La endiablada

I thought this was a cute, sentimental movie. Many people might consider it to be sappy, but it was wholesome and sweet. It has a very strong Christian message in it. I was very interested in it and well entertained. I think it would be very good for children to watch.

An orphaned girl believes she brings back luck to all those who take her in. Actually, it's the opposite: her plucky optimism and faith in the Lord mends fences and brings people together. Although not as well-known as a family picture like "The Wizard of Oz" (released the same year), "Bad Little Angel" has the same overlay of sentiment and uplift--also the same dog! Feisty, determined little Virginia Weidler is perfect in the lead, using the Bible as her guide and escaping a rotten orphanage for Egypt...Egypt, New Jersey, that is. It's fairly easy to knock a movie which goes to such corny lengths for its plot turns (a factory catching fire, a loving husband and father stopping the blaze but getting buried in the rubble, two children rescuing him, etc.), but when the results are delivered in such a heartfelt manner, cynicism no longer applies. MGM clearly wanted 1939 audiences to leave the theater feeling good, and that sincere attribute still resonates. *** from ****

"Bad Little Angel" features young Virginia Weidler in the lead. She's an orphan being raised by an old lady, Mrs. Perkins. Mrs. Perkins is a very religious lady and convinces Patsy that any time you need an answer you should randomly open the Bible and pick a verse to read. They try it and find a verse that talks about fleeing to Egypt and Patsy believes it. So, when soon after the old lady dies, instead of going back to the orphanage, Patsy literally runs off to Egypt. This Egypt, however, is a small American town of that name. There, she finds new friends and a family to care for her.

If this all sounds preachy in a bizarre sort of way, that's pretty much the case. While the film is never terrible, it does convey some rather strange messages. It makes me wonder what little Patsy would have done had she randomly opened the Bible and it happened to be the book "Song of Solomon". Strange and even occasionally good...but not occasionally enough.

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.

The headline is true, except I should say "has to be HEARD" to be believed. That's because this is so far far removed from anything ever produced in Hollywood, as far as I know. In fact, you would guess some Christian organization made this movie, not mainstream Hollywood, even in 1939.

The unique theme of this movie? Believing in the Bible. Wow, what a novel concept!

The lead character in here, played wonderfully by Virginia Weidler, is an 11 or 12-year-old girl who starts off sentences with, "Well....the Bible says."....or "The Lord told me.." And she's proved right, time after time.

It's a short (72-minute) story about a girl who runs away from home, finds a family, and then helps her "adopted" father with a major problem. Along the way, she transforms a young ruffian and his drunken father, and a grumpy old man who owns the town. This girl - with Scripture in hand - does it all!

It isn't simply a corny, overly sentimental film, although those certainly are ingredients in this mix. There also is drama, action, romance and humor....a little bit of everything.

This is a wonderful, unique film. Sad to say it's never been available on tape or disc. Too bad, because there is a sizable Bible-believing audience out there hungry for something as refreshing as this.