Danny (son of John) Huston directed this gentle, inoffensive tale of young traveller whose bedside manner and soothing, healing ways make him the toast of decadent Rhode Island society in 1926. Though the film meanders and occasionally falters, it's kept afloat by the class of the acting and the maintenance of an even pace and tenor, as Mr North brushes aside his detractors and paddles across the tricky waters of the nouveau riche with scarcely a ripple impeding his progress. The puppy-dog charm of Anthony Edwards is perfectly placed in the central role, and there's sympathetic support from players who hit exactly the note required, especially Mitchum, Masterson, Stanton (as an English butler! ) and the delicious Madsen. The music (David McHugh) too never puts a note out of place in its tuneful elegance, even when Mr North is being pursued across town by dozens of would-be patients hoping for his healing touch.

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