La hija de todos

The opening dedication, "for people who like people," warns audiences that Big City is going to be corny, unrealistic, and way too family-friendly to please most people. But if you like those types of movie, you'll love this one. Police officer George Murphy, Jewish cantor Danny Thomas, and Catholic reverend Robert Preston, stumble upon an abandoned baby. Together, the three friends move in together, along with Danny's mother Lotte Lehmann, and a very friendly and sympathetic judge, Edward Arnold, allows them legal custody of the little girl. The child has three fathers and a grandmother, until one of the bachelors marry. The first to marry gains full custody, and even though that makes no sense and isn't fair, the audience has to accept it and become immersed in the story.

As you might expect, since she provides the opening narration, the little baby grows up to be Margaret O'Brien. And as you might also expect, two men fall in love with the same woman, Margaret's schoolteacher Karin Booth. Meanwhile, the third man falls in love with a coarse showgirl, played by Betty Garrett in her first film. She's given quite a few irritating numbers, making you wonder if you're supposed to be rooting against her for her bad influence on Margaret or her lack of talent.

Keep in mind that you've been warned. If you sit through Big City, you will more than likely develop a cavity. In this movie's world, three virtual strangers of different faiths can all move into the same apartment and raise a child with no fundamental arguments or conflicting opinions, and the entire legal system makes no sense. But if you like stories like 3 Men and a Baby, rent this black-and-white precursor.

The film was okay up until the last quarter of the film where they start establishing a bond between Midge and Shoo Shoo that has a hint of romance to it.

They made O'Brien who was a pre-teen at the time physically appealing to this woman named Shoo Shoo. They had her sneak into a bar to watch her performance with nobody being wary about a child being in the bar and forced her and Shoo Shoo to develop a shallow romance and what disgusts me is that this is between a grown woman and a young child. I mean, I guess I kind of understand that they want to bond and connect to each other because they're potentially going to be mother and child but I still find this romance and Midge's sneaky behavior inappropriate. And yes, I get it, it has a lot of romance in it and it's about family but it's not much of a romance film.

As for my problems with the earlier parts of the film, there is one major problem I had, I didn't like the parts where they have boys messing with Midge for reasons out of her control yet they barely do anything about this. There could've been a positive message about coming to accept others instead of bullying them but that unfortunately doesn't become the centerpoint of the film and thus, the boy has a fairly shallow redemption character arc and this is because he has too little screentime in the film.

It's a disappointing film which is quite a waste of talent from the sweet, talented Margaret O'Brien on a shallow screenplay and somewhat poor direction.

In the filmography of Stanley Donen's biography "Dancing on the Ceiling" Marni Nixon is listed as the singing voice of young Margaret O'Brien. That tidbit alone made we want to see/hear this movie with the early work of filmdom's greatest vocal dubber ever. I saw a sweet performance by Margaret O'Brien in Baltimore in the autumn of 1963 in "A Thousand Clowns". On stage as in film the unique, sympathetic colors of her voice stayed with you. Elements of compassion, anxiety and sweetness in a soft thickish voice...how can a young clarion voiced soprano duplicate those complex textures? I haven't heard her yet, but I'll bet Marni pulled it off! Margaret, Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn owe Marni a big kiss from Heaven or Earth.

Big City is one of the later movies Margaret OBrien made during her time as a child star with MGM in the 1940s. It's an entertaining film, which isn't quite up to the level of some other movies she made with the studio. It's an unusual situation especially for the time to have three foster fathers and no mother. A reality which isn't lost in the film. It's good to see Margaret in movies with Butch Jenkins. This one seems a little long. Robert Preston, George Murphy and Danny Thomas play the parents. I'd never seen Thomas in a movie before, and he used his singing and acting talents well. The movie explains its designed for people who like people, and it makes the case for the importance of family well. There's also the message of redemption after past mistakes in Betty Garrett's character. This message is also displayed in Norman Taurog's Boys Town movies. The people involved have done better work elsewhere, but a family film with God Bless America in it is well worth any viewer's time.

A 1948 film on religious tolerance. A rabbi(Danny Thomas), a Protestant clergyman(Robert Preston), and a Irish Catholic policeman(George Murphy), discover an abandoned baby and decide to bring her up equally between them. Of course, conflict arises and they are about to break the ties that bind them, but with darling Margaret O'Brien and a wise judge, they bring them all together by the end.

A film that was evidently not well thought of, but seeing it today with all the conflict caused by religion around the world, you realize if we can't get along in our own little corner or the world, and these characters were not, how can the greater conflicts ever be solved. Really made me stop and think. And should have been better received in 1948. 8/10

Jane