Little Nellie Kelly

When the film begins, Nellie (Judy Garland) is living with her father, Michael (Charles Winninger), in Ireland. Inexplicably, Michael is against Nellie marrying Jerry Kelly (George Murphy)--and the reason for this is never explained in the film. Soon after Jerry and Nellie marry, they head to America--and Michael follows (even though he vowed never to leave Ireland). Then, Michael moves in with them--though this makes no sense. Michael refuses to talk to Jerry and is a nasty old b--, I mean, 'jerk'.

Later, Nellie dies during childbirth--and still Michael won't talk to Jerry---yet he continues to live with him! The child, also called Nellie, grows up to be...Judy Garland!! Yes, Judy plays both her mother and daughter--a bad Hollywood cliché. And, during all this time, STILL Michael won't talk to Jerry--yet is allowed to live with them. Considering all the divisiveness caused by Michael, the film made no sense--Jerry SHOULD have thrown the old jerk out long ago. Oh, and did I mention that Michael refuses to get a job and doesn't work for decades?! Overall, he's a terribly written and completely unsympathetic character who seemed to take pleasure in ruining his daughter's and granddaughter's lives. He really needed to be written better--a serious weakness in the film AND people in the film shouldn't have put up with his abusiveness. He should have been written as a lovable grouch--instead he comes off as a nasty creep who you want to see get hit by a bus or beaten to death by all the people this nightmare of a character insults during the course of the film!!!

It's a shame because Winninger's boorish character completely overpowers Garland's nice performance. At only 18, she is very poised--especially when playing the mother. And, while I didn't love the song selection, she did a great job. This film didn't seem to hurt her career any--but it SHOULD have been a much better showcase for her amazing talents, not a showcase for poor writing and a hateful character.

By the way, although it didn't hurt the film any, George Murphy's Irish accent was amazingly absent. With a name like Murphy, you'd have thought he could have done better. Additionally, on a sad note, Judy's love interest later in the film, Dennis (Douglas McPhail), killed himself just a few years after making this picture. He had an incredible voice.

Not a great movie, by any means, but with judicious use of your fast forward button, you can enjoy a delectable performance by Judy Garland, both as actress and singer.

Up to this point in her career--with the exception of "The Wizard of Oz"- -Judy Garland had been playing second fiddle to Mickey Rooney pretty much non-stop. Now, without him, she comes into her own, and becomes the belle of the ball.

The rest of the cast is mildly appealing, with the exception of Charles Winninger. He plays a man so selfish that everyone else's indulgence of him seems astounding.

My advice: fast forward to Judy as young Nelly Kelly.

George M. Cohan's famous musical comedy of the early 1900's became Judy Garland's first young adult movie role after her role as pre-teenager Dorothy Gale in "The Wizard of Oz". It was also her best role and best performance, second to "Oz", prior to "Meet Me in St. Louis". The story tells of a feisty young Irish lass, Nellie Noonan, who falls in love with a handsome Irish cop, Jerry Kelly (George Murphy), then moves to America. Her pig-headed Irish father, Mike Noonan (Charles Winnger), follows, in spite of the fact that he hated seeing his beautiful little girl get married and leave him. When Nellie gives birth to a little girl, tragedy strikes, leaving Jerry and Mike to pick up the pieces and raise Little Nellie Kelly together.

Little Nellie is equally as feisty as her mother, but is modernized and very American. She has the affection of many local boys, most especially Dennis Fogarty (Douglas MacPhail), a clean-cut young lad who has the approval of Jerry, but not Grandfather Mike who wants to keep Nellie all to himself. Nellie triumphs by singing in the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and later at a huge party.

