Bachelor Mother (1939)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The acting in this movie is really good.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"Bachelor Mother" is a very good, light comedy-romance. The setting is a familiar one for comedies and dramas of the early to mid-20th century. Working people in department stores try to keep their heads above water, while hoping for a break or something better down the line. The store owners are of the upper crust and live in a whole world away from these folks. But, dreams are fulfilled in the Hollywood versions where working girl meets boy – usually the son of the owner. Such is the case in this movie. But this one has a different and uncommon twist. It brings another social issue into play – the raising of children given up by single mothers or poor, who drop their babies off at children's homes or public places (police, fire stations, libraries, etc.). It provides for a different, warm-hearted, gentle comedy that leads to romance. But in this film, the working girl heroine, Polly Parrish, is not a mother who drops off her baby, but someone who comes across another woman leaving a baby. Much of the humor is in the foundling home people "knowing" that she is the mother, because all other deny that the baby is theirs as well. All of this leads to much fun as the department store keeps Polly on after the Christmas holiday rush for which she had been hired, and then one things lead to another. It's a nice story with a good cast. David Niven is department store owner's son, David Merlin. Charles Coburn is the patriarch who wants his son to settle down and start a family. That, translated, means giving him a grandchild or more for heirs. One of the funniest segments is David Merlin's visit to Polly at home when she's feeding the baby. He has bought the latest expert advice book for her – on raising children, and insists that she pay attention to the proper way to feed a baby. The dialog, with his reading from the book, is so dumb that it's funny. See the IMDb Quotes section on the film Web page here for that dialog. The plot is different enough to keep one's interest. The screenplay is simple. It's a nice story with some funny segments.

Directed by Garson Kanin, with a screenplay by Norman Krasna, this above average romantic comedy earned Felix Jackson his only Oscar nomination (Original Story).Polly Parrish (Ginger Rogers) was hired as a seasonal employee by the (John) Merlin (Charles Coburn) department store. However, the three week Christmas sales period has ended and Polly receives her termination notice on Christmas eve morning. During her lunch break, she visits an employment agency and, on the way back, sees a woman leaving a baby on the steps of a foundling agency. After confronting the woman who hurries away, Polly decides to carry the infant inside so that it doesn't fall down the steps. After giving her name and place of employment, Polly explains what happened, but the agency's employees are dubious. Reading their expressions, Polly insists that the baby is not hers and rushes out. Back at Merlin's, Polly is approached by a store inventory clerk, Freddie Miller (Frank Albertson), who offers her half of a sure $50 prize at a dance contest that night if she'd only agree to be his partner. Needing the money, she agrees.The foundling agency's investigator (Ernest Truex) visits Merlin's and discovers that Polly has just been let go. So he calls on the store's management and gets a meeting with David Merlin (David Niven), who usually shows up late or infrequently at work due to his social life. The investigator believes that Polly abandoned "her" child because she'd lost her job and David, who's instantly concerned, summons her to his office. She is surprised to learn that her job has been restored and that she's to receive a $5/week raise retroactively. She is also promised a Christmas gift, which she's to receive later. At her apartment that evening, the investigator arrives with her 'package', the baby. He isn't happy about her attitude, she still insists it isn't hers and doesn't want it, but is able to leave without taking the baby with him after he explains the baby is the reason she'd gotten her job back. When Freddie arrives, Polly has an idea - on the way to the dance contest, she has him drive her by the Merlin home. Freddie then overhears her as she leaves it with the Merlin's butler (E.E. Clive) and says "it's his responsibility". Naturally, Freddie gets the wrong idea.After Polly departs, David learns from the butler what transpired. He picks up the baby and the two of them follow Freddie and Polly to the dance contest. However, David is soon thrown out of the dance hall for his behavior while Freddie and Polly are disappointed to win the contest, getting a trophy instead of the $50 they needed. Freddie takes Polly home and tries to make advances while David waits inside with the baby. Before he departs, Freddie's belief that David is the father of the baby is solidified. After a discussion of her circumstances with David, Polly decides to admit that the baby is hers and accept the responsibility for raising it. The 'playboy' seems to grow up a little too; he'll help her with Johnnie. After David leaves, Polly's landlord Mrs. Weiss (Ferike Boros) tells Polly that she would be happy to help by taking the baby while Polly works.The next day, Freddie asks Polly to "wink, wink, use her influence" to get him a better job as a floor manager. Without Polly doing anything, Freddie is promoted within minutes after he sees David visiting Polly's sales counter, where she sells Donald Duck toys. Later, David shows up at Polly's apartment to help her with the baby. He's brought a book from some expert and proceeds to read some nonsense about how to feed it. He also breaks a toy duck, but promises to return it for a replacement the next day. Polly laughs, telling him that you can't return anything at Merlin's. As the executive second only to his father, David insists that he can. But the next day, dressed incognito, David learns otherwise. Upset, he goes to the sales counter where he breaks several of the ducks before he puts a working one in his pocket. Of course, Freddie sees this and tackles him before he sees who he's just accosted. Naturally, David demotes him back to his old job.For revenge, Freddie decides to write a note to David's father, telling him he's a grandfather. So, John has his chauffeur follow David, who joins Polly and Johnnie at the park. The previous evening, New Year's Eve, David had been stood up by his girlfriend Louise (June Wilkins); he'd been neglecting while helping Polly. David finds a replacement date in Polly. While Mrs. Weiss watched Johnnie, Polly and David had a wonderful evening together. At the stroke of midnight, they shared their first kiss, a particularly long one. The next day in the park, John finds them. He sees a resemblance and learns the baby's name is Johnnie which, in his mind, confirms that he's holding his grandson. After John's left, Polly and David simultaneously figure out why John had been teary eyed. David chases after his father while Polly laughs that he is in the same predicament that she was regarding the baby's mistaken parentage.When Polly learns from David that his father will use lawyers to gain custody of Johnnie, she discusses it with Mrs. Weiss who suggests that her son Jerome (Leonard Penn) pretend to be the father. Meanwhile, David has tracked down Freddie and convinces him to do the same. Hence, at the Merlin home, right after Polly and Jerome have all but convinced John that the baby is theirs, David arrives with Freddie to ruin the ruse. Eventually all is resolved as David proposes to Polly and they 'admit' to his father that the baby is his.Later remade as the musical Bundle of Joy (1956).

