This film is an absolute delight. It is wildly funny in many places, and gives an affectionate portrayal of some of the best eccentricities of those elfin Irish folk. The film is based upon a play by Molly Keane (aka M. J. Farrell) and John Perry. So popular was the play that it was filmed three times within eight years, and this is the second of those films. The other two were films for television, made respectively in 1938 and 1946. Two of the most crucial cast members of the original 1938 TV film, which was directed by the young John Gielgud, were carried over into this film, namely the hilarious character actor W. G. Fay (Irish, 1872-1947) as Johnny Mahoney and the wildly eccentric and over-the-top funny Margaret Rutherford as Bijou Furze. In this film, we see the highly exuberant Nova Pilbeam dashing about, full of energy, startling everyone as 'Baby Furze'. What with her being called Baby and her stepmother being called Tiny, we are clearly in the territory of the quaint. Baby's older sister is played by a very sedate Sarah Churchill, who does not go for laughs. It was very strange for my wife and myself to see Sarah when she was only 27 years old. We only knew her years after her retirement from the screen in 1959, having met her because she had the Kensington studio next door to my wife's Uncle Twinky, who was her great chum, and they liked to get drunk together in between paintings. Sarah was highly talented in several ways, published very good and sensitive poetry, painted, and of course acted in films (56 of them). Being Winston's daughter was doubtless a shadow over her all her life, as so often happens with the children of famous people. When Sarah became intoxicated, as she frequently did, she would fall about and become wholly incomprehensible. So there were both the 'good Sarah' and the 'bad Sarah', at least from the behavioural point of view. She was very much a good and generous –hearted soul, but intolerable when under the influence. This was her second film, and in a previous one in 1937 she had played only a maid. So in effect this was the first real showing for her on screen. We also knew her niece Arabella, now alas also gone too young. She too had an excellent nature and the same eyes. So much tragedy for the good at heart. I have already praised Nova Pilbeam's abilities as an actress in my reviews of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934) and YOUNG AND INNOCENT (1937) and so I say once again what a pity it was that she retired from the screen prematurely in 1951. The co-directors of this film were also the co-authors of the screenplay, Walter C. Mycroft and Norman Lee. They did a very good job of keeping us laughing. But the film has one terrible flaw: the lighting by cinematographer Walter J. Harvey is some of the worst I have ever seen in a film. As a result of too much down-lighting and no compensating lights to wash out the resultant face shadows, the incompetent oaf caused both Nova Pilbeam and her suitor Michael Wilding to look as if they were developing some terrible face-rot, with profound dark patches marring their visages and distracting one from the action, as one watched and worried to see whether their cheeks and brows would fall off before the scene had finished. (And were there ambulances waiting outside the sound stage when their inevitable and imminent demises took place from the terrible unknown disease?) So between wanting to strangle the lighting man and laughing myself out of my chair, it was all very much of an adventure watching this film. The English used to be so good at making gentle fun of their Welsh, Scottish, and Irish neighbours, showing the gnomic folk humour and irreverent wisecracks to full effect. Oh for the days of forceful and hilarious non-political correctness! And no one took offence, for in those days people had a sense of humour and did not rush to strap on their suicide vests at the slightest imagined affront to their self-importance or their quaint national habits and traits. Unless you are one of those touchy people who sleeps on a hair trigger, this film will make you feel merry enough to quaff a couple of pints of Guinness and become a bit silly yourself.
