Maggie O'Brien was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Her delicate pixie looks and intensity, plus her flexible ability to mimic dialects at an early age made her a choice favorite in kid roles in the 40s. Born in 1937, the same year as Dyan Cannon, Natalie Woods and Jane Fonda, she never made it beyond a few potboilers in her late teens and a few TV spots. In this film as an immigrant Irish orphan who is able to see fairy folk attached to an old tree, she plays well off of the original grouch, Lionel Barrymore, perennial villain, Edward Arnold and veteran character actor, Thomas Mitchell. Add to that Henry Davenport and the host of MGM vets and you have a great kid feel-good classic on your hands.
I remember seeing this film at that time when WW2 was over and we all were full of hope about the future. I was born the same year as Maggie and those previously maintained women and she has always connected me with those times during my youth when fantasy was as important as the future.
I remember seeing this film at that time when WW2 was over and we all were full of hope about the future. I was born the same year as Maggie and those previously maintained women and she has always connected me with those times during my youth when fantasy was as important as the future.