The Luck of the Irish (1948)

Following American reporter Stephen Fitzgerald from Ireland to New York, a grateful leprechaun acts as the newsman's servant and conscience.

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Philip Dunne, Constance Jones (novel),

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Cecil Kellaway

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tyrone Power	...	Stephen Fitzgerald
Anne Baxter	...	Nora
Cecil Kellaway	...	Horace (A Leprechaun)
Lee J. Cobb	...	David C. Augur
James Todd	...	Bill Clark
Jayne Meadows	...	Frances Augur
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Tatie the Innkeeper
Phil Brown	...	Tom Higginbotham
Charles Irwin	...	Cornelius
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Helen Dietrich	...	Piano player

Storyline

Steven Fitzgerald, a newpaper reporter from New York, meets a leprechaun and a beautiful young woman while traveling in Ireland. When he returns to his fiance and her wealthy father's political campaign in New York, he finds that the leprechaun and the young woman are now in New York as well. Steven is torn between the wealth he might enjoy in New York or returning to his roots in Ireland.

---

Plot Keywords:

leprechaun | ireland | political campaign | senator | irish tenor | 

---

Taglines:

Choosing good is the real pot of gold!

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Comedy | Romance

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Leave It to the Irish

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (green tinted) (partly) Black and White (partly)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 27, 1948 with Ann Baxter reprising her film role.

---

Goofs

When Horace is jumping over the sofa in the scene where Stephen is chasing him, the stuntman's wig clearly falls halfway off his head.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Stephen Fitzgerald: This can't be right. Let me see that map.

---

Connections

Referenced in M*A*S*H: Trick or Treatment (1982)

---

Soundtracks

"The Rose of Tralee"
(uncredited)
Written by C. Mordaunt Spencer
Sung by Jimmy O'Brien at the party

User Reviews

Lovely fantasy

Tyrone Power is a man who encounters a leprechaun in "The Luck of the Irish," also starring Anne Baxter, Jayne Meadows Cecil Kellaway, and Lee J. Cobb. Power plays Stephen Fitzgerald, a newspaperman who takes a job with an influential publisher turned politician, Augur (Cobb) - not because he believes in Augur, but because of the money and prestige. Egging him on is Augur's elegant, glamorous daughter (Meadows) who's in love with him. And who can blame her. It's outrageously handsome and charming Tyrone Power. While in Ireland, Fitz meets a young woman, Nora, to whom he's attracted, and a leprechaun with the proverbial pot o' gold. Even though Fitz gets the gold, he returns it, and the leprechaun is in his debt. When Fitz returns to New York, the leprechaun appears as a servant, Horace, and strange things begin to happen.

This is a charming film that effortlessly draws you into its whimsical story. Power did many comedies when he first signed with 20th Century Fox, and if you've seen them, you know he performed them beautifully. His reactions while a bartender is telling a leprechaun story are hilarious. It's a shame this versatile actor didn't put down his sword and do more comic roles. He'd pay homage once again to the land of his ancestors in "The Long Gray Line" for John Ford seven years later. How sad that when the really good parts were finally coming his way, he died. Anne Baxter is darling as Nora, and Meadows is appropriately brittle. The two are great opposites - Baxter natural and sweet, Meadows made up and bejeweled. Kellaway is excellent as Horace, the leprechaun turned houseman.

"The Luck of the Irish" will leave you with a smile on your face. Uplifting stories are hard to find - see this one.