Le bébé de Mademoiselle

During the merry Christmas season, perky department store salesgirl Debbie Reynolds (as Polly Parish) is fired because so many of her customers return their ware. She passes an orphanage and picks up a cute baby. Everyone assumes Ms. Reynolds is the baby's mother. This helps Reynolds get her job back, from singing store owner's son Eddie Fisher (as Dan Merlin), who also gives Reynolds a raise. Soon, the handsome crooner is harmonizing with the cute clerk. This musical re-make of "Bachelor Mother" (1939) is fairly well-suited to the real-life married couple, who simultaneously produced their own "Bundle of Joy" (Carrie Fisher)...

A major recording star upon the film's release, Mr. Fisher was so popular he survived the initial onslaught of "rock and roll" - but was about to fall. Fisher last hit the "Top Ten" in 1956. It didn't help that "Bundle of Joy" was lacking in hit single material, with Fisher's "Some Day Soon" barely cracking the record charts in early 1957. Reynolds was a much better actress, and reached her greatest popularity after she and Fisher divorced. Unfortunately, this is it for the popular twosome's musical comedy film career. They look good and sing sweetly together - their "Lullaby in Blue" sung to their "Pretty Baby" was brimming with potential.

******** Bundle of Joy (12/12/56) Norman Taurog ~ Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Tommy Noonan, Adolphe Menjou

Glossy and tuneful--if terribly contrived--remake of a just-adequate Ginger Rogers comedy from 1939 ("Bachelor Mother", itself a reworking of "Little Mother" from 1935). Salesgirl, fired at Christmastime from her department store job for "over-selling", finds an abandoned baby on the steps outside a foundlings home but can't get anyone to believe the child isn't really hers. The spotlight this time is equally on Debbie Reynolds (doing sprightly, decent work as the bachelor mother) and then-husband Eddie Fisher (leering at the camera while playing a singing junior-executive). Supporting roles are colorfully filled, production and song numbers are decent, though the script lands us smack in the middle of Risqué 101, with misunderstandings "Three's Company" would envy (She has a baby but not a husband?! And who's the father?). Worth-seeing for Debbie, who sings and dances--and rolls her eyes with expert exaggeration when it's time to change a diaper. **1/2 from ****

Directed by Norman Taurog, this Musical remake of Bachelor Mother (1939) by Felix Jackson, with a screenplay by Robert Carson, Norman Krasna, and Arthur Sheekman, doesn't come close to the charm or quality of the original. It was primarily made to capitalize on the Eddie Fisher-Debbie Reynolds marriage and her pregnancy, which would produce future actress and writer Carrie Fisher.

But like their marriage, the film fails because of Eddie Fisher, who didn't really have an acting talent that was anywhere near as capable as his singing ability. Of course, Bachelor Mother (1939) had both Ginger Rogers and David Niven. At least the supporting cast in this one, which includes Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan, Una Merkel, Melville Cooper, Mary Treen, and Edward Brophy (among others), was up to the challenge, helping the movie (combined with Reynolds's pluckiness) salvage an average (vs. below average) rating from this reviewer.

Since I provided a full synopsis of the original for its review (find it on IMDb.com), I won't rehash it here. This remake doesn't stray very far from the source material except for the added (and rather uninspired) musical numbers, even the characters names were kept. Fisher plays Dan Merlin, son of store-owner J.B. 'John' Merlin (Menjou), who falls for Polly Parish (Reynolds) after she'd been mistakenly thought to be the single mother of a foundling she'd found on the steps of an agency (where Treen works). Noonan plays a co- worker of Polly's, Freddie Miller, who'd love to be her guy as much as he'd like to be promoted. Merkel plays Polly's understanding landlord Mrs. Dugan, Cooper plays the Merlin's butler named Adams, and Brophy plays one of the dance contest judges.

The movie is a fluff piece, but I enjoyed watching Debbie and Eddie when they were America's sweethearts in a more innocent time, pre-scandals and pre-drug problems. Unlike many, I find Eddie Fisher to be a beautiful singer. He really can hit those high notes, and his voice has a particularly angelic quality in the higher range.

I didn't see a lot of chemisty between the leads; maybe it's hard to project chemisty when you're going home to your marital abode after the shoot. But the studio wanted to cash in on their status as everyone's cutest couple at the time.

I thought the supporting cast was fine too, and the comic subplots worked.

How did they get those babies (twins) to act so beautifully. They were charming.

Poor Debbie should've realized Eddie was a jerk and their marriage was doomed, when his ego demanded top billing ahead of her... in his very first movie. (And it's no surprise that Eddie's only other movie appearances were in Liz Taylor films, once they got together.) If this non-actor couldn't concede his then-wife was a bigger movie star and deserved to be billed before him, clearly the guy didn't respect or love her as much as he loved himself.

The only reason to see "Bundle Of Joy", is as a Debbie Reynolds fan and completist. She's pretty much always fun to watch. But, even though I like Debbie more than Ginger Rogers (who stars in the original movie), "Bachelor Mother" is vastly superior to this remake. The original is laugh-out-loud funny. David Niven is, needless to say, a much better actor and infinitely more charming than Eddie Fisher. I notice they cut some of Niven's best scenes, I assume because Fisher couldn't deliver the witty dialogue.

Even as a fan of musicals, there's not much point watching this. The songs are pretty forgettable. I don't mind musical remakes when you get quality numbers, such as in High Society, the musical version of The Philadelphia Story. Not the case here. I don't see anything very special about Eddie's singing. And that insufferable smirk on his face! His expression never changes.

I guess there are other reasons to watch this movie. Morbid curiosity to witness the lack of chemistry between Debbie and Eddie, and his total non-charisma. Or a need to watch a baby-centric storyline played by two people who were about to become parents (of Carrie) in real life. Behind-the-scenes film-buff stuff may provide some small entertainment. But certainly no joy.