Father's Little Dividend

This is not a "great" movie, but it is light-hearted fun, and worth watching. The studio was trying to cash in on Tracy's new-found cachet as a comic actor. I liked that his character stood for reason and tolerance - could just as easily been bombast and intolerance. Instead of coercing his daughter, he takes the time to let her see how it all works out, much as in "Father of the Bride." There's certainly a place in my heart for a man like that. In fact, Tracy reminds me of my father at his best. I do wonder at all the varying concerns - the rush to the hospital by all parties, the nervous mother and father in the months to the baby's arrival. Aside from the black and white filming, there are some other things that really date this movie, such as the casual use of tobacco and alcohol. It was interesting to see Hayden Rorke in his pre- "I dream of Jeannie" days, and with a bit less of a featherbrained character. Paul Harvey ("Good Day!") and Bob Hope make appearances too. The doctor's guidance surprised me with the degree of prenatal care - 8 glasses of water a day, plenty of walking, vitamins. I'd have guessed that back in the day, they'd have the gals kicking back with a beer to just relax. Also, when the son-in-law phones in from the maternity ward, he's all bubbly; when I called my dad to tell him about my kids arriving, I could barely talk, I was so choked up. My dad told me later he was a little worried that something bad had happened. Ah, well. I also understand a little better why my dad was so taken with Elizabeth Taylor, she's just a knockout in this movie, young, big dark eyes, so pretty. Folks may think that such movies suffer by their age, but I think it's interesting to see how people lived and what their attitudes were, kind of like being with my grandpa again. Not so obsessed with health, more about genuine concern for one another. I'm glad TCM runs these movies.

In this sequel to Father of the Bride (1950), Stanley Banks learns that his daughter Kay is going to have a baby.

When they get the news everyone except Stanley is overjoyed.

His wife and grandmother-to-be Ellie broadcasts it everywhere and all Stan can do is worry about the practical things like how his son-in-law Buckley can afford it.

Well, having not long ago paid for the wedding, Stanley has no intention of bearing any of the expenses involved.

Buckley's parents and Ellie are overjoyed at the news and virtually take over redecorating the young couple's new house.

Crisis and false alarms take over their lives and when the child is born, the only person he doesn't seem to like is Stanley.

A walk in the park - and absolute panic when Stanley misplaces his grandson - seems to resolve the situation.

The print I saw was good but the sound was muffled. This film was made at a time when Hollywood started to direct films like TV shows.

That's not necessarily a negative.

Tracy's wive in this movie looks 35 years younger than him. He looks like he should have been the great grandfather, not the grandfather.

It's a very bumper type movie transitioning from the 40s to the 60s.

Not exactly my cup of tea, but not a horrible movie.

The material may be sticky, but the players shine. Fortunately, Tracy's dour reactions keep the soggy motherhood plot from becoming too sweet. His pained grimaces and caustic asides are really quite droll, more amusing however than funny. The young couple, Taylor and Taylor, are right out of a glossy Photoplay, but manage not to be too annoying, while Bennett shows she can do dutiful wives as well as conniving trollops (Scarlet Street, 1945). For some reason the two sons, Tamblyn and Irish, make a brief appearance, then disappear without a trace, and I'm wondering why the script bothered in the first place. Of course, the complications of a first- time baby keep the narrative moving; at the same time, we know perfectly well how things will end. And they do. This is the old MGM dream factory at work even after the boss L.B. Mayer has departed-- big houses, elegant clothes, household servants, and even teenagers with no zits. As the boss himself famously remarked, People don't want to see people like themselves on the big screen, or words to that effect. Not much chance of that here. Still, the movie remains a seductive piece of entertainment, rather like a shiny new suit that doesn't quite fit, but you buy it anyway.

I absolutely loved FATHER OF THE BRIDE. This was my favorite Spencer Tracy film in that it gives him a chance to play an "everyman" and you really grow to care about him and his growing family. So, I was thrilled that MGM made this sequel (and I ordinarily hate sequels). Now that his lovely daughter, Liz Taylor, was married off in the last film, this movie tackles the next big life-changing event in Tracy's life--the imminent birth of his grandchild. All the worries and changes are dealt with so deftly that you soon forget that nothing earth-shattering or amazing happens in the film--it's just a wonderfully written, directed and acted slice of life film that is enhanced by its realism and gentle humor.

Spencer Tracy blusters around quite nicely in this fluffy sequel to Father of the Bride. It's most interesting to watch as a sort of time capsule, to see the attitudes and quirks of the early 1950s. I love the scene where Liz Taylor describes to her father how her doctor believes in the bizarre new concept of childbirth, wherein the mother is actually conscious during the process, and then she is with her baby as much as possible during the coming days. It's quite funny, then, to the viewer, as Tracy's eyes widen in horror -- and episodes like this pepper the film. It's not a masterpiece, but it's cute, and for fans of the genre, it's just fine.