Bad Little Angel

"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.

BAD LITTLE ANGEL (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939), directed by William Thierle, based on the book by Margaret Turnbull, is a harmless, inoffensive cute little movie centering upon a trials and tribulations of a pre-teenage girl whose faith in the Bible points her to the right direction, and how her presence in a town she just happens to choose changes the lives of those around her. This little known and rarely seen "B" movie not only has all the elements of good family viewing, but a message that reveals that everything happens for a reason, even when things seem hopeless, bitterness eventually turns to happiness. While the story might appear like a script for a Shirley Temple movie, by which she might have made a go with such a story, but as fate has it, Temple worked for 20th Century-Fox, not for MGM, thus leaving the studio to entrust itself in offering the part to young Virginia Weidler, a veteran child actress in films since 1934, first at Paramount, later RKO Radio, and finally a resident MGM performer where she would turn out memorable performances supporting Norma Shearer in THE WOMEN (1939) and Katharine Hepburn in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940). BAD LITTLE ANGEL gives Weidler an opportunity to be the major character. Though this wasn't her first in which she undertook the responsibility in a leading role, she would rarely have such an opportunity on screen again, in spite of her natural charm and wisdom. Sadly her movie career concluded during her adolescent years with a non-lead performance in the musical, BEST FOOT FORWARD (MGM) starring Lucille Ball. But for now, let's concentrate on Weidler, the little star of BAD LITTLE ANGEL. After watching her performance, it seems a pity that she didn't much of an opportunity as a leading child actress. By the time she became a teenager, it's a small wonder that she grew up too fast.

Set in the early 1900s, Weidler undertakes the role as Patricia Victoria Sanderson, better known as "Patsy," an dark-haired orphan sporting pigtails and wearing a little Cross hanging from around her neck, living under the care Mrs. Perkins (Elizabeth Patterson), an elderly woman wheelchair bound. These two lonely souls love and help one another, with Mrs. Perkins teaching Patsy the importance of the Good Book: whenever she gets in trouble and nowhere to turn, she should say a little prayer, open up the Bible and point her finger on a verse on any given page, and accept it as a message from God. (Very interesting concept). Trouble starts knocking at their door when the head of the orphanage comes to take Patsy away, causing Mrs. Perkins to succumb to a heart attack. Back at the orphanage where Patsy originated, the supervisors (Arthur Aylesworth and Esther Dale), of the dreadful place bring her down in saying that she is a jinx to those who take her in. Wanting to escape her surroundings and with no idea where to go, Patsy opens up her Bible, points onto the page that writes about Egypt. Taking her dog with her, Patsy heads over to the nearest train station where she buys a ticket to Egypt, not the Egypt across the ocean, but to a small town in New Jersey. While there she encounters Tommy Wilks (Gene Reynolds), a teenage son of a habitual drunk (Henry Hull), who guides her to the right direction, especially after learning she's an escaped orphan eluding authorities who are after her. Tommy introduces her to Jim Creighton (Ian Hunter), editor of the town newspaper,The Sentinel. He finds himself taking this child home with him where she meets his wife (Lois Wilson) and three children (Ann Todd, Mickey Kuhn and Douglas Madore). All goes well until Creighton loses his job and becomes critically ill, causing Patsy to really believe she is a jinx, but in time, just as she is losing her faith and planning to leave, she opens the Bible once more and comes across a very important verse that really opens her eyes.

A "B" movie running at 73 minutes consists of familiar faces supporting the cast, including Guy Kibbee as the unlikable Luther Marvin; Reginald Owen (Scrooge in 1938s A Christmas CAROL) as Marvin's butler; with Milton Parsons, Mitchell Lewis, Byron Foulger and George Irving in smaller roles.

BAD LITTLE ANGEL might be a misnomer of a title, since the girl is far from bad. The story has warmth, amusement and inspiring message, a sort of movie best presented to children attending Sunday School class, particularly since it has a youngster as the central character, with Weidler being more like an ordinary child than a child performing like an actress. Direction, authentic period settings and acting all get "A" for effort.

BAD LITTLE ANGEL occasionally airs on Turner Classic Movies. To find out when it will be shown again, instead of the Bible, let the website or program listing be your guide. (**1/2)

Okay, I'll admit I was in tears watching this film. Virginia Wiedler was a wonderful alternative to the Shirley Temple/Margaret O'Brien acting style, and I really like her sincerity without the "sugar coating" that Shirley and Margaret always added.

Wonderful supporting characters, (although more important), since she played an orphan, and was constantly looking for guidance and acceptance. The Father figure, the boyfriend, his alcoholic father, and the other character actors made this a balanced film. Christian overtones wouldn't get it through to the big screen these days, but this was 1939. Late in the Depression, Christian thinking was very strong. Worth watching!

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.

As an atheist, ordinarily I'd steer clear of religiously themed shows. Too often they're sanctimoniously smug with their Christian message. On the whole, however, this little MGM programmer manages to avoid most of the pitfalls, and I watched all the way through.

Shrewdly, the religious theme is carried by the charming little Patsy. As the little girl, 11-year old Weidler is anything but sanctimonious in her reliance on the Bible as a guide for her future. An orphan, Patsy is hoping for a home after running away from a cruel orphanage. Due to the late Mrs. Perkins' influence, the orphan uses Biblical passages chosen at random as God's wisdom in guiding her. The book's a substitute parent, as it were. At the same time, however, she thinks herself a jinx because she seems to leave misfortune in her wake, as when kindly Mr. Creighton is seriously injured, which Patsy blames on her jinx. Which of these influences will prevail amounts to the plot's crux.

It's not surprising that an 11-year old orphan, now footloose, would hunger for emotional backup that a source like the Bible could provide. Thus, I didn't object to the Bible's use in that regard. Of course, that the passages would be so wisely relevant when picked at random is pure Hollywood contrivance. Nonetheless, the unheralded Weidler carries the film in winning style.

All in all, the movie's fairly heart-warming without being sappy. Plus, the special effects from the factory fire are worthy of an A-production. For a non-believer like me, the 70-minutes works pretty well as a human interest story, whatever else might be gleaned.

(In passing—Catch Patsy's pig-tails, a popular hair style among little girls of the time, which gave mischievous little boys like me a chance to pull on them! But only if we liked the girl. For sure, I would have tugged on Patsy's.)