O Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard

Scholarly O.P. Heggie succors Anne Shirley, the orphaned daughter of an old friend, in this watchable screen adaption of an Anatole France story.

RKO did a fairly large number of movies for children in this period, and Miss Shirley, who took her screen name from her most famous role as the titular heroine of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, was their lead actress for them -- a bit of casting that was already chafing her. This is awfully sweet, at times too sweet, but Mr. Heggie, a usually reliable actor, is excellent. There is also a wealth of supporting talent in this one, often funny and affecting. Miss Shirley is her usual sweet scamp and if the direction of George Nichols Jr. is not excellent, it is competent for the task at hand.

Pleasant enough creaker about an elderly scholar who connects with an old flame's orphaned daughter and tries to rescue her from her situation. Anne Shirley plays the girl and she's as charming and likable as ever. I've seen quite a few of her movies by now and I've yet to see a bad turn from her. The rest of the cast is mostly reliable old vets like O.P. Heggie, Etienne Girardot, John Qualen, Helen Westley, and Elizabeth Patterson. All are good but a nice cast and genial atmosphere can only do so much. The movie creaks along slowly and will likely try the patience of most viewers. It's worth a look if you're a fan of any of the actors involved but don't expect it to be some hidden gem.