Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, including the critically acclaimed '' Duck Soup'', '' Make Way for Tomorrow'', '' The Awful Truth'', '' Going My Way'', '' The Bells of St. Mary's'', '' My Son John'', and '' An Affair to Remember''. While focusing mainly on screwball comedies during the 1930s, McCarey turned towards producing more socially conscious and overtly religious films during the 1940s, ultimately finding success and acclaim in both genres. McCarey was one of the most popular and established comedy directors of the pre-World War II era.

Life and career

Born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, McCarey attended St. Joseph's Catholic School and Los Angeles High School. His father was Thomas J. McCarey, whom the Los Angeles Times called "the greatest fight promoter in the world." Leo McCarey would later make a boxing comedy with

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

called '' The Milky Way'' (1936). McCarey graduated from the University of Southern California law school and besides the law tried mining, boxing, and songwriting before becoming an assistant director to

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...

in 1919. It was McCarey's boyhood friend, the actor and future fellow director David Butler, who referred him to Browning. Browning convinced McCarey, despite his photogenic looks, to work on the creative side as a writer rather than as an actor. McCarey then honed his skills at the Hal Roach Studios. Roach had hired him as a gagman in 1923, after McCarey had impressed him with his sense of humor following a handball game at a sports club. McCarey initially wrote gags for the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

'' series and other studio stars, then produced and directed shorts including two-reelers with Charley Chase. Chase would, in fact, become McCarey's mentor. Upon the comedian's death in 1940, McCarey was quoted as saying, "Whatever success I have had or may have, I owe to his help because he taught me all I know." The two men were especially compatible, as they both enjoyed a side hobby trying to write popular songs. While at Roach, McCarey, according to later interviews, cast Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy together and guided development of their onscreen characters, thus creating one of the most enduring comedy teams of all time. He only officially appeared as director of the duo's shorts ''

We Faw Down ''We Faw Down'' is a synchronized sound short subject film directed by Leo McCarey starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 29, 1928. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with ...

'' (1928), ''

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

'' (1929) and '' Wrong Again'' (1929), but wrote many screenplays and supervised the direction by others. By 1929, he was vice-president of production for the studio. Less well known from this period are the shorts he directed with Max Davidson when Roach put together the Irish-American McCarey with the Jewish-American actor for a series of "dialect comedies." They were rediscovered in recent years after their 1994 exhibition at the Giornate del Cinema Muto in

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone. The name comes from Lati ...

Italy. In the sound era, McCarey focused on feature film direction, working with many of the biggest stars of the era including

Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...

('' Indiscreet'', 1931),

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

('' The Kid From Spain'',

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

), the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

('' Duck Soup'',

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

), W.C. Fields ('' Six of a Kind'',

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

), and

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

('' Belle of the Nineties'', 1934). A series of six films at Paramount came to a crashing halt with his production of '' Make Way for Tomorrow'' in 1937. While the story of an elderly couple who have to be separated for economic and family reasons during

the Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

was not without humor in its treatment, the results were too unpopular at the box office and the director was let go. Nonetheless, the film was recognized early on for its importance by being selected for the permanent collection of the recently formed

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York City. In later years it became canonical, and even considered by some as McCarey's masterpiece, due to perceptive champions such as

Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (; 25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, ...

, Charles Silver and Robin Wood. Invited to Columbia later in 1937, McCarey earned his first

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...

for '' The Awful Truth'', with Irene Dunne and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

. It was a

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...

that launched Grant's unique screen persona, largely concocted by McCarey (Grant copied many of McCarey's mannerisms). Along with the similarity in their names, McCarey and Cary Grant shared a physical resemblance, making mimicking McCarey's intonations and expressions even easier for Grant. As writer/director Peter Bogdanovich notes, "After ''The Awful Truth'', when it came to light comedy, there was Cary Grant and then everyone else was an also-ran." After the success of ''The Awful Truth'', McCarey could have become a Columbia contract director with a certain independence, like

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

. Instead, he went his own way, selling the story that would become ''The Cowboy And The Lady'' to Sam Goldwyn and then moving to RKO for three films. A car accident in 1940 prevented him from directing ''My Favorite Wife,'' a kind of follow up to ''The Awful Truth'' with the same two stars, so it was turned over to

Garson Kanin Garson Kanin (November 24, 1912 – March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films. Early life Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York; his Jewish family later relocated to Detroit then to New York City. He at ...

though McCarey worked on some of the editing. Another McCarey project for RKO, ''They Knew What They Wanted'', was also turned over to Kanin. McCarey was a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and was deeply concerned with social issues. During the 1940s, his work became more serious and his politics more conservative. In 1944 he directed '' Going My Way'', a story about an enterprising priest, the youthful Father Chuck O'Malley, played by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

, for which he won his second Best Director Oscar and Crosby won a Best Actor Oscar. McCarey's share in the profits from this smash hit gave him the highest reported income in the U.S. for 1944, and its follow-up, '' The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945), which paired Crosby with Ingrid Bergman and was made by McCarey's newly formed production company, was similarly successful. According to Paul Harrill in ''Great Directors'', McCarey acknowledged that the film is largely based on his aunt, Sister Mary Benedict, who died of typhoid. McCarey testified as a friendly witness early on in the hearings of the Un-American Activities Committee which was investigating

