One Foot in Heaven (1941)

Directed by Irving Rapper. Starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Gene Lockhart, Beulah Bondi, Harry Davenport, Laura Hope Crews, Elisabeth Fraser, Frankie Thomas, Grant Mitchell, Moroni Olsen, Jerome Cowan.

A family-life-across-the-years story as ramrod rigid as it is cornball gooey, tracing the path of a minister (March) across several congregations as American society becomes more progressive in the early 20th century, his dutiful wife and bland children in tow. Although the film doesn’t preach to the choir as militantly (or inanely) as the average faith-based piece of cinematic propaganda cluttering the niche market today, it’s far too preachy and holier-than-thou to merely be a wholesome scoop of moldy vanilla ice cream—so relentless, in fact, I half-expected March’s parson to emerge as an antagonist before the end instead of a slightly misguided “pillar of moral righteousness”. I hesitate to label the actor’s performance as insufferable since it’s meant to be played that way, but aside from a few scattered scenes, like his failure to convert a science-minded doctor while chatting over a couple of fountain sodas, his patronage of a movie house filled with excited children, and his retaliation against close-minded hypocrites near the story’s end, the character he plays sure is. Penned by Casey Robinson from a Hartzell Spence memoir.

44/100