Symphony of Six Million

Dir. Gregory La Cava

94 Minutes

USA

1932

Starring: Ricardo Cortez, Irene Dunne, Anna Appel, Gregory Ratoff, Noel Madison, Lita Chevret

**1/2/*****

Well-intentioned but overly saccharine drama about a Jewish doctor from the slums (Ricardo Cortez) who wants to use his medical knowledge to help those in need but is lured by his more money oriented brother to build up his name and bank account on Upper West Side residents ("Are you interested in facelifts?"). His decisions eventually pivot towards his own home as the film lumbers towards a tragic conclusion. La Cava is moving entirely into a different realm, and, unlike The Age of Consent from the same year, this film is an oddball in his filmography both in narrative content and directorial skill. With similar beats as films like Frank Capra's The Younger Generation or Mervyn LeRoy's The Heart of New York (less so the latter for its comedic foundation, but its depiction of the poorer areas of New York run parallel), La Cava experiments a bit with music (and the film is apparently the first of its kind during the sound era in having a continuous score) giving some weight to its title, and the film is strongest in quieter familial ensemble scenes. But when its pesky proclivity towards its maudlin narrative kicks in it admittedly becomes a chore (though not without some visual interest, such as its climactic operating room sequence, a final shot of which is surprisingly powerful). Admirable for La Cava exploring something outside of what he had been working on for RKO up to this point, but he would settle into his rhythms shortly after to far greater impact and innovation.

April 24th, 2020