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activity in Hollywood. The public reacted negatively to some of his films after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; for instance, his

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

film '' My Son John'' (1952) failed at the box office. But five years later, he co-wrote, produced, and directed '' An Affair to Remember''. The film, starring

and Deborah Kerr, was a remake (with precisely the same script) of his 1939 film '' Love Affair'' with Irene Dunne and

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

. In 1993, the hugely popular

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film ''Sleepless In Seattle'' by

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as ...

made such frequent references to ''An Affair To Remember'' that it gave the older film a whole new lease on life in revivals, cable TV, and video, with the result that it is probably McCarey's most popular and easily accessible film today. He followed this hit with '' Rally Round the Flag, Boys!'' (1958), a comedy starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

and Joanne Woodward. His last picture was the poorly received '' Satan Never Sleeps'' (1962), which, like ''My Son John'', was a stern critique of

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. Auteurist critic

Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...

has said that McCarey "represents a principle of

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

in the history of the American film." Through most of his career, McCarey's filming method, rooted in the silents, was to drastically alter the story ideas, bits of business, and dialogue in the scripts previously provided to the studios and the actors. He would usually sit at a piano and doodle as the sometimes exasperated crew waited for inspiration. As

said about ''Going My Way'': "I think probably 75 percent of each day's shooting was made up on the set by Leo." While this technique was responsible for a certain awkwardness and some rough edges in the finished works, many of McCarey's scenes had a freshness and spontaneity lacking in the typical mainstream Hollywood cinema. He was not the only director of his time to work this way: fellow comedy directors

Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

and

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...

– the last also a Roach graduate – were known for their use of improvisation on the set. French director

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

once paid the great tribute of saying that "Leo McCarey understood people better than any other Hollywood director."

Death

Leo McCarey died on July 5, 1969, aged 70, from

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

.Obituary '' Variety'', July 9, 1969, page 55. He was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

. His younger brother, director

Ray McCarey Raymond Benedict McCarey (September 6, 1904 – December 1, 1948) was an American film director, brother of director Leo McCarey. Biography McCarey began working at Hal Roach Studios, where he did work on short films with Our Gang and Laure ...

, had died 21 years earlier. In 1978, Leo McCarey's production records, including scripts, budgets and correspondence were donated to the Charles Feldman Library at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in Beverly Hills.

Filmography

Films

*'' Society Secrets'' (1921) *'' All Wet'' (1924 short) *'' Isn't Life Terrible?'' (1925 short) *'' Long Fliv the King'' (1926 short) *'' Mighty Like a Moose'' (1926 short) *'' Sugar Daddies'' (1927 short) *'' Should Married Men Go Home?'' (1928 short), also writer *''

'' (1928 short) *''

'' (1929 short), also writer *'' Wrong Again'' (1929 short) * '' The Sophomore'' (1929) * '' Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929) * '' Wild Company'' (1930) * '' Part Time Wife'' (1930) * '' Let's Go Native'' (1930) *'' Indiscreet'' (1931) *'' 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) *'' Make Way for Tomorrow'' (1937), also producer *'' The Awful Truth'' (1937), also producer *'' Love Affair'' (1939), also producer *'' Once Upon a Honeymoon'' (1942), also writer and uncredited producer *'' Going My Way'' (1944), also producer *'' The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945), also producer and writer *'' Good Sam'' (1948), also producer and writer *'' My Son John'' (1952) *'' An Affair to Remember'' (1957), also producer and writer *'' Rally Round the Flag, Boys!'' (1958), also producer *'' Satan Never Sleeps'' (1962), also producer

Other work

*''

Habeas Corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' (1928 short), supervisor *'' Pass the Gravy'' (1928 short), supervisor *''

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

'' (1929 short), supervisor *'' The Cowboy and the Lady'' (1938), storywriter *''

My Favorite Wife ''My Favorite Wife'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy film produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. It stars Irene Dunne as a woman who, after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years and declared legally dead, re ...

'' (1940), producer and storywriter

Academy Awards

;Wins"Oscars.org -- Leo McCarey"
.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. Retrieved November 13, 2013. *1937 Best Director: '' The Awful Truth'' *1944 Best Director: '' Going My Way'' *1944 Best Picture: Going My Way *1944 Best Writing (Original Story): ''Going My Way'' ;Nominations *1939 Best Writing (Original Story): '' Love Affair'' *1940 Best Writing (Original Story): ''

'' *1945 Best Director: '' The Bells of St. Mary's'' *1952 Best Writing (Motion Picture Story): '' My Son John'' *1957 Best Music, Song: "An Affair To Remember" from '' An Affair to Remember''

References

External links

*
Exhaustive Leo McCarey filmography
o
The Lucky Corner

website
Leo McCarey: Hollywood Auteur, Hollywood Renegade
*
News story about the auction of a counterfeit Oscar statuette which the owner claimed was McCarey's

Literature on Leo McCarey

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarey, Leo 1898 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American screenwriters Film directors from Los Angeles American male screenwriters American Roman Catholics Best Directing Academy Award winners Best Director Golden Globe winners Best Story Academy Award winners Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City California Republicans American comedy film directors Deaths from emphysema Hal Roach Studios filmmakers USC Gould School of Law alumni Directors of Best Picture Academy Award winners MPAPAI members