Ginger Rogers does well in this domestic romantic comedy as does David Niven. However the one spoiler has a major plot hole which nobody who has written about the movie has brought up. Ginger is supposed to be the mother of a child. OK...BUT...didn't the landlady who saw her every day notice that she was NEVER pregnant? That she never went to the Hospital? That she never saw the baby during it's first few months? All of a sudden Ginger shows up with a 6 or 7 month old baby. Where was the baby supposed to be during those first months? Just doesn't make sense. And how convenient that the landlady is always available to take care of the baby, day and night!!! Aside from this major story line, BACHELOR MOTHER is still a fun sit through, although the ending is quite confusing. Doesn't the David Niven character care that Ginger was never married and is supposed to have had the baby out of "wedlock"? Oh, and Charles Coburn was quite wonderful in his few scenes.

For some reason that completely baffles me, TCM rarely broadcasts this wonderful, romantic comedy of errors, but frequently shows the lame musical remake, Bundle of Joy. Which cast would you rather watch - Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher and Adolphe Menjou, or Ginger Rogers, David Niven and Charles Coburn? For me, every member of the cast in this original version is far better than his/her counterpart in the remake. The original cast delivers a film with risqué overtones (with a wink to the Hays Office), while Reynolds and (especially) Fisher turn the remake into 1950's milk and cookies.In Bachelor Mother a beautiful, young Ginger Rogers is at her peak. She portrays a wonderfully sympathetic character. She is strong and feminine; exasperated yet determined. David Niven delivers perfectly as a somewhat spoiled, sophisticated and yet befuddled scion of a wealthy department store magnate. And I always love to see Charles Coburn - in top form here as the blustery, but good-hearted department store magnate who desperately wants a grandson.I like Debbie Reynolds fine, but Debbie doesn't deliver as nuanced a performance as Ginger Rogers. Eddie Fisher as an actor - No Way! The only time he is not completely painful to watch is in Butterfield 8 - where, incidentally, he doesn't sing. Adolphe Menjou is okay.I get angry at TCM for showing the remake more frequently than this delightful original. I get angrier still that some Hollywood boob thought it would be a good idea to remake Bachelor Mother, filling it with some lame songs that only serve to interrupt the flow of the story.For a terrific romantic comedy, accept no substitutes: check out Bachelor Mother. And tell TCM which film you prefer. Maybe it will start showing this film more often.