Bad Little Angel

Patricia Victoria 'Patsy' Sanderson (Virginia Weidler) is an orphan under the care of god-fearing Mrs. Perkins who dies suddenly. She is put back into the orphanage. She follows the old lady's advise and reads the Bible for direction in life. She reads about Egypt in the Bible and runs away to Egypt, New Jersey.

I love this premise. It is a fun concept with plenty of morality and sweetness already built-in. Virginia Weidler is a good child star who retired in her teens. She may not be the biggest star but she has the natural innocence required for the role. I wonder if anyone is making a remake.

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.

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 ****

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!

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.