His Family Tree

A strange little relic from the studio period where ethnicity, particularly of the Irish (or 'oirish') variety was considered box office gold. Not a good picture by any means, its plot includes the kidnapping and being held in a hotel room cliché beloved of early 30's pictures with a time constraint of either a political debate or The Big Game. In this case a election hangs in the balance but having the plot turn on whether or not a candidates real name is Murphy, rather than the assumed Murfree, considering the substantial Irish vote which the election seems to turn on, seems a bit counter-intuitive.

That being said, HIS FAMILY TREE is interesting now as a record of a classic Irish vaudeville performer, James Barton, as the story gives him three opportunities to strut his stuff with fine little tap routines. Maureen Delaney manages a part of one song and is in fine voice too. Barton went on to playing character parts in a series of classic films in the 1948-1952 period. Delaney returned back to England and became a character actress in some of the finest post-war English films. Essentially painless, HIS FAMILY TREE is not recommended for any other reasons than these two performances.