mlraymond Review of Make Way for Tomorrow

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Little known 30's drama of aging parents still powerful today

[10/10 · 9 November 2006]

This is one of the most amazing movies I have ever seen. I had never heard of it until two or three years ago, when it popped up on Turner Classic Movies. The chemistry between Beulah Bondi and Victor Moore as the old couple is believable and touching. The film is sentimental without overdoing it. I think the best scene in the picture is the sequence of the bridge lesson in the home of one of the couple's daughters. SPOILERS AHEAD: The daughter has assembled a group of well dressed guests, who are seated at tables, watching her illustrate on a chalkboard how to play bridge. As she lectures, her old mother comes in, after spending the evening at the movies. She sits in her favorite chair and begins to regale the polite guests with the story of the movie she has seen. The daughter has a brittle smile, and the guests are clearly a bit uncomfortable, and then gradually, the old lady realizes she's interrupting the game ,and apologizes. Everything goes back to the bridge lesson, but then the phone rings and Ma takes a long distance call from Pa, loud enough that no one can help overhearing her every word.What begins as idle sounding chit chat becomes more and more serious and emotional, as the old woman urges her husband to remember to dress warmly and take good care of himself, and the love she has for her husband is so real, it's impossible for the viewer not to bust out crying The guests look moved, and perhaps a little ashamed for finding her a nuisance shortly before. This is one of the most powerful, tender scenes I have ever seen on film. The reactions of every person, from the old lady, to the daughter, to the bridge players, are all superbly registered and poignantly believable.This movie deserves to be seen by anyone who loves old movies and enjoys the kind of compassionate dramas Hollywood used to turn out in its golden age.