Movie Review: Paddy O'Day (1936)

Top o’ the evening to all of you!

Two days ago, on March 17th it was St. Patrick’s day, a day that my family has always been very invested in. In fact, when I was little if you asked me to name the most important holidays that would’ve been one of my answers. Some of you might’ve guessed that already, based on how many Irish films I’ve reviewed. Four times in my life we have not celebrated like we usually do, and this year and last year are two of those times. Nevertheless, I’ll be reviewing a film for you today in the spirit of it all the same!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


Paddy O’Day (1936):

Little Paddy O’Day has traveled across the ocean making new friends while she’s on her way to the United States. There she is going to be reunited with her beloved mother! However, when she arrives an unexpected problem occurs. The immigration office decides to keep her there and she panics by running away. Will she find where she belongs and always keep a twinkle in her eye?
Genre: Comedy.
Length: approx. 76 minutes.
Script: 8. There are no bad words, but I have this lowered because the accents are atrocious! Paddy speaks with an “Irish accent” and it is so bad. Maybe I only notice this because I have heard a lot of Irish accents in my life and others wouldn’t notice how off it is.

‘“I hope it isn’t spoiled.”

“It seems alright.”’

(The context behind this was quite funny!)

Crew: Directed by: Lewis Seiler. Written by: Lou Breslow, Edward Eliscu, and Sonya Levien.
Starring:
Jane Withers as Paddy O'Day.

Pinky Tomlin as Roy Ford.
Rita Cansino (aka Rita Hayworth) as Tamara Petrovitch.
Jane Darwell as Dora.
Russell Simpson as Benton.
George Givot as Mischa Petrovitch.
Francis Ford as Tom McGuire.
Vera Lewis as Aunt Flora.
Louise Carter as Aunt Jane.
Michael Visaroff as Popushka Petrovitch.
Nina Visaroff as Momushka Petrovitch.
Robert Dudley as Robert.

“Robert, we mustn't miss the boat even if you have to drive 25 miles per hour!”

Costumes: 7. Pretty standard with nothing to say for them, but nothing to say against them either.
Cinematography: 7. There was one time where it was extremely obvious that using a mode of transportation the background was moving but the characters weren’t (just a pet peeve, it always annoyed me when I was little), but nothing bad.
Cinematography by: Arthur C. Miller.
Music: 7. There were about 4 songs in here and I didn’t really like any of them except “Keep That Twinkle in Your Eye”. It was not a breakthrough, but it was cute! One song had a reference to Bing Crosby’s music which shows that it actually takes place around year that it was made instead of earlier.
Music by: Samuel Kaylin.
Notes: There is some confusion as to whether this movie should be credited towards 1935 or 1936, but I found one source that says it was released on January 17th, 1936 so that’s what I’m going with.

Quotability: 7. My family has “quoted” this movie a lot making fun of the terrible accents, but when I watched it this last time I found that not all of the lines were bad. One line about sticking out your tongue was very amusing. In another part, Mischa gives a speech and is super confident yet uses words like “incorrupted” instead of “incorporated”. It is the context that he’s not fluent in English which is not nice to make fun, but honestly that is how I talk even though English is my first language. I always quote Much Ado About Nothing as an example of how good my vocabulary, as I say, “You will be condemned to everlasting redemption!”
Content: 7. I’m sorry to be so harsh when there is not a lot here, but it is just personal preference. One “point” that it seemed to be telling me was that smoking and drinking lead to a freer life. No way, man! This is me being really particular as it is moderately unnoticeable, but this is what I’m here to do, be a critic! This movie is so short that they decided to take a few cheap ways to make plot points happen but it just felt flimsy to me. I’m sorry that I’m being so negative right here (I’ll get to the positive in just a moment!). I have been really working on editing lately so my mind is super focused on spotting problems like this. If you don’t take it seriously it is absolutely fine! In addition to that a few characters get into a fight and throw a few punches, but it’s not too violent.
It deals with problems that occur when entering a country, and honestly I wanted to see more of that! This is something that is relevant today and could be and should be looked into more, both the good and bad together.

Originality: 7. It has cute elements, but I wasn’t blown away by a spark of something new.
Good For: Families.
Age Range: Because we have such a young protagonist (I’m guessing that she’s 6, 7, or 8) then it is probably most enjoyed by young viewers!
Overall Score: 6.5.
Worth watching?: Stick around and I’ll let you know that yes, there were enjoyable parts!
Will I watch again?: I don’t know. It’s very short so that makes it easy, but if I do it probably won’t be for many, many, years.


For the blogathon:
I decided to talk about this today for Pure Entertainment Preservation Society (PEPS)’s Luck O’ the Irish Blogathon! Their focus is on the Motion Picture Production Code in Hollywood (which was used from 1934-1968) and two important figures in its formation, Martin Quigley and Joseph I. Breen, were Irish they are hosting this in their honor! To enter you could talk about anything Irish from any era of film, but I picked this because it is in that sweet spot that PEPS really focuses on, 1934-1954.

My whole family watched this together when I was little (which was rare that all five of us would decide to do that together) and it came to be known in our house as the “Mither movie”. This is because we thought that Jane Withers sounded like she was saying “mither” instead of mother in her accent. Watching it this time I found that it wasn’t as bad as all that.

One part that I do like of this is Jane Withers’s performance aside from the accent! She is darling. I am used to seeing her in Bright Eyes (1934) where her character is named Joy, but let’s just say that that is a misnomer. She was very sweet in here!

I also liked seeing “Rita Cansino” who changed her name to Rita Hayworth a year later. Being a fan of classic Hollywood movies, I’ve heard her name a lot but had never seen a movie with her! She was only 16 when she made this, which is so young! I’ll look forward to seeing her in more.

The short part played by Jane Darnell was a surprise! I have only become familiar with her in the last year, but she’s a very recognizable actress who is always comforting.

Last but not least, the dog, Tim, was adorable! Put an animal in a movie and I’ll always think it is precious.

Overall, it is a movie that has a certain charm to it! I’m glad that I put the time in to watch it this year so I could talk about it!


Thank you to the Brannans for hosting this event! Check out the other entries HERE.

Thanks to all of you for reading! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to type for as long as I did! Let me know what your favorite Irish movies (whether filmed in Ireland, featuring Irish actors or characters, or etc.) are. Have any of you seen this? Do any of you commemorate St. Patrick’s day in anyway?

MovieCritic