In the "New York Times", Renata Adler described it as a "cheesy, joyless thing" and added "there is something awfully depressing about seeing "Finian's Rainbow"...with Fred Astaire looking ancient, far beyond his years, collapsed and red-eyed...it is not just that the musical is dated...it is that it has been done listlessly and even tastelessly." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times", on the other hand, thought it was "the best of the recent roadshow musicals...Since "The Sound of Music", musicals have been...long, expensive, weighed down with unnecessary production values and filled with pretension..."Finian's Rainbow" is an exception...it knows exactly where it's going, and is getting there as quickly and with as much fun as possible...it is the best-directed musical since "West Side Story". It is also enchanting, and that's a word I don't get to use much...it is so good, I suspect, because Astaire was willing to play it as the screenplay demands...he...created this warm old man...and played him wrinkles and all. Astaire is pushing 70, after all, and no effort was made to make him look younger with common tricks of lighting, makeup and photography. That would have been unnecessary: He has a natural youthfulness. I particularly want to make this point because of the cruel remarks on Astaire's appearance in the "New York Times" review by Renata Adler. She is mistaken." "Time Out London" calls it an "underrated musical...the best of the latter-day musicals in the tradition of Minnelli and MGM." Highly praised by all was Petula Clark, whom Ebert described as "a surprise. I knew she could sing, but I didn't expect much more. She is a fresh addition to the movies: a handsome profile, a bright personality, and a singing voice as unique in its own way as Streisand's." John Mahoney of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that Clark "invites no comparisons, bringing to her interpretation of Sharon her own distinctive freshness and form of delivery." In the "New York Daily News", Wanda Hale cited her "winsome charm which comes through despite a somewhat reactive role." Joseph Morgenstern of "Newsweek" wrote that she "looks lovely" and "sings beautifully, with an occasional startling reference to the phrasing and timbre of Ella Logan's original performance."