I was thinking a little bit more about Going My Way vs. Double Indemnity so I decided to watch the latter last night. I speculated that perhaps it the acting in Going My Way was superior to the acting in Double Indemnity, and that could have been the reason that Going My Way took home the Oscar for Best Motion Picture. But after re-watching Double Indemnity, I have changed my opinion about that because the acting in Going My Way is not superior to the acting in Double Indemnity. Yes, Bing Crosby did a better job as Father O’Malley than Fred MacMurray did as Walter Neff. But Barbara Stanwyck was nominated for Best Actress and she deserved that nomination. As Phyllis Dietrichson, she is the prototypical femme fatale in this film and played the role with a sinister edge that belied her beauty. Then there was Edward G. Robinson as the claims manager Barton Keyes who slowly but surely figures out that Mr. Dietrichson’s death was not so accidental. The scene in which Keyes eviscerates Norton, the president of the insurance company, is a textbook acting scene that any actor should study. He shows a rapier wit and cynicism, yet delivers his lines in such a humorous way that you can’t help but to like and respect that character.

No, I think what won the award for Going My Way was sentimentality. The better part of the past 15 years leading up to that point had been spent dealing with either World War II or the Great Depression. People needed movies that were not only escapism, but that made them feel better about life as well. They certainly did not want or need negativity.

Double Indemnity has a downer of an ending. In fact, Walter Neff reveals the ending within the first five minutes of the film if you’re paying attention. It ends the only way it could end, and it’s a satisfying ending at that. But, it is a downer. Going My Way, on the other hand, has a very happy ending, although it’s somewhat bitter sweet. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice little bow at the end of Going My Way, which, by the way, is the way it should have ended. But audiences must have left the theaters feeling much better about the world and life in general after Going My Way. Double Indemnity is the prototypical film noir. It’s dark, about shady people doing shady things, and they get their comeuppance in the end. Going My Way ends with a rebuilt church, a rebuilt parish and a man who cleanly and clearly accomplished what he came to do. For all of its faults, Going My Way is certainly a feel-good movie.

People walked out of both movies satisfied, but one was happy, the other depressing. It’s understandable that the happy movie was rewarded. I still don’t agree with the decision, but I understand it a little more.

I will say one more thing before signing off. If you are a screenwriter and you’ve never seen Double Indemnity, see it. It has an amazing script with dialogue that is dripping with subtext, an intricately woven plot, and an excellently structured story. It is a script that any screenwriter can learn from.