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This is one of the better Marion Davies talkies - and one of the few to allow her to exhibit her skill as a physical comedian which was so endearing in her silent films. OK, so she does a clunky tap number, but even Ruby Keeler's dancing from the era does not hold up for younger generations. The problem here is the script. The story falls into unbelievable melodrama in the last reel. It's quite stagey, and is obviously adapted from a play... but not well enough. Still, there is some snappy dialogue and slapstick throughout. Worth a look.

This 1931 comedy gets better with every viewing because of the comedic talents of Marion Davies and a terrific performance by C. Aubrey Smith. Smith plays a gruff old man who gathers his grown children (from his younger days as a rake) in his declining years. One is American (Davies), one English (Ray Milland who looks about 18), and one Italian (Nina Quartero). There are some surprises as the plot moves along with Ralph Forbes(was has no appeal at all) falling for Davies.

Davies and Smith are just wonderful together and very touching. Davies also gets to do a few dances and make a few "big" entrances. And of course Davies is just gorgeous.

Halliwell Hobbes, Doris Lloyd, Elizabeth Murray, Guinn Williams, Edgar Norton, and David Torrence co-star. Had they given out supporting Oscar awards in 1931, Smith might well have been nominated. He's just excellent in this this gem.

The premise to this film is pretty unique, and clearly pre-Code. An old British gentlemen boasts to his doctor that he's had affairs with women all over the world, resulting in adult children he's never met. While irascible, he's perfectly happy with his life and doesn't want to "fill this place with a lot of noisy ill-bred brats," but is persuaded to summon three of them to his manor.

One of the kids is a plucky American girl played by Marion Davies, who sasses her father and gradually softens him in spite of himself. C. Aubrey Smith is the dad and fun to watch, as his strong appearance and mannerisms are perfect for the role. The other two kids are played by Nina Quartero and a dapper 24-year-old Ray Milland; both are engaging, but their roles are small. After doing things like dance around the place with her siblings, Davies agrees to call their father Chief, because after all, "We're all out of the same firehose," which was funny and eyebrow-raising at the same time.

The film is a little creaky in places, with poor sound quality and clearly based on a stage play, so it's far from perfect and requires patience. It attempts comedy, romance, and drama, and I can't say it does a great job at any of them, though the moment with the airplane towards the end is pretty good, and on the strength of Davies' endearing performance, it's decent enough. My favorite lines from her: "You said you loved me, and so did John. But as soon as I do something wrong, I'm out. That isn't the way I love. When I love somebody, no matter what the other party does, I go on loving them just the same. That's the way I am."

Although a casual viewing might have one concurring on the children being born out of wedlock, there is at least one mention later in the movie about a divorce. If one divorce is in place, three can be fairly assumed, and thus, of course, three marriages. // My real complaint is not about this movie at all, but rather, about a much more well-known and acclaimed movie: Orson Wells' "Citizen Kane". Kane, assumed by all to be a fictionalized William Randolph Hearst, marries an untalented girl, and uses his money and power to promote her career, to the embarrassment of all concerned. The closest this wife character comes to a real-life person is Marian Davies. By the time someone is reading this, they are fully aware that Ms Davies is actually very talented, but because Orson Wells' film is so much more well known than the entire output of Ms. Davies, there is virtually a sub-culture with a completely wrong idea of Marian Davies and her talent.

Baron Winterton (C. Aubrey Smith) decides to locate this three estranged children and invite them to live on his estate. He sends an aide to the United States to contact Tony Flagg (Marion Davies), daughter of a dancer now deceased, who is thrilled to come. When the three siblings arrive, they strike up a friendship. Now living in the lap of luxury, it is a "fish out of water" situation for the three---especially Tony, who is something of a wild child. Still, the Baron learns to loosen up and allow himself the enjoyment of their company. However, a complication arises that may jeopardize their newly-created family.

This is definitely a pre-Code film, considering that the three children were born out of wedlock. The Hays office mandated some changes in the script, but still there is ambiguity about the relationships that produced the Baron's progeny.

The story is play-based, and it shows. Also, the humor is not very subtle. Still, it is a cute film, and it is easy to like the characters.

Watch for Ray Milland, who is nearly unrecognizable as one of the three siblings.

