Rent Danny Boy (1941)

Sentimental Propaganda. - Danny Boy review by Steve

Short and very sentimental musical melodrama which reprised a few popular standards for the home front. A busking violinist (John Warwick) is way down on his luck, but he is given a break by a showbiz promoter (Wilfred Lawson), which leads him to his long lost ex-wife and mother of his son (Ann Todd), who has blown in from America, where she is a successful singer...

So it's schmaltz. It was made by Butcher's Film Service who produced the lowest budget B films, with no obvious expertise, often memorable for murky lighting. Danny Boy wasn't successful with audiences. Halliwell's film guide says it is 'not for the critical'. It was directed by Oswald Mitchell, best known for making Old Mother Riley films! 

But inevitably... and yet. This film has an irresistible poignancy because of the time it was made, with the war going badly and Britain inevitably casting its gaze hopefully to the US and wondering if it would join the fight. The plot draws on this national need. The British are struggling, but with resilience. The rich relation comes back and recognises a common attachment.

In this context, the songs (Danny Boy, Auld Lang Syne) deliver a sweet emotional punch. The casting works today because Ann Todd became a star, and John Warwick isn't much remembered now. But it is he who gives the film heart, with his palpable decency and humility. In spite of its weaknesses (and many appalling jokes) this is surprisingly watchable, and a memo from history.