During her teenage years, perky Judy Garland appeared mostly opposite the sometimes too energetic Mickey Rooney; MGM always seemed to consider her not as glamorous as their other young stars, Ann Rutherford and Lana Turner, but in "Little Nellie Kelly", she is the epitome of confidence and youthful joy and happiness. There are no down-putting ballads here, like "In Between", "I'm Nobody's Baby", and "But Not For Me" from the Rooney films. For example, as the older Nellie Kelly, she delivers a very poignant "A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow", later reprised by the younger Nellie in a swing version. In the St. Patrick's Day parade, she leads the chorus in the production number "It's a Great Day For the Irish!" with a confidence her characters lacked in the Rooney films. Then, at the party, she sings a swinging version of the decade old standard "Singin' in the Rain", with special introduction lyrics added just for Judy. Later, Judy herself is serenaded by her admirers in the George M. Cohan song from the original show, "Nellie Kelly, I Love You!". While it is obvious that the play's story was somewhat altered to modernize it for the early 40's, it still retains Cohan's charm. Judy also lost the nervous gestures she was forced to use in the Rooney films and acts with grace and confidence.

Charles Winninger is amusing as the lovable but hard-hearted grandfather, especially in a sequence where he stirs up a union struggle when Little Nellie tries to get him to work at a construction site; George Murphy goes from young romantic hero to proud and loving father without blinking an eye; The future senator is totally at ease here, and is quite likable. Douglas MacPhail went from second lead in "Babes in Arms" to Garland's love interest, singing "Nellie Kelly, I Love You" with his surprisingly mature deep voice. The rest of the cast is fine too, in much smaller roles, most notably familiar character actress Almira Sessions in the brief role of baby Nellie's nurse.

George M. Cohan has the last laugh on me. His hit Broadway musical Little Nellie Kelly was adapted into a film in 1940, and I almost turned it off. Judy Garland with an Irish accent? Charles Winninger as her stubborn, unreasonable, ridiculously Irish father? I thought I was in for 98 minutes of silliness. It turns out, Little Nellie Kelly almost made me cry! It's a very touching story, a perfect movie to rent on St. Patrick's Day or Father's Day.

Charles Winninger is extremely stubborn and protective over his only child, Judy Garland. When George Murphy wants to court her, Charles forbids it. When she and George marry, he practically disowns her. He's going to seem outrageous at that part of the movie, and you'll think to yourself, "I hope he doesn't have a big part in the movie." Well, he does have a big part in the movie. Don't let the silly title fool you; this is a heavy family affair. It shows how fathers cope with the transition from daughter to woman, and the impact a stubbornness or hatred can have on the younger generation.

I don't want to tell you too much more about the plot, but I recommend you rent it if father-daughter movies make you cry. You won't believe it at the start, but Charles becomes a relatable character, and when George becomes a father himself, he gives a very good performance. Judy gets less irritating as the film progresses, and during the title song, she gets dolled up and dressed in a gorgeous gown by Dolly Tree, looking prettier than she's ever looked.

So, call your dad and invite him over for lunch and a movie. Even if you don't cry, I guarantee he will!

As others have commented, the film does (on its face) have things to (potentially) enjoy: Judy's singing, Arthur Freed's handiwork, Cohan's songs, and a possible musical and comic look at Irish immigrants in New York. But in almost every way the film stiffs. Judy climbs from the wreckage (as usual) unscathed: her freshness and energy nearly making the film and songs rise to the level of entertainment. But George Murphy is the complacent stiff, the songs are mostly mediocre at best (except for a jazzy "Singin' In The Rain' by Judy), and worst of all "Grandpa" is a character who - although meant to be curmudgeonly and adorable in his irascibility - comes off as almost criminally abusive, ruining his daughter's one leap at married bliss, and doing a good number on his grand-daughter's as well. The actor in that role (the usually reliable Charles Winninger) gives an unlikeable and near one-note performance which constantly grates, until the viewer wants to strangle him. This may or may not have been purposeful, but - in terms of making the film (a light musical affair) bearable to watch - it is a disaster. You feel both aggravated by Grandpa's insistent hostility towards the happiness of others, and put off by the passivity of others toward his ugly and pointless behavior over the course of years. I don't think this is the stuff of light entertainment, but of a psychological essay. Grandpa's just a jerk...

It is true that every now and then you will find an unheralded film to be undeserving of its anonymity. This is not one of those cases: the film drags along, forgettable song after forgettable song, stiff actor after stiff actor, sentimental stereotype after sentimental stereotype, and all made worse by that horrible Irish stew pot of a Grandpa. This one can be skipped without feeling cheated.