The story of a mild mannered milquetoast (today he'd be called a loser) played by Charles Butterworth, who gets mixed up with criminals, cops and a bank robbery. He predictably winds up a hero. But I believe the story here is secondary to the cast, which features Una Merkel (brightens up any film in which she appears), Nat Pendleton, who made a career of playing gangsters and dumb cops, Eugene Palette as a detective and Donald Meek, who for once played a role that wasn't particularly in keeping with his name. Butterworth underplayed a role that was meant to be underplayed, and did it beautifully. Call it a B picture, a bill filler or whatever, it was a pure pleasure watching some of the great character actors of the '30's carry a film in which the focus was not on a major star.
10 Reviews
Butterworth is wonderful
JohnSeal27 July 2002
Baby Face Harrington is a slight but entertaining MGM bill filler that highlights the underappreciated talents of Charles Butterworth. This time he plays a meek and not terribly bright chap who gets mixed up with stolen money and a surly gangster. There's an excellent supporting cast on hand, led by Una Merkel as his loving and long suffering wife and Eugene Pallette as the gravel-voiced (what else?) local sheriff. 62 minutes of brief and breezy light comedy for fans of 30s B films.
Caper with Merkel, Meeks, Butterworth, Palette
ksf-210 December 2012
With all the right cast members for a comedy, MGM comes through in this shortie! Gene Palette, Don Meeks, Una Merkel, Charles Butterworth, and wrestler turned movie star Nat Pendleton. We follow husband and wife team Millie and Willie (Merkel and Butterworth) as they are caught up in an adventure when Willie thinks Skinner (Meeks) has taken his money. They get in deeper and deeper when fate, the police, the mob, and the big city reporters step in and make things worse. Directed by Raoul Walsh, although this one must have seemed pretty light fare, after the heavy work he had done earlier in his career. It's a "Much ado about nothing" sort of story, with a fluffy light script, but a fun way to kill an hour. Finally, a film where they give Palette and Meeks plenty of screen time. They were frequently relegated to tiny roles.
A cute little film
planktonrules23 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
1935 was an interesting year because two very similar movies came out at about the same time--THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING and BABY FACE HARRINGTON. Both are about a nice but mousey little man who is accidentally pulled into the world of crime but in the end they both end up becoming, rather accidentally, heroes. While THE WHOLE TOWN TALKING is a vastly superior film (thanks to John Ford's direction and exceptional acting by Edward G. Robinson), both are well worth your time and are funny little films.
The eternally befuddled Charles Butterworth stars as an ineffectual and rather daft man. While his wife (Una Merkle) loves him, she is upset that Butterworth has so little ambition and strength--being the supreme milquetoast. However, all this changes when Butterworth accidentally robs a man in a very clever scene. When in jail, once again through a series of mistakes, he is taken to be a dangerous criminal. This is all egged on by the local newspaper who convinces everyone that Butterworth should be on the FBI's most wanted list! There's much more to the film than this, but it's cute how no matter what Butterworth does, it's misinterpreted and problem upon problem occur--making his life a disaster. Thankfully, by the end of the film, things miraculously work out (after all, it IS a movie) and Butterworth is once again welcomed home--this time as a hero! Cute, inventive and worth a look. After seeing this film, try to get a copy of THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING--both are terrific films.
The eternally befuddled Charles Butterworth stars as an ineffectual and rather daft man. While his wife (Una Merkle) loves him, she is upset that Butterworth has so little ambition and strength--being the supreme milquetoast. However, all this changes when Butterworth accidentally robs a man in a very clever scene. When in jail, once again through a series of mistakes, he is taken to be a dangerous criminal. This is all egged on by the local newspaper who convinces everyone that Butterworth should be on the FBI's most wanted list! There's much more to the film than this, but it's cute how no matter what Butterworth does, it's misinterpreted and problem upon problem occur--making his life a disaster. Thankfully, by the end of the film, things miraculously work out (after all, it IS a movie) and Butterworth is once again welcomed home--this time as a hero! Cute, inventive and worth a look. After seeing this film, try to get a copy of THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING--both are terrific films.
Pleasant
GManfred10 June 2017
Mild-mannered 'B' comedy which serves as a vehicle for Charles Butterworth's oblivious, Tom Smothers-type humor, which can be very funny (see "Love Me Tonight"). In "Baby Face Harrington" he is asked to carry a whole picture and his particular talent is stretched to the breaking point. Luckily, the movie only lasts 65 minutes. As reviewers have written, he is a boring milquetoast to everyone but his adoring wife (Una Merkel). He unwittingly becomes mistaken as a notorious criminal, with the attendant misunderstandings and pitfalls.
Charles Butterworth's brand of humor is an acquired taste, and I acquired it over the years. A very funny man, this picture ends just in time. There are lots of noteworthy character actors to tide you over, and you can test your memory, as there are a lot of them.
Charles Butterworth's brand of humor is an acquired taste, and I acquired it over the years. A very funny man, this picture ends just in time. There are lots of noteworthy character actors to tide you over, and you can test your memory, as there are a lot of them.
Star Quality Eschewed
bkoganbing15 July 2019
I would not normally think of Baby Face Harrington as a Raoul Walsh type film as
Walsh directed action/adventure films with some of Hollywood's leading actors
in the lead.
