Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 movies, the most well known today being Duck Soup (1933) with the Marx Brothers, Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), with Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi; The Awful Truth (1937), with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant; Going My Way (1944), with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald; The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), with Crosby and Ingrid Bergman; My Son John (1952), with Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Robert Walker, and Dean Jagger; and An Affair To Remember (1957), with Grant and Deborah Kerr.
He focusing mainly on screwball comedies during the 1920s (working with Laurel and Hardy on a few projects) and 1930s. Notable films during this period include Indiscreet (1931), with Gloria Swanson and Ben Lyon; The Kid from Spain (1932), with Eddie Cantor; Six of a Kind (1934), with Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland, W.C. Fields, George Burns, and Gracie Allen; The Belle of the Nineties (1934), with Mae West; Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, and ZaSu Pitts; The Milky Way (1936), with Harold Lloyd; and Love Affair (1939), with Dunne and Charles Boyer.
McCarey then turned towards producing more socially conscious and overtly religious movies during the 1940s, ultimately finding success and acclaim in both genres. Other notable films during this period include Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942), with Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Walter Slezak; and Good Sam (1948), with Cooper and Ann Sheridan. He was one of the most popular and established comedy directors of the pre-World War II era. During his career he was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning 2 for Best Director (The Awful Truth and Going My Way) and 1 for Best Original Story (Going My Way. His last films were Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Joan Collins, Jack Carson, and Tuesday Weld; and Satan Never Sleeps (1962), with William Holden, Clifton Webb, France Nuyen, Athene Seyler, and Martin Benson
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Society Secrets (1921)
- Publicity Pays (1924) – short
- Young Oldfield (1924) – short
- Stolen Goods (1924) – short
- Jeffries Jr. (1924) – short
- A Ten-Minute Egg (1924) – short
- Seeing Nellie Home (1924) – short
- Why Men Work (1924) – short
- Outdoor Pajamas (1924) – short
- Sittin’ Pretty (1924) – short
- Too Many Mammas (1924) – short
- Bungalow Boobs (1924) – short
- Accidental Accidents (1924) – short
- All Wet (1924) – short
- The Poor Fish (1924) – short
- The Royal Razz (1924) – short
- The Rat’s Knuckles (1925) – short
- Hello Baby! (1925) – short
- Fighting Fluid (1925) – short
- The Family Entrance (1925) – short
- Plain and Fancy Girls (1925) – short
- Should Husbands Be Watched? (1925) – short
- Hard Boiled (1925) – short
- Is Marriage the Bunk (1925) – short
- Bad Boy (1925) – short
- Big Red Riding Hood (1925) – short
- Looking for Sally (1925) – short
- What Price Goofy? (1925) – short
- Isn’t Life Terrible? (1925) – short
- Innocent Husbands (1925) – short
- No Father to Guide Him (1925) – short
- The Caretaker’s Daughter (1925) – short
- The Uneasy Three (1925) – uncredited director – short
- Hold Everything (1925) – short
- His Wooden Wedding (1925) – short
- Charley My Boy! (1926) – short
- Mama Behave (1926) – short
- Dog Shy (1926) – short
- Mum’s the Word (1926) – short
- Long Fliv the King (1926) – short
- Mighty Like a Moose (1926) – short
- Crazy Like a Fox (1926) – short
- Bromo and Juliet (1926) – short
- Tell ‘Em Nothing (1926) – short
- Be Your Age (1926) – uncredited director – short
- Should Men Walk Home? (1927) – short
- Why Girls Say No (1927) – short
- Jewish Prudence (1927) – short
- Eve’s Love Letters (1927) – short
- Don’t Tell Everything (1927) – short
- Sugar Daddies (1927) – short
- What Every Iceman Knows (1927) – short
- Should Second Husbands Come First? (1927) – short
- The Way of All Pants (1927) – short
- Us (1927) – short
- Flaming Fathers (1927) – short
- Leave ‘me Laughing (1928) – co-directed with Clyde Bruckman – short
- The Family Group (1928) – co-directed with Fred Guiol – short
- The Finishing Touch (1928) – co-directed with Clyde Bruckman – short
- Came the Dawn (1928) – co-directed with Arch Heath
- From Soup to Nuts (1928) – co-directed with Edgar Kennedy – short
- Blow by Blow (1928) – short
- Tell It to the Judge (1928) – co-directed with Hal Yates – short
- The Fight Pest – co-directed with Fred Guiol, story – short
- Should Women Drive? (1928) – also story – short
- Should Married Men Go Home? (1928) – co-directed with James Parrot – also co-writer – short
- That Night (1928) – co-directed with Arch Heath – also story- short
- Do Gentlemen Snore? (1928) – also story – short
- The Boy Friend (1928) – co-directed with Fred Guiol – uncredited story – short
- Habeas Corpus (1928) – co-directed with James Parrott – also writer – short
- We Faw Down (1928) – short
- Pass the Gravy (1928) – directed by Fred Guiol – short – supervisor
- Liberty (1929) short – also writer
- Wrong Again (1929) – also co-story – short
- When Money Comes (1929) – also story – short
- Why Is a Plumber? (1929) – also story – short
- Big Business (1929) – co-directed with by James W. Horne – uncredited writer – short
- The Unkissed Man (1929) – also story -short
- The Sophomore (1929) – sound version lost
- Red Hot Rhythm (1929) – also co-story – lost
- Wild Company (1930)
- Let’s Go Native (1930)
- Part Time Wife (1930) – also co-writer
- Indiscreet (1931) – also uncredited co-writer
- The Kid from Spain (1932)
- Duck Soup (1933)
- Six of a Kind (1934)
- Belle of the Nineties (1934)
- Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
- The Milky Way (1936) – uncredited fill-in directing by Ray McCarey & Norman Z. McLeod
- Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) – also producer
- The Awful Truth (1937) – also producer
- The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) – directed by H.C. Potter – co-story
- Love Affair (1939) – also producer
- My Favorite Wife (1940) – directed by Garson Kanin – co-writer, producer
- Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) – also story, uncredited producer
- Going My Way (1944) – also story, producer
- The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) – also story, producer
- Good Sam (1948) – also co-story, producer
- You Can Change the World (1950) – documentary short
- My Son John (1952) – also co-writer
- An Affair to Remember (1957) – also co-writer, producer
- Rally ‘Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) – also co-writer, producer
- Satan Never Sleeps (1962) – also co-writer, producer – uncredited directing by David W. Orton
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