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tribute to the Good
Samaritan type. And that is understandable, for the story is such a cliché that it may not be easily distinguished as an outright travesty. ... But if you'll realize at the outset that the hero of this comic tale is not supposed to be taken as a proper example at all but is really something of a lampoon—a spoof of a popular movie type—then you'll certainly get more pleasure out of the antics than if you don't. Crowther praised Cooper's performance as a spoof of "every do-gooder that he has played since Mr. Deeds, plus a couple of memorable do-gooders that
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writes that the film “ ...balances comedy, pathos, and irony so freely within each scene that you don't know how the movie expects you to react. This ambiguity of affect marks the cinema of Leo McCarey. He's so fascinated by observing the nuances of human reactions, and how the emotions of different
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magazine review which chided Cooper for overacting, writing: "Mr. Cooper is now a grown man and his boyish bashfulness, sheepish grins, trembling lip and fluttering eyelids are actors' tricks he can surely do without"; Meyers blamed Cooper's maneuvers on the actor's efforts to "compensate for a poor
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evaluated the film positively, calling it "a mischievous sort of satire" and pointing out that the main character, who behaves like a saint towards everyone, should not be taken seriously. Crowrher wrote: “The principal danger in this picture is that people will take it seriously as a nobly intended
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Sam is unhappy, too. He's annoyed with the
Butlers, who have crashed his car and can't pay to fix it. He also wants Claude to move out. Shirley Mae's troubles come to his door after she overdoses on pills. Though the Adamses surprise him with a check for $ 6,000 to repay their loan, Sam uses some of
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Sam is a department store manager whose boss, H.C. Borden, wants him to sell more and socialize less. Sam's a shoulder for clerk
Shirley Mae to cry on when her romance breaks up. He also gives a $ 5,000 loan, without his wife's knowledge, to Mr. and Mrs. Adams, who need it to save a gas station they
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has played". He also lauded
Sheridan's performance for cueing the reader to the fact the film should not be taken seriously, writing: "As a matter of fact, it is the lovely and willful sarcasm in her approach—the non-Pollyannaism—that keys the whole purpose of the film". He called McCarey's staging
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Lu is fed up with Sam's generosity, particularly when he ends up paying for the
Butlers' car repairs, then letting the mechanic come over for home-cooked meals. The last straw for Lu comes when she learns they have a chance to put a down payment on a new house, except Sam has lent their nest egg to
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Sam
Clayton is too good for his own good. A sermon by Rev. Daniels persuades him to help others in every way he can, including his wife Lu's good-for-nothing brother, Claude, who's been living with them rent-free for six months, and their neighbors the Butlers, who need a car for a vacation when
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and produced by McCarey's production company, Rainbow
Productions. It received mixed reviews, with critics alternately liking and disliking the film based on whether they viewed it as a serious story or a spoof. The film was one of the top box-office draws of 1948, grossing $ 2.95 million.
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The film was shot in Los
Angeles from August 4 to October 1947. In January 1948, McCarey reportedly filmed additional scenes to provide alternative endings for the film. Preview audiences were then asked to state which of the two endings they preferred. The unused ending is not known.
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marching band playing
Christmas songs brings him back home. There the bank manager promises that he will receive the loan he asked for, and Borden surprises him with a promotion to vice-president of the store.
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gave the picture a weak nod, writing: "The film has several good laughs, and no doubt some people will find it amusing and even philosophical. Others will find it episodic, confused and even embarrassing".
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the money to pay for the annual
Christmas charity dinner after he is robbed of the money he collected from employees and the bank refuses to give him a loan. He ends up in a bar, drinking copiously. A
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criticized McCarey's coaching of the actors for "bungling" the potential satirical comedy, resulting in Cooper giving "one of the most dopey, insipid performances of his long career".
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was asked to work on the script but refused, stating: " man who tried to lead in our times the life of an apostle would be an idiot and would be considered by others to be one".