Star quality eschewed in this 1935 release from MGM's B picture unit. A whole flock of familiar character players populate the cast of this one led by Charles Butterworth who plays his usual droll milquetoast character.
Through an innocent mistake Butterworth takes money from skinflint Donald Meek and his wife's uncle Eugene Pallette who is the Chief of Police has to arrest him. When one of the notorious Nat Pendleton's gang, Stanley Fields is arrested Fields breaks jail and Butterworth goes with him and now folks think maybe this mild mannered clerk might be a criminal mastermind.
Butterworth's wife Una Merkel stands by her man. But that doesn't stop the Snidely Whiplash type villain Harvey Stephens moving in.
All those people in this cast makes this almost required viewing. You will not be disappointed.
Star quality eschewed in this 1935 release from MGM's B picture unit. A whole flock of familiar character players populate the cast of this one led by Charles Butterworth who plays his usual droll milquetoast character.
Through an innocent mistake Butterworth takes money from skinflint Donald Meek and his wife's uncle Eugene Pallette who is the Chief of Police has to arrest him. When one of the notorious Nat Pendleton's gang, Stanley Fields is arrested Fields breaks jail and Butterworth goes with him and now folks think maybe this mild mannered clerk might be a criminal mastermind.
Butterworth's wife Una Merkel stands by her man. But that doesn't stop the Snidely Whiplash type villain Harvey Stephens moving in.
All those people in this cast makes this almost required viewing. You will not be disappointed.
Butterworth stands out
scheckmichael22 December 2019
The story line of this forgotten little comedy is quite good - but somehow the team managed to fabricate a disappointingly mediocre film out of it. The silliness is staged too clumsy to be really funny and the dialogues are way too uninspired and too long. There are many great supporting actors like Una Merkel, Eugene Palette or Donald Meek in this, but they all have to play rather dull characters and not one of them gets the opportunity to show his or her talent.
Only Charles Butterworth stands out. His outlandishness is quiet unique - he plays it so convincingly it kept fascinating me from start to finish. No laughs here, but Butterworth is worth the ticket.
PS: I always thought of Raoul Walsh as a really good director, but the failure of this film goes partly on his account; he seems to be overchallenged with comedy...
Screenplay: 2 out of 5 Directing: 2 out of 5 Acting: 3 out of 5
Screenplay: 2 out of 5 Directing: 2 out of 5 Acting: 3 out of 5
Pleasant but forgettable
preppy-311 April 2020
30s B picture with Charles Butterworth playing a meek and mild man who through ridiculous circumstances gets involved with a vicious gangster. Una Merkel plays his wife who loves him no matter what. Pleasant enough movie. It's not particularly good or that funny but I enjoyed watching it.
Good acting helps. Butterworth is great in the lead role. His dead pan line readings match the material beautifully. Also Merkel was excellent as his long-suffering wife. She's beautiful and plays her role perfectly. Every time she's on screen the film lights up. The supporting cast is full of great character actors that 1930s film fans will recognize instantly. The only real debits are a so-so script and some tired slapstick gags.
Good acting helps. Butterworth is great in the lead role. His dead pan line readings match the material beautifully. Also Merkel was excellent as his long-suffering wife. She's beautiful and plays her role perfectly. Every time she's on screen the film lights up. The supporting cast is full of great character actors that 1930s film fans will recognize instantly. The only real debits are a so-so script and some tired slapstick gags.
Watch for the dialogue, better than others have given credit for being.
busterggi30 May 2017
Yes its slow at times and a little creaky but it makes up for it with sharp witty dialogue unappreciated by some because of its understated dryness. Watch it for the interplay - Butterworth is superb, Merkel is delightful, great supporting roles for Pallet, Meek, Pendleton and the rest.
One of the most Britishly dry US comedies I've seen and definitely not the usual for its period.
One of the most Britishly dry US comedies I've seen and definitely not the usual for its period.
Decent
Michael_Elliott27 February 2008
Baby Face Harrington (1935)
** (out of 4)
Raoul Walsh directed this comedy about a dorky bookkeeper (Charles Butterworth) who gets mistaken for a dangerous gangster. Una Merkel, Eugene Palette and Donald Meek co-star in this comedy, which only runs 65-minutes yet it takes at least a half an hour to get warned up but by then it's a little too late. The first half has all sorts of stupid jokes, which aren't funny but there are also long scenes where no laughs are even gone after. Once the mistaken identity happens then things pick up with Butterworth being charming in his role. It's rather strange that Walsh would take over the gangster genre from D.W. Griffith with the landmark Regeneration and then make one of the all time great gangster films in White Heat but have this stuck in the middle.
** (out of 4)
Raoul Walsh directed this comedy about a dorky bookkeeper (Charles Butterworth) who gets mistaken for a dangerous gangster. Una Merkel, Eugene Palette and Donald Meek co-star in this comedy, which only runs 65-minutes yet it takes at least a half an hour to get warned up but by then it's a little too late. The first half has all sorts of stupid jokes, which aren't funny but there are also long scenes where no laughs are even gone after. Once the mistaken identity happens then things pick up with Butterworth being charming in his role. It's rather strange that Walsh would take over the gangster genre from D.W. Griffith with the landmark Regeneration and then make one of the all time great gangster films in White Heat but have this stuck in the middle.
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