At last Darryl F., Zanuck has glorified a chapter of America's past without the services of Don Ameche, and the result is a surprisingly pleasant though simple tale. Richard Greene's broad shoulders take on the burdens of an inventor, and as Robert Fulton he covers the New York waterfront of 1807 with punches and an English accent until his "follyboat" is a success. Although he suffers the common fate of Hollywood history-heroes and looks about half the forty-two years he should have, Greene does manage to show enough gusto and sincerity to make his role fill its proper part in the picture.

It is obvious that "Little Old New York" is fact with a hypo of romanticism in the hands of several west coast writers, but substantial acting and careful attention to scenery counteract this defect. The good ship "Clermont" looks as if it might have been built to the original plans, and Hollywood shows years of experience in reproducing the saloons and docks of New York of every age. Alice Faye feels right at home in her own tavern, having at last become an owner. Her thwarted love for Fulton descends upon Fred MacMurray, an uninspired but satisfactory waterfront bum who turns into a magnificent shipbuilder. Harriet Livingston, in the delightful person of Brenda Joyce, is the recipient of the best remark of a fair script, when Fulton, self introduced, says "Miss Livingston, J presume." Incidentally, they get married.