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blamed Cooper's performance for slowing the film's pacing, due to his "languidness and too obviously premeditated performance in a pic that in itself is unusually long".
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marching band accompanies Cooper's drunken character home, director McCarey assembled a 25-piece band composed of students from several high schools in the
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Contemporary reviews also noted the miscasting of Sheridan, who typically played "sassy" characters but in this film was cast as a "bland" housewife.
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The film grossed $ 2.95 million in domestic and international receipts, giving it a ranking of no. 23 on the list of highest grossing films of 1948.
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Interior scenes of the church were modeled after the interior of the city's St. James Episcopal Church. The Rev. J. Herbert Smith, pastor of
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characters feed and counterpoint each other, that he lets scenes run on quite long; you get the feeling he'd just as soon they never end.
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Fernando Croce on the other hand, asserts that "he leisurely treatment allows for the flowering of digressions like
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of the interactions between the main character and his wife, and with others, "bright, explosive—and absurd".
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who is helpful to others at the expense of his own family. The film was directed by
765:"Gary Cooper Plays 'Good Sam' in Leo McCarey's Production at Radio City Music Hall"
532:, Meyers describes Cooper's acting in this film as "merely goofy". Meyers quotes a
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calls the film "an almost complete misfire" and a "lifeless comedy".
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felt the stylishly-outfitted Sheridan looked more at home "in a
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McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions, borrowed
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was adapted for a September 25, 1950 presentation on
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he signed a "significant contract" with Warner Bros.
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578:'s monumental slow-burn at the wheel of a bus".
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917:"'Good Sam' Is Anything But a Feel-Good Hit"
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1028:Jewell, Richard J.; Harbin, Vernon (1982).
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730:"Good Sam. 1948. Directed by Leo McCarey"
608:on March 13, 1952, starring Sheridan and
508:salon" than in the kitchen cooking eggs.
833:. Vol. 93, no. 210. p. 8.
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797:Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser
581:As of December 2020, review aggregator
474:Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser
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994:. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 42
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570:'s sketch of a wizened sly pixie or
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518:Writing in 2001, Cooper biographer
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823:Thomas, Bob (September 1, 1948).
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331:Bobby Dolan Jr. as Butch Clayton
990:Kirby, Walter (March 9, 1952).
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381:'s character. According to the
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641:. January 5, 1949. p. 46.
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174:130 minutes (original release)
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1440:Films directed by Leo McCarey
810:National Library of Australia
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450:Critical reviews were mixed.
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1465:1940s English-language films
1058:. Rowman & Littlefield.
542:Among 21st-century critics.
414:All Saints' Episcopal Church
313:as Chloe, the Claytons' maid
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1389:Rally Round the Flag, Boys!
420:, was a technical advisor.
154:September 1, 1948
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200:$ 2,950,000 (US rentals)
16:1948 film by Leo McCarey
1357:The Bells of St. Mary's
694:American Film Institute
383:American Film Institute
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763:(September 17, 1948).
633:"Top Grossers of 1948"
600:starring Sheridan and
529:Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
377:, to play the wife of
1381:An Affair to Remember
1341:Once Upon a Honeymoon
1317:Make Way for Tomorrow
1293:Belle of the Nineties
893:Turner Classic Movies
471:A 1950 review by the
427:on October 23, 1947.
176:114 minutes (reissue)
1470:1940s American films
1173:Isn't Life Terrible?
735:Museum of Modern Art
357:and John D. Klorer.
353:based on a story by
271:as Samuel R. Clayton
241:theirs breaks down.
1189:Mighty Like a Moose
1034:. Arlington House.
943:Croce, Fernando F.
