Big City

I watched this movie on television for the first time, and have to say that it was a great movie. Margaret O'Brien at age 11, was a great actress, acting better than many other famous adults of her times. Danny Thomas and Robert Preston add talent to the movie. One of the best parts of the movie was when Margaret sang the Shu-Shu song. A great family film.

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.

BIG CITY (1948) has a cute set-up, about three men agreeing to raise a foundling as co-fathers. The movie is well-made, but it's just too sentimental for me to stomach. Child-star Margaret O'Brien is comfortable as always in front of the camera, but seems like she might be trying too hard to act, now that she's a few years older.

Everything is hunky dory until the fathers start competing for the same woman, and ultimately fighting for sole custody of their girl. Betty Garrett (in her screen debut) is a kind-hearted bar singer who inadvertently corrupts sweet little O'Brien with her cabaret act and big city lingo. Garrett weds George Murphy, seemingly the lesser of the three fathers (as a cop he's always on a beat), who decides they're more entitled to the girl than the others.

When everybody gets together to sing "God Bless America", it becomes clear what the message is. The judge speaks about The Great Experiment of uniting three men of different faiths to raise a child together. (Robert Preston is a reverend at a city mission, Danny Thomas is a cantor at the Jewish temple, George Murphy is an Irish policeman, and thereby assumed to be Roman Catholic.) Men of different faiths united together in a Great Experiment. It becomes some sort of patriotic metaphor for the good ol' United States. "God Bless America."

The movie is alright and has its fun moments, but there's too much of a "love thy neighbor", innocent-children-singing-in-one-voice, sugary- sweet, high moral sentimentality coating the proceedings. Men of *three faiths* raising a daughter together, then playing gentle music together in the parlor after dinner. What a wholesome family.

Not my cup of tea, I suppose. But it could be a winner for those less cynical than I. It has a sort of wholesome message for "people who like people". Betty Garrett does a fine job and fans of Margaret O'Brien would want to check this out.

6.5/10

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.