Top o' the Morning (1949) User Reviews

An abrupt change of mood

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 29 February 2004]

It was only natural that at some point Paramount would give Bing Crosby and Irish story, preferably with Barry Fitzgerald, and this turned out to be the third and last of their teamings.

Crosby recorded a lot of Irish and Irish style songs during his career and he has some good numbers here, traditional and those supplied by Burke and Van Heusen. Some were staples for his Irish albums.

I wish they had given him something like The Quiet Man to do. In that John Ford went on location to film it and took full advantage of the Irish countryside. Paramount played on the cheap here, the thing was shot on the backlot and it shows. Location and technicolor would have been essential here.

For most of the film the plot is light, an American insurance detective is on the trail of the thief of the Blarney Stone and takes time to romance Ann Blyth the local constable's daughter. The detective and constable are perfectly cast with Bing and Barry respectively.

When they get down to the business of finding the thief the film turns noirish. Too abruptly for such light material. Crosby was certainly capable of handling serious drama as well as the light stuff that he was known for, but not in the mood of the same movie.

If you love Bing as I do, by all means see this. If not it's a curiosity.

Fun and inconsequential

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 27 January 2012]

This film is set in Ireland. Apparently, the famed Blarney Stone has been stolen and an insurance investigator (Bing Crosby) has been sent by his company. After all, the rock was insured and they don't want to have to pay off if they can help it. When Bing arrives, the town and especially the constable (Barry Fitzgerald) do not welcome him. So, naturally, it's up to Bing's considerable charms to warm their hearts. One whose heart warmed quite quickly is Fitzgerald's daughter (Ann Blyth)--who becomes smitten with Bing and thinks his arrival signals some sort of weird prophecy.

Overall, the film is a lot of agreeable blarney. It's enjoyable but silly and inconsequential. The songs, while enjoyable, are also easy to forget and the film it NOT another "Going My Way". A few things that kept it from being better (other than the silly plot) were that many of the actors and accents seemed about as Irish as pizza--another is that Ann Blyth was 25 years younger than Bing--and that's just a bit creepy.

Looking For The Blarney Stone

[boblipton · 6/10 · 11 March 2019]

Bing Crosby is an insurance investigator sent to Ireland to look for the stolen Blarney Stone. There he finds Barry Fitzgerald (in his fourth and final pairing with Der Bingle), the local sergeant of the Garda. Ann Blyth is Fitzgerald's daughter. Between the usual courting, misunderstanding and songs, as well as an old prediction puzzled out by Eileen Crowe, it takes half the movie before the investigation gets underway.

There are a couple of new songs, including the title song. That's sung three or four times. Older and traditional songs make up the balance. They serve to punctuate the scenes, rather than advance the plot or express the emotions of the moment, as they do in better musicals. Miss Blyth only gets one duet with Crosby. Despite her ability, it wouldn't be until she got to MGM that she got a chance to show off her voice.

DP Lionel Lindon, unusually for American cinematographers, lights the scenes rather than the actors and seems surer with interior sets rather than outdoors. His unflattering non-portraiture makes it appear like steel engravings and makes me think this would have been better shot in color. Lindon's facility for scenery meant he spent his later career doing science fiction movies, AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (for which he won an Oscar) and the 3D JIVARO.

Overlong and Forgettable Bing Crosby Movie

[thomasherlihy · 6/10 · 10 May 2020]

The plot of Top o' the Morning seemed like it had potential to be a good movie, but it just wasn't that fun. Bing Crosby had a few songs, but even those were forgettable. It wasn't funny, it didn't have much action, it wasn't a serious drama. An enjoyable movie should have at least one of those criteria, but this movie had none of them.

Fun Irish Themed Film

[verbusen · 6/10 · 13 March 2019]

I enjoyed watching this film for an alternative to the standard The Quiet Man viewing for St Patrick's Day time of the year when I want to reconnect with my "Irish" roots. TCM played it and I had never watched it before so it was "fresh" for me. The Blarney Stone is stolen which is the funniest part to think of, the rest of the highlights are the songs. I recognized child actor Jimmy Hunt from one of my favorite films Invaders from Mars and also Ann Blyth is very attractive. Interesting comment, no priests or reverends in the film but they have a lot of superstition and a fortune teller (a witch?), perhaps the churches didn't approve of a character in the film? I would recommend it for those looking for something "Irish" to watch after having watched all the other Irish Hollywood films out there. With that said, I have some criticisms as to why I only give it a 6 rating. SPOILERS 1) It's in black and white, it's not going to be all that "pretty" to look at even if it is a Hollywood set and not the real Ireland. 2) Bing Crosby is in his late 40s and his love interest Blyth, is 21 (and looks younger), not too believable there. 3) Why would very pretty Ann Blyth still be single in Ireland at age 21 (although she looks like a teen in the film)? She was the prettiest girl in the town! 4) There is no closed captioning for the film, so a large portion of it was not comprehensible for me with the accents, nor where the song lyrics easy to understand since they were not standard Irish songs I have heard in the USA. 5) I figured out the culprit pretty early on. 6) It's obvious it was filmed in Hollywood, they don't even go in the "castle."

If you are looking for something lite to watch around St Patrick's Day time, this will be good but not great entertainment. 6 of 10.

