The Luck of the Irish (1948)

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Philip Dunne (writer)
Constance Jones (novel)

Release Date:

15 September 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Choosing good is the real pot of gold!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Ireland | Leprechaun | Political Campaign | Traffic Jam | Irish Tenor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

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
Phil Brown	...	Tom Higginbotham
Charles Irwin	...	Cornelius

Also Known As:

Leave It to the Irish (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Jayne Meadows found herself on the set of another Tyrone Power film when she accompanied her husband, screenwriter 'Milton Krim', to Italy for the filming of Prince of Foxes (1949).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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.

Soundtrack:

Garryowen

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.