Bachelor Mother

Ginger Rogers, David Niven and Charles Coburn achieve intense comic chemistry under the direction of Garson Kanin. Hardly a dull moment in this stylish and breezy 1940's "department store" romance. The film is constantly funny, often hilarious and always engaging. Rogers and Niven are so stellar they transcend their era, their characters are as contemporary as they are classic. Overall, a brilliant effort by all concerned!

One of the best Ginger Rogers' movies....She proves to be a complete actress indeed, not only just a dancer (even if she was so talented!). The story and the script are witty and they work, not a bit of boredom, counting on the fact that certain things weren't quite disputable then. A "solo" mother was rather to blame....the movie brings in to question a tabù and it's done with class. It keeps a particular far-sighted way of seeing things they had in the late 30s....on my opinion of course. But they lost it after the war. Anyway about Rogers...well, she's great! Niven is one of my favourite actors and together they make a very fine couple....unusual but fine. Must see it! I highly recommend it

I recently caught this movie on TV one Saturday morning, and was it ever a delight! The story is based on a series of comedic errors, but unlike more recent films, the top-notch acting leads you to believe that yes, it could really happen that way! (I'm used to films veering way too far into the slapstick so that I'm just rolling my eyes and suspending my belief -- here I was just chuckling away.)

Ginger Rodgers and David Niven give fabulous performances, and the head of the Foundling Home plays his part without flaw. I finished the film with a warm, happy glow that I carried into the day. I will enjoy revisiting it in the future.

This is a romantic comedy in the fullest sense of both terms. it is both hilariously funny and touchingly romantic (in the old-fashion boy sweeps girl off her feet even though she can give as good as she gets kind of way).

I totally loved the New Year Party scene, and the complications with the other boyfriend were great fun. And Donald Duck has a small but key role to play in this story.

Obviously some of the social attitudes are a bit hackneyed today, but the character personalities certainly shine through brilliantly still.

Apart from its originality (the somewhat risqué story, involving the various misunderstandings which arise over an abandoned baby, was even nominated for an Oscar) and reputation as a comedy classic (from an era crammed with them), this film is notable as a touchstone in the careers of all three protagonists – Ginger Rogers (her musical partnership with Fred Astaire now firmly behind her), David Niven (tackling his first starring role) and Charles Coburn (who practically spent the rest of his life playing wealthy and big-hearted eccentrics) – as well as marking perhaps director Kanin's most satisfying effort in this capacity (he is still best-known as a scriptwriter); incidentally, Rogers and Kanin would soon be re-united for the almost-as-good TOM, DICK AND HARRY (1941; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034299/usercomments-11). Given the Christmas back-drop, BACHELOR MOTHER makes for ideal festive fare – adding to the already warm glow (but thankfully eschewing sentimentality) of its subject matter. The two leads exude a wonderful chemistry (they would be reteamed two more times over the course of almost 20 years) which lends conviction to their budding romance and, likewise, a greater sense of involvement to their wacky antics (particularly Niven's attempt to exchange a defective toy in his own establishment incognito, during a marathon dance contest and a New Year's Eve dinner in which department-store clerk Rogers is passed off before Niven's high-society peers as a Swedish heiress). When Coburn, playing Niven's tycoon dad, gets wind of his son's supposed parenthood (via an anonymous note, actually from vindictive employee and romantic rival Frank Albertson), he is overjoyed at the prospect of finally having a grandson – even after both Rogers and Niven produce alternative fathers (including Albertson himself)!; the ending, then, with the leads getting hitched with a ready-made child in tow (a common occurrence today but not back then I suppose), is pure Hollywood. For the record, the film was remade – in color and widescreen – as BUNDLE OF JOY in 1956...which, given the casting of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher (then a real-life couple), not to mention the addition of musical numbers, provided a distinctly unappetizing 'alternative' scenario for this viewer.