THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Clarence Brown
Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, James Craig,
Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter, Donna Reed,
Van Johnson, John Craven, Ray Collins,
Darryl Hickman, Mary Nash, Dorothy Morris
Wartime Americana with a script by William Saroyan, starring Mickey Rooney as a telegram delivery boy, Van Johnson as his brother who's off in the Army, Fay Bainter as his mother and Donna Reed as his sister. Rooney, who could chew the scenery like nobody else, gives a performance that's notable for its relative restraint. (It earned him an Oscar nomination.) Look for an uncredited Robert Mitchum as one of the soldiers who takes Reed and Marsha Hunt to the movies.