A grumpy old baronet, happily unmarried, decides to send for his three grown-up illegitimate children and provide them a home at his manor. To his surprise, he finds himself bonding with his uninhibited American daughter. Can he find satisfaction in his new role as THE BACHELOR FATHER?

This 1931 film, in which he gives a robust performance, marked the arrival at MGM of elderly Sir C. Aubrey Smith, very soon to be one of Hollywood's most valuable character actors. With his great hooked nose & beetling brows, Sir Aubrey looked every inch the part of the duke or general or statesman he would play so often. The acknowledged leader of the British community in Hollywood, Sir Aubrey would also champion the game of criquet in Southern California. He would remain very much in demand in studios all over town, right up to his death in 1948.

The film's top-billed star is Marion Davies. Best remembered today as the mistress of media mogul William Randolph Hearst & the chatelaine of Hearst Castle, the most fabulous residence on the West Coast, she was actually a very talented & pretty comedienne. For a few years, Hearst attempted to make her the queen of MGM (with her own production company & a huge bungalow-dressing room) but the studio already had several other queens - Dressler, Garbo, Shearer, Crawford - and he eventually moved her to Warner Bros. Here Miss Davies gets a chance to joke & clown and her scenes with Sir Aubrey are entertaining.

Her love interest is played by Ralph Forbes, a handsome young British actor who was just starting to find good films (THE TRAIL OF ‘98) as the silent days ended. He had all the qualities for major stardom, but sadly it was not to be. Celebrity would come to Ray Milland, here making one of his first screen appearances. Halliwell Hobbes & Doris Lloyd also appear to advantage.

Sir Basil Algernon Winterton has gathered his three grown illegitimate children back to his estate from around the world. They don't really know him if they even have met him before. American showgirl Antoinette 'Tony' Flagg (Marion Davies) doesn't even know what he looks like. She meets the other two, Geoffrey Trent (Ray Milland) and Maria Credaro.

This is a pre-Code film based on a play. All the old mansions are looking the same from this cinematic period. This is missing that modern movie flair. That's why Marion Davies' high energy work makes her stand out. This comedy works best with her.

Mercifully, sound has improved tremendously from the early days of "talkies"--most of them based on very static stage plays. THE BACHELOR FATHER is no exception. The only thing it has going for it is a chance to enjoy SIR C. AUBREY SMITH in a delightfully crusty aristocratic role, the kind he was born to play. He does make a fuss over his American daughter--MARION DAVIES in her usual cutie-pie mode, that looks a little out of bounds at times. She's occasionally endearing, but not that endearing! The very British RALPH FORBES plays one of his sons without managing to exhibit any matinée idol charm, while RAY MILLAND--with much less to do--is strikingly attractive in a minor role as another son.

But the action rests mainly on the interaction between C. Aubrey Smith and his plucky daughter--and fans of Miss Davies will no doubt welcome seeing her even though the material is not especially compelling.

Without C. Aubrey Smith, this would be a real dud.

This delightful, well written film is based on a New York stage play bearing the same title where Sir Aubrey (knighted Sir Charles Aubrey Smith in 1944) originated the role he plays in the film. Here, in 1931, we see him in the early part of his acting renaissance in the very early era of "talkies" and in the character role that he would make his own until his death in 1948 after finishing his last performance in Little Women which released in 1949.

This engaging play is about an elderly British aristocrat who locates his illegitimate children and introduces himself to them, having brought them to his manor in England.

Marion Davies plays his daughter-by-error and it's a tour de force for her. She is all at once endearing, impatient, shallow, enchanting, wise and compassionate while creating an indelible and beguiling character that remains well ensconced in the memory.

The 26 year old Ray Milland appears here in a small but prominent role having already appeared in seven other pictures then only in films for a bit more than two years.

The film should be enjoyed as a representative of 1931 Hollywood factory production of course and as such is not flawless. However, it's a charming pleasure from first scene to the last.

C. Aubrey Smith replies to his doctor's assertion that he should settle down and have children with the statement that he has children scattered around the globe without ever getting married. He has Ralph Forbes grab three of them to come stay with him: Nina Quartero, Ray Milland, and Marion Davies. There's some settling in humor, but everyone finally gets along. The trouble is that Miss Davies' isn't Smith's daughter.