Blarney Stoned

[writers_reign · 5/10 · 6 August 2019]

Richard Breen - with or without an 'L' wrote a couple of my favorite films - Pete Kelly's Blues, A Foreign Affair - plus several above average titles so it's strange to find his name on this leaden soufflé' but it was an early effort and everyone has to start somewhere. If you can accept the premise that someone did indeed steal the Blarney Stone leaving no trace then you may well enjoy this whimsey which relies on Crosby's charm. Burke and Van Heusen turned in a tuneful title song that may well be the best thing in it.

Very charming with wonderful songs, funny script.

[doghouse-8 · 8/10 · 25 February 2001]

This was a very enjoyable movie. The plot sounds silly, but the script is quite witty and the characters are really well done. Barry Fitzgerald and Hume Cronyn are especially good as the police sergeant and his assistant. Bing Crosby plays Bing Crosby, but that's ok with me, since the songs in this one are lovely to listen to. The plot however, does turn surprisingly dark towards the end, but that's a minor point. I watched this on AMC so I'm sure it will play again sometime......if it's on, watch it......you won't be disappointed.

Adorable Irish flick

[HotToastyRag · 8/10 · 19 November 2018]

If you're not tapping your toe at the opening credits of Top o' the Morning, you must not have Irish blood in your veins. And if you're not Irish, you won't be able to enjoy this movie nearly as much as everyone else will. My fellow Irishmen and women, rent this adorable flick!

In a small, eventless Irish town, there's a huge uproar when local cop Barry Fitzgerald finds out the Blarney Stone has been stolen. Everyone's eager to be the hero and find it, but when American Bing Crosby comes to town, there's a bit of a distraction. Not only is he charming, and fresh meat, but everything he does seems to be fulfilling a prophecy. . . Sound ominous? Don't worry, it's a romantic prophecy!

While searching for the Blarney Stone and making friends with Barry, Bing starts to fall for Barry's daughter, Ann Blyth. Their courtship scenes are too cute; if all you've seen her in is Mildred Pierce, you'll be surprised by how sweet she is in this movie. In one scene, she confides to Bing that every Irish girl prays to be sent a man. He gives her the perfect come-on: "Where do I get in line? Honey, you're getting some action already!" In another, she tells him she's been kissed 67 times and says another girl in the village, Abby, has had 81 kisses. Bing leans in asks, "Would you like me to help you shatter the record?" Then, just before the kiss, he says, "Abby, you're through." I just love Bing!

So, with tons of Irish songs thrown in for Bing and Ann to sing, an entertaining plot, and an irresistible romance, you can't go wrong with this movie. Try it next St. Patrick's Day for bonus points!

One of my favorite Crosby pictures.

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 8 June 2018]

Producer: Robert L. Welch. Executive producer: Bing Crosby. Songs: "Top O' the Morning" (Crosby), "You're in Love With Someone" (Crosby, Blyth), "The Donovans" (Fitzgerald, Crosby, Blyth), "As Beautiful Kitty" (Crosby), "Oh! 'Tis Sweet To Think" (Crosby), "In a Shady Nook One Moonlight Night" (Crosby), "My Lagan Love" (Crosby), "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms" (Crosby).

Copyright 5 September 1949 by Bing Crosby Enterprises, Inc. Released through Paramount Pictures. New York opening at the Paramount: 31 August 1949. U.S. release: 5 September 1949. U.K. release: 24 October 1949. Australian release: 20 October 1949. Sydney opening at the Prince Edward: 30 September 1949 (ran 4 weeks). 8,962 feet. 100 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: At Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland, Sergeant Briany McNaughton (Barry Fitzgerald) excitedly informs Constable Hughie Devine (Hume Cronyn), his assistant, that the Blarney Stone has been stolen, fulfilling the legend that one day the Stone would be stolen, with dire and disastrous consequences.

NOTES: Third and final teaming of Bing Crosby with Barry Fitzgerald.

VIEWER'S GUIDE: A bit weird for children, who will not only have difficulty following the story but will take it far too seriously.

COMMENT: A delightful slice of Irish whimsy. It is true that the characters are self-consciously stage Irish, and that the groupings tend to be stiff, but this is more than made up for by the agreeable acting and the attractive songs, plus Lindon's fine camerawork and Miller's surprisingly fluid direction. The script has a number of elements going for it that are well utilized to sustain the interest.

Former singer Ann Blyth has a go at a duet with Bing, but her voice is far from what it was. (In future, her singing would be dubbed). Production values are grade "A".

OTHER VIEWS: Reasonably successful at the box-office, though it didn't scale the heights of Crosby's previous outings, or indeed many of his subsequent films. As a consequence, those critics who regard themselves as "film historians" tend to dismiss or at best look down upon this movie.

Despite a few shortcomings - chiefly from Ann Blyth - it's one of my favorite Crosby pictures. I'm a pushover for things Celtic admittedly, but the flavor and atmosphere of this one is quite unusual. It takes real acting skill to bring off a whimsical mystery plot successfully. Crosby, Fitzgerald and Cronyn are particularly deft in this respect. And of course Crosby has some wonderful Irish airs as well. And these too form an integral part of this movie's off-beat but highly fascinating theatrics. - JHR writing as George Addison.