Evening star., 1949-03-17
By Horry Macarthur


probably would have taken Doug,
jr. out to the woodshed for a tan
ming had he been permitted to
remain around to see how sonny
is acting in daddy's old bailiWick.
The senior Fairbanks used to. be
a whiz at climbing battlemepts,
leaping from parapets, downing
villains by the dozens and rescu-
ing fair damsels. The Junior
Fairbanks has proved himself a
nimble chip off this famous block,
too, on a number of cinematic
occasions, but he now has reached
point in sophistication where he
realizes that this derring-do busi-
ness is likely to be laughed at. He
has reasoned that the comedy
might just as we'll be Intentional.
This is an attitude with which
audiences should find little fault.
as it is demonstrated by THE
Fighting O'Flynn." which arrived
yesterday at Keith's. Mr.. Fair
banks Gr.) had his tongue in his
cheek when he collaborated with
Robert Thoeren on the script and
a rollicking tongue-in-cheek cast
including Arthur Shields, J. M.
Kerrigan, Helena Carter, Patricia
Medina and Richard Greene fro1-
les through it with him under the
guidance of Director Arthur Pier
son.
To note the obvious connection,
a happier celebrant of st. Patrick's
Day couldn't have come around
than this O'Flynn Of O'Flynn.
He is a grand, brave lad. with a
broken down castle which hides a
fabulous treasure and an unsur-
passed love for a fair lass in dire
peril. In the beginning she is
in peril because she bears to the
viceroy, her father, the message
that will save Ireland from in
vasion by Bonaparte. Later on
she is in peril of wedlock with the
traitor who has brought the dan
ger of Napoleon into the viceroys
very Dublin garden.
If you think the OFlynn is not
the man to remove her and Ire
land from all this jeopardy. you
are not the audience Mr.. Fair
banks counted on. He knows
there never can be any doubt
about the final outcome OF The
Fighting O'Flynn." so he concen-
trates on making the way to 1t
as easy as possible. He leaps
through his encounters with the
villains with a bravado that al
most burlesques all heroism and
the pursuit never grows so hot at
his heels that he can't pause to
make pretty speeches to the girl
who has caught his eye.
The Fighting O'Flynn" finds q
lot of comedy in it's subordinate
characters. The first of these. of
course, Is the one played py the
superb Mr.. Shields, who is about
as Irish as a man can get. Mr.
Shields cuts a truly comic figure
as the bailiff who comes to toss
the O'Flynn into debtors prison
and ends up by following him
about to lend him money when
ever he needs 1t. A fitting COM
panion for him is the old custo-
dian Of Castle OFlynn, played by
Mr.. Kerrigan. another fine one
with the Irish speech. C'The
divil take i'm" says Mr.. Kerrigan
once when the villain roars by
in a carriage. Mot" roars the
O'Flynn until I've done with him
I'll do this and that and this and
that and so and so and So"
Thin" says Mr.. Kerrigan calmly,
can the divil take 'im?")
Miss Medina (as girl fanci-
fully named Fancy Free, Miss
Carter, Mr.. Greene and the others
also exhibit the proper flair
for lampooning their adventures.
Don't expect to find "The Fight
ing O'Flynn" an epic comedy. but
it certainly is an agreeable and
good-natured jest.