor, Pat O'Brien, properly cast as an Irish policeman by the name of O'Malley. Having previously played an officer of the law by the name of O'Hara in THE IRISH IN US (1935) where James Cagney starred and gathered most of the attention, his role of O'Malley solely belongs to O'Brien, with some notable attention to some of his supporting players, such as Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan, who would become major star performers by the 1940s, and the little child actress by the name of Sybil Jason, the studio's answer to 20th Century-Fox's Shirley Temple. Though cute and agreeable in her role, Jason never became a major child actress of her time. After co-starring in two movies starring Temple at her home studio, Jason would become lifelong friends with the legendary child actress.

Set in New York City, the story introduces James Aloysius O'Malley (Pat O'Brien), whose late father was also a policeman, as a "by the book" officer who passes out citations for petty crimes and ordinances. He takes his job very seriously, even to a point of criticizing his own mother (Mary Gordon) for breaking the law for littering. One day he stops John Phillips (Humphrey Bogart), a family man with a wife (Frieda Inescort) and a child, Barbara (Sybil Jason), while on his way to his first job he's has in years, for a violation driving his Model T car with a bad muffler. Only a few minutes late, John loses his job to another man. In desperate need of extra money to buy food for his family, he tries to pawn off some personal items. Unable to get the $10 needed, John steals $400 from the pawnbroker. Later he is stopped by O'Malley for a traffic violation, unaware that he is now a wanted man. Later arrested, John is put to trial and sentenced to serve two to ten years in the state penitentiary. His wife informs Barbara that her father has gone away on his new job in Canada. Because of the incident that could have been prevented, but has only ruined a man's life instead, Captain Cromwell (Donald Crisp) asks O'Malley for his resignation, but is refused. Cromwell decides to make or break O'Malley by reducing him to school crossing guard at Public School 141. Although O'Malley finds his new job humiliating, he soon takes an interest in a girl with a lame leg, who happens to be the daughter John Phillips, and the child's teacher, Judy Nolan (Ann Sheridan). Other members of the cast include: Henry O'Neill (Defense Attorney); Hobart Cavanaugh ("Pinky" Holden); Frank Sheridan (Father Patrick); Lillian Harmer (Miss Taylor); Frank Reicher (Doctor Edwin Larson), with Granville Bates, Henry Armetta and Stanley Fields in smaller roles.

Based on the story with material that was previously done in the silent era as THE MAKING OF O'MALLEY (1925) with Milton Sills and Dorothy MacKaill, this latest update gathers enough attention through its Warner Brothers stock company in their properly placed roles. As mentioned earlier, O'Brien handles his role perfectly as a no nonsense policeman. While Humphrey Bogart has become relatively known for playing gangsters, villains and later detectives, this along with his earlier BLACK LEGION (1936) does he get the rare opportunity playing a father of a small child. Of all the cast members, O'Brien is the sole focus who nearly takes second place to Sybil Jason. No matter, since he won't ever give her a citation for scene stealing. Regardless of some syrupy scenes, and how the Great O'Malley gets through his humiliation with job demotion, the movie is satisfactory 70 minute production.

Viewed mostly on Turner Classic Movies cable channel, THE GREAT O'MALLEY, which was at one point in history was rarely shown on television since the 1960s, has become available on DVD. It would be nice to have the silent 1925 movie available one of these days for O'Malley comparison. (***)

Pat O'Brien plays John O'Malley, a New York City beat cop who thinks that enforcing the law is all mechanics and no heart. He tickets businessmen for having awnings that are inches too long, threatens to cite his own mother for spreading debris when she feeds bread to the pigeons from her kitchen window, and cites John Phillips (Humphrey Bogart) for a loud muffler when he is on his way to the first job he has had in years - remember this is the Great Depression. This sets off a string of tragic events starting with Phillips being late to his job and thus losing it, then being too proud to tell his wife and crippled daughter (Sybil Jason) that he lost the job, and finally an altercation at a pawn shop where Phillips was trying to pawn his gun and WWI medals that turns into a robbery. Philips goes to prison, and O'Malley becomes the laughing stock of the force and a target of the press as an example of law enforcement abuse.

