Having worked in cinema programming for some 40 years, and retaining an enviable memory of each film he’d seen, it was sometimes the case that Pete would lavish praise on a film that would, to the intrigued listener’s frustration, prove completely unavailable for viewing in any format. One such was Make Way for Tomorrow, an all-but-forgotten film by Leo McCarey which was thankfully reissued a few years ago. An inspiration for Ozu’s Tokyo Story, this heartbreaking and beautiful story of an aging couple and their selfish children is one of the great unsung Hollywood masterpieces. 

Pete loved recounting how when McCarey won an Oscar for The Awful Truth (also 1937), he told the audience that they’d given it to him for the wrong film. He was right.

This film is screening as part of our special tribute season, dedicated to Pete Walsh (March 9th – 31st).