Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Harry Lachman

Writers:

Edwin J. Burke (writer)
Gertrude Page (writer)

Release Date:

1 September 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Character Name In Title

Cast

Janet Gaynor	...	Paddy Adair
Warner Baxter	...	Lawrence Blake
Walter Connolly	...	Major Adair
Harvey Stephens	...	Jack Breen
Margaret Lindsay	...	Eileen Adair
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Collins
Fiske O'Hara	...	Mr. Davy
Merle Tottenham	...	Maid
Roger Imhof	...	Micky
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary McCormic	...	Herself (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Movie Connections:

Remake of Paddy the Next Best Thing (1923)

Soundtrack:

Macushla

Janet overdoes adorable, again

Something of a follow-up to the 1931 "Daddy Long Legs," which also had Janet Gaynor as a waif eventually won by the much, much older Warner Baxter, this one has her as Walter Connolly's spunky Irish daughter, whose older sister (nicely played by Margaret Lindsay) is about to marry Baxter for his money and thus retire Connolly's debts, though she loves Harvey Stephens, who is in fact infinitely more appealing than Warner Baxter. I've never understood Baxter's appeal, and Gaynor is pretty hard to take here, too, overdoing as she so often did at Fox her "love me, I'm an adorable little girl" persona. She doesn't even attempt an Irish accent, nor can we tell whether Baxter is supposed to be American, English, Irish, or Canadian. Connolly is wonderful, though, and the Irish atmosphere is winsome and convincing--if that's not Galway location shooting, it's the best imitation I've ever seen. It's pleasant enough, with more pacing than the early Fox talkies usually displayed, but not particularly worth seeking out.