Bad Little Angel (1939)

Director:

Wilhelm Thiele

Writers:

Margaret Turnbull (story), Dorothy Yost (screenplay)

Stars:

Virginia Weidler, Gene Reynolds, Guy Kibbee

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Virginia Weidler	...	Patricia Victoria 'Patsy' Sanderson
Gene Reynolds	...	Thomas 'Tommy' Wilks
Guy Kibbee	...	Luther Marvin
Ian Hunter	...	Jm Creighton (Sentinel editor)
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Mrs. Perkins
Reginald Owen	...	Edwards, Marvin's Valet
Henry Hull	...	Red Wilks
Lois Wilson	...	Mrs. Ellen Creighton
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barbara Bedford	...	Mrs. Dodd (scenes deleted)
Cora Sue Collins	...	Clarabella Dodd (scenes deleted)
Sally Martin	...	Belinda (scenes deleted)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

orphan | waif | new jersey | guardian | regeneration | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Menina de Ninguém

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rex, the dog in this movie, was the same dog who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz.

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Soundtracks

"Beautiful Dreamer"
(1862)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Foster
Played as background music several times

User Reviews

Delightful and Funny Tale of Innocence and Faith

The truly delightful Virginia Weidler is at her most engaging as an innocent teenage orphan in this film excellently directed by Austrian émigré William Thiele. She is supported by a host of splendid character actors of the period such as Elizabeth Patterson and Guy Kibbee. The film has some truly hilarious moments and is most entertaining. The South African actor Ian Hunter is wonderful as the ever-cheerful adoptive father who battles corruption in his town with fearless intrepitude, risking ruin for his whole family. And Gene Reynolds is perfect as the young boy who befriends Virginia. Reynolds had come fresh from his excellent work earlier in the year in 'They Shall Have Music' with violinist Jascha Heifetz (one of the best such musical films ever made), and he later ended up as the producer of the TV series 'Mash'. The girl played by Virginia is deeply religious in a conventional Southern Baptist way, and opens the Bible at random to receive a message from the Lord in exactly the same manner that Oliver Cromwell used to do in the 17th century. Although this film may seem 'deeply religious' now, in this far more secular age, there was nothing at all unusual about the story in 1939, and it was not made as a religious film at all, but as a comedy fable. If it had been of truly religious intent, it would not have made such jokes out of the Biblical passages. Early in the film, Virginia is fleeing the horrible orphanage, having been instructed by the Bible to 'flee into Egypt'. She goes to the train station and asks for a ticket to Egypt, and is told blandly that that will be one dollar and fifty cents. The ticket turns out to be to Egypt, New Jersey. This film is a wonderful joyride, highly recommended to all who can laugh and to all who can cry, and Virginia Weidler was a marvellous presence on the screen, a child actor who was far from beautiful but whose personality shone.