Make Way for Tomorrow

1937
Approved
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

10K

YOUR RATING

Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Victor Moore, and Barbara Read in Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Play trailer1:35

1 Video

57 Photos

Drama Romance

An elderly couple are forced to live hundreds of miles apart when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in.An elderly couple are forced to live hundreds of miles apart when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in.An elderly couple are forced to live hundreds of miles apart when they lose their house and none of their five children will take both parents in.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

10K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins total

Trivia
When Leo McCarey received his 1938 Best Director Oscar for The Awful Truth (1937), he reportedly said that he got it for the wrong film, a clear reference to his fondness for this film.

Goofs
Nellie's arm jumps from her ear to her lap when she says, "I'll have to talk to Harvey about it."

Quotes
Rhoda Cooper: Why don't you face facts, Grandma?
Lucy Cooper: Oh, Rhoda!
[Pats her hand]
Lucy Cooper: When you're 17 and the world's beautiful, facing facts is just as slick fun as dancing or going to parties, but when you're 70... well, you don't care about dancing, you don't think about parties anymore, and about the only fun you have left is pretending that there ain't any facts to face, so would you mind if I just went on pretending?

Connections
Featured in Tomorrow, Yesterday, and Today (2010)

Soundtracks
When a St. Louis Woman Comes Down to New Orleans
(1934) (uncredited)
Written by Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow and Gene Austin

User reviews94

Review

Featured review

8/10

An honest-to-God tearjerker...

An elderly couple lose their home and their grown children don't want them around, so where can they turn? After a creaky start, this thoughtful film becomes absorbing and very touching. It thankfully never resorts to feel-good measures: the oldsters are not painted as saints (in fact, Beulah Bondi's "Ma" is realistically nagging and nosy) and their kids are completely selfish (which is entirely believable). The picture has one of the most haunting endings that I can recall, and it's even more powerful to consider how timely it all is (and how this situation still rears its ugly head today). An emotionally gripping, wistful, memorable movie. ***1/2 from ****