Cecil Kellaway and Jayne Meadows are the people who make The Luck of the Irish such an enjoyable experience. Tyrone Power is no more than okay. He's too stiff. What was really needed for the principal part was someone who was much more relaxed – Bing Crosby, for instance. Power neither looks nor acts like a man who could make friends with a leprechaun. He is too serious and has no trace of whimsy in his make- up. Kellaway was nominated for an Academy Award for best Supporting Actor. He deserved to win in my opinion, but lost out to Walter Huston for his role in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Another problem I have with the movie is Henry Koster's undistinguished and rather flat-footed direction. I think it was a really clever idea of producer Fred Kohlmar to dress up the Irish scenes with a green tint. True, he had to do something, but reverting back to the heyday of silent movies when tinting was commonplace, was a masterstroke.
Review of The Luck of the Irish