856:. December 31, 1947
830:Santa Cruz Sentinel
487:Santa Cruz Sentinel
437:Library of Congress
322:Dick Ross as Claude
283:as Reverend Daniels
211:is a 1948 American
130:Rainbow Productions
116:Robert Emmett Dolan
1450:RKO Pictures films
1397:Satan Never Sleeps
1301:Ruggles of Red Gap
1269:The Kid from Spain
1181:Long Fliv the King
1143:Films directed by
1108:TCM Movie Database
770:The New York Times
459:The New York Times
446:Critical reception
277:as Lucille Clayton
140:RKO Radio Pictures
1455:1948 comedy films
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888:"Good Sam (1948)"
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293:Joan Lorring
275:Ann Sheridan
251:
247:
243:
239:
207:
206:
205:
170:Running time
147:Release date
82:Ann Sheridan
1373:My Son John
1333:Love Affair
1213:Wrong Again
1197:We Faw Down
1145:Leo McCarey
954:January 29,
949:CinePassion
928:January 29,
860:January 29,
825:"Hollywood"
776:January 29,
742:January 29,
717:Meyers 2001
702:January 29,
659:Meyers 2001
610:David Wayne
602:Joel McCrea
589:Adaptations
572:Dick Wessel
559:CinePassion
398:Los Angeles
379:Gary Cooper
355:Leo McCarey
351:Ken Englund
342:Development
287:Edmund Lowe
281:Ray Collins
269:Gary Cooper
229:Leo McCarey
221:Gary Cooper
86:Edmund Lowe
78:Gary Cooper
69:Leo McCarey
66:Produced by
59:Leo McCarey
50:Ken Englund
40:Leo McCarey
36:Directed by
1420:1948 films
1414:Categories
1261:Indiscreet
977:2020-12-22
945:"Good Sam"
922:PopMatters
848:"Good Sam"
792:"Good Sam"
616:References
549:PopMatters
337:Production
317:Ruth Roman
217:drama film
197:Box office
158:1948-09-01
123:Production
1277:Duck Soup
804:March 12,
568:Ida Moore
539:script".
511:In 1982,
319:as Ruthie
219:starring
102:Edited by
1365:Good Sam
1103:Good Sam
1097:AllMovie
1092:Good Sam
1081:Good Sam
1052:(2001).
594:Good Sam
524:Good Sam
387:Good Sam
347:Good Sam
245:bought.
208:Good Sam
189:Language
112:Music by
74:Starring
56:Story by
22:Good Sam
1205:Liberty
1165:All Wet
1106:at the
1022:Sources
998:May 23,
853:Variety
696:Catalog
638:Variety
562:website
502:Variety
494:Variety
431:Release
404:Filming
365:Casting
192:English
181:Country
156: (
125:company
1400:(1962)
1392:(1958)
1384:(1957)
1376:(1952)
1368:(1948)
1360:(1945)
1352:(1944)
1344:(1942)
1336:(1939)
1328:(1937)
1320:(1937)
1312:(1936)
1304:(1935)
1296:(1934)
1288:(1934)
1280:(1933)
1272:(1932)
1264:(1931)
1256:(1930)
1248:(1930)
1240:(1930)
1232:(1929)
1224:(1929)
1216:(1929)
1208:(1929)
1200:(1928)
1192:(1926)
1184:(1926)
1176:(1925)
1168:(1924)
1160:(1921)
1062:
1038:
896:. 2020
738:. 2020
698:. 2019
522:calls
400:area.
373:from
223:as a
1086:IMDb
1060:ISBN
1036:ISBN
1000:2015
956:2020
930:2020
902:2023
862:2020
806:2017
778:2020
744:2020
704:2020
484:The
262:Cast
236:Plot
1095:at
1084:at
535:Cue
477:of
456:of
416:of
1416::
947:.
919:.
890:.
850:.
839:^
827:.
794:.
767:.
752:^
732:.
691:.
666:^
647:^
635:.
624:^
612:.
1136:e
1129:t
1122:v
1068:.
1044:.
1006:.
958:.
932:.
904:.
864:.
812:.
780:.
746:.
706:.
564:,
215:-
160:)
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