Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Movie review - "Bachelor Mother" (1939) ****1/2

Enchanting romantic comedy, perhaps the best script Norman Krasna did, a true marvel of structure and affection for his characters. Garson Kanin directed it very well on the whole - the pacing of the early scenes is a little off.

It's the perfect Ginger Rogers movie and while David Niven isn't terribly convincing as an American or the son of Charles Coburn, and they probably would've been better off using Robert Cummings, he's most engaging - he and Rogers seem like nice people. Charles Coburn steals the show though as the tycoon desperate for a grandson.

I love this script. Every scene progresses the action - within five minutes Rogers has been fired, discovered the baby, tried to get rid of the baby, been assumed to be the mother. The complications mount - the adoption people go to Niven, who gives Rogers her job back, who realises she needs to keep up the pretense to keep her job. There's a guy keen on Rogers who wants to parlay his knowledge into a promotion, a girl keen on Niven. There are key sequences - an extended one where Niven tries to return a little duck which displays his lack of understanding of what goes on at the workplace and how Rogers can help, and one at New Years Eve where Rogers pretends to be from Hungary so Niven doesn't turn up dateless.

You get the sense Rogers and Niven like each other and feel their marriage might even work. And Coburn is lovely. It's a very good film.

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