This is a creaky old curio. You’d think that the director of Street Angel and Lucky Star, not to mention A Farewell to Arms, would have hit the ground, at the transition to sound, more running. The story is a bit schematic, or implausible, or stereotypical. On the other hand, it’s all very nice, too. This is real location work, and though the Irishness of the thing feels pretty by-the-book, it’s still pretty. And star John McCormack, unwieldy though he may be, is not only a beautiful singer, but a very warm presence. We might err by ascribing these uninterrupted song takes to the aforementioned creakiness. Baz Luhrmann should do so well; it’s what the piece needs and what the man deserves. (Terrific piano arrangements/accompaniments, by the way.) After singing an ambiguous little folk/fairy song to some assembled little children, one little girl goes movingly off book. “Ah, that’s lovely,” she says, her eyes all ardent and dreamy. The great man responds tenderly and truly. It is lovely.