All the while, O'Malley holds tight to his belief that he is just doing his job by enforcing all the law the all the time by the book. His captain wants his resignation, and when O'Malley won't give it, he has him assigned to public school crossing guard duty. The captain believes this will break or make the man. Did I mention that Phillips' little daughter goes to the same elementary school where O'Malley is assigned, and they strike up a friendship, neither one knowing who the other is? A romantic and humanizing interest comes in the person of Ann Sheridan as a schoolteacher at the elementary school.

This is a pleasant little early production code era entry, with O'Brien playing the same kind of hard boiled egg he played before the code, but this time donning a policeman's uniform. The only negative in the film, in my opinion, was a common device in films of the mid 30's - a child that is sickly-sticky sweet (Sybil Jason's character) over-sentimentalizing matters and sucking the adult cast into more than a few silly situations. However, at least here the child star is central to the plot. All in all, recommended especially for fans of Pat O'Brien and Ann Sheridan and anybody that is interested in a film in which Sybil Jason is actually billed above Humphrey Bogart - an odd sight indeed some 75 years later.

This film is about an above the board policeman who learns that having a little heart along with the necessity to do what is right goes a long way. Bogart is playing a small but significant role as the well meaning every day Joe that gets caught up in the circumstances of poverty. Still the show is all O'Brien's as we see him go through a range of emotions from start to finish. Worth watching.

I didn't mind at all that this was predictable and formulaic-- I like the sappy stuff. Who's a better Irish cop than Pat O'Brien? And it's a treat to see early Ann Sheridan and Bogart. The Production Code guaranteed that justice, and not just the letter of the law, would be done.

I noticed that Father Patrick was played by Father Sheridan, but it appears that he was no relation to the lovely Ann. He had quite a long career in films, beginning with silents in 1915.

It was really a cheap shot for Warners to release a publicity tagline such as "a Hot-Headed Irish Cop Comes to Grips with a Cold-Blooded Killer..." to rope in audiences who'd be expecting a crime thriller instead of a heart-warming tale of a mean cop's redemption.

Heart-warming is fine with me.

Overall this is a particularly good film. Top-notch acting and direction, an involving plot, realistic scenery. A gaggle of veteran and up-and-coming actors deliver worthy, multi-dimensional performances that make us care about their characters. Pat O'Brien, always reliable as a fast-talking, rough and tough, take charge and take no prisoners character here gives a much more nuanced performance than is his usual. Donald Crisp is reliable as always as O'Brien's boss. Sybil Jason, the South-African wunderkind, was very endearing and a professional despite her age. It's too bad she didn't make it as she grew older. Then there's Humphrey Bogart, Frieda Inescourt, and Ann Sheridan who would all go to much bigger and better things.

So what's my beef? Well, let's consider the basic premise of the film: a man (Bogart) is on his way to work in a beat-up car with faulty exhaust and is given a ticket by an overzealous cop (O'Brien). The delay causes him to lose his job and in desperation he commits a burglary which lands him in prison. OK, so the cop didn't have to cite him for such a minor offense and even after he stopped him, could have believed him and let him go. But this is exactly where the logic is flawed and we find out how in the next few minutes. When Bogart tries to pawn some items the pawnbroker asks him why he doesn't go on relief to which Bogart replies that he wouldn't take any handouts. And there you have it. Had the man been on relief he could have fixed his muffler which would have given the cop no reason to stop him and he would have made it to his job on time. But no, in true pioneer spirit, rather than ask for government help (which after all he contributed to with his taxes) and preferring false pride to responsibility to his family he runs foul of the law and ends up in the clink completely powerless. And to me that's stupid.

Now I'll get off my pedestal and stop sermonizing. "The Great O'Malley" many not be masterpiece but it certainly bears watching and a worthy addition to anyone's collection.