With that cast -- and David Torrence makes an appearance -- it's a good sign for a funny pre-code comedy. The problem is the sound, and the slow and deliberate manner in which everyone speaks lines, careful not to tread on each other. Still, Miss Davies' Noo Yawk accent is amusing, Smith finally gets to splutter.

toplines this ok comedy about an aging father (C. Aubrey Smith) who decides to gather his grown children from around the world. Davies is working as a chorus girl in New York when she gets the news that "daddy" wants her. Hmmmm, sounds familiar. Davies' considerable talents as a comedienne save this otherwise so-so comedy as she upsets the staid British countryside with her brazen American personality. Not as sharp as some other Davies comedies, but still worth a look. Ray Milland plays her long-lost "brother." Doris Lloyd, Elizabeth Murray, and Halliwell Hobbes are all fun, too.

I'd only seen Marion Davies in "Polly of the Circus" and that wasn't an impressive movie at all. This movie, however, was very impressive. This movie was a Marion Davies production and she should be proud to have her name on it.

An old Englishman by the name of Sir Basil Algernon Winterton (C. Aubrey Smith) was rich, unmarried, and totally content. He was settling in one evening in the company of his doctor, Dr. Frank 'Mac' MacDonald (David Torrence) and his lawyer, John Ashley (Ralph Forbes), when the topic turned to his predilection towards self-indulgence. He glibly mentioned that he had no wife and no family so what else was he to do. When Mac asked about any children Sir Basil braggingly stated that he had three children scattered about the world. "Anybody can do it," he dismissively stated.

When Mac stated that Sir Basil's children wouldn't be able to stand his drinking, temper, and overall behavior he defiantly told John to look up his children to have them all brought to his home, the Rooksfold Manor in Surrey, England. "You are to go to the various corners of the earth, collect my stray offspring, and bring them to their father," Sir Basil ordered. John then set about finding Sir Basil's two daughters and one son.

John was able to collect Geoffrey (Ray Milland), Maria (Nina Quartero), and Antoinette 'Tony' Flagg (Marion Davies) and bring them back to England. What no one knew except Tony's guardian was that she wasn't Sir Basil's daughter, still her aunt Molly (Elizabeth Murray) allowed Tony to go to England in hopes she would have a better life.

The union between the stuffy old Sir Basil and his three offspring was pure comedy led by Tony. She was the de facto ringleader and she was a cut up. "The Bachelor Father" was hilarious. Sir Basil's stuffiness was brilliantly paired with Tony's zaniness, yet it wasn't slapstick silly with breaking things and bafoonish behavior. I'd say Tony's part was perfect. She was just playful and silly enough to contrast against Sir Basil's uptight behavior, yet not so silly where it was plain foolish. I really enjoyed this movie and it reminded me of many movies that came later in which a person willingly or unwillingly enters someone else's life then becomes indispensable. "The Bachelor Father" could be seen as the mold for such movies because it was so expertly done.

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Bachelor Father, The (1931)

** (out of 4)

A mix of drama and comedy in this pre-code from MGM. An aging man, Sir Basil (C. Aubrey Smith) has been a bachelor from day one. Throughout his rich life he traveled the world and ended up having three kids by three different women. He hadn't had any contact with them but now he wants all three to come live with him with one (Marion Davies) who might not be who she thinks she is. It's really amazing to see some early talkies that sound extremely bad and this here is one such example. I'm really not sure what was going on in 1931 but we have a wide range of sound quality in various films but what's here is perhaps the worst I've heard. There isn't much hiss in the soundtrack but at times it appears the dialogue and sound completely drop off. Just take a look at an early scene where the three kids and their father are getting to know one another. As one character moves away, while talking, the dialogue gets lower and lower until you can't hear what's being said. I'm not sure if this was because of her walking away from the mic or what but it's very distracting. Like many early talkies, this one here is based on a famous play and the film just contains way too much talk. The pre-code nature of a man having kids all over the world is something mildly amusing and we get a couple naughty jokes out of it. The drama in the "twist" isn't really anything special and adds very little to the film. Davies turns in a pretty good performance even though the screenplay really doesn't give her too much to work with. We have Ray Milland in a minor role as well as Ralph Forbes. The main reason to watch this film is the performance by C. Aubrey Smith who really seems to be having a good time in the role. He manages to be quite touching and funny. In the end however, there's just not enough here to make the film work as well as it could have. Fans of the actors are the only ones who will want to check this one out.