Bachelor Father

I hadn't seen Bachelor Father on TV in probably 45 years until recently a local affiliate cable station started running it on weekdays in the late morning. It's enjoyable, rather amusing and very innocent. No bad language or sexual innuendo. Set in southern California, Bentley Greg (John Forsythe) is a wealthy attorney who resides in his Beverly Hills home with his orphaned niece, Kelly and houseboy, Peter. Most of the plots seem to revolve around seemingly trivial events, but that is more reflective of the 1950's and early 60's before the "sexual revolution" and wide spread drug use became common. Performances by the regular cast members are usually very satisfactory, although sometimes exaggerated to make a point. Episode plots are light-hearted if not particularly memorable, but I enjoy viewing a TV show first broadcast when I was in elementary school.

The easy natural charm of young John Forsythe and the essential sweetness of his "getting into problems" teenage niece Kelly Corcoran, caused this series to be a hit, and made Forsythe a beloved fixture in America. I remember it very fondly though I haven't seen it since it was originally broadcast.

Unlike one later series with a similar premise (The Courtship of Eddie's Father), both Forsythe and niece whom he was raising were people you'd like to know - the very definition of gentility, charm, restraint - even Kelly whose problems were never due to her own outrageousness, but simply her age.

Unlike another later series (Family Affair), Forsythe had a gentleness rare for paternal figures in television dealing with teenagers. (Brian Keith was curmudgeonly and would rail at fate!). It made the program tremendously reassuring.

Forsythe's well-dressed handsomeness, his restraint, his distinguished voice, his very movement, and the affluence of his character and home, gave this series an urban and upper middle class reassurance that was unlike most other series of the day (or any day for that matter).

E.g., Donna Reed (father a doctor) or My Three Sons (MacMurray an aircraft engineer) were suburban, patio barbecue and swimming pool sorts of series. "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver" seemed to take place in a sort of mythical small American town. "The Life of Riley and "the Honeymooners" had dads going to the bus depot, the sewer or the "plant". Although "Make Room for Daddy" took place in New York, but the life of a nightclub comic (and the Danny Thomas character) was frenetic - voices constantly shrieking.

In contrast, Bachelor Father was set in a penthouse - and seemed to be in a large Eastern or Midwestern city - probably New York, definitely not southern California. It was lovely and I thank all those involved for presenting it so very well to create such fond memories.

Bachelor Father (1957-1962) was a rare show that was produced during the late fifties. John Forsythe starred as "The Bachelor Father". An unwed father who lived in a house with his young niece and Chinese manservant. An interesting show when I was a young lad and it was one of my favorites because the manservant served as a comic foil and he would make me laugh. I saw quite a few of these episodes because they would air late at night on a local independent television station. the intro of the show would show the mack daddy John Forsythe, his niece and the manservant tooling around in the family automoblie. Not a great show but a different look at life in the mid to late fifties. A break from the staples like Leave it to Beaver. I'm Mike Tee Vee, keep it on this station!

This program was a forerunner (one of them) of today's benign, bland TV show. Corny but cute, BF offers us a chance to look in on what used to be a very common plot theme (parents dead, kids live with relative) of the early TV era. BF was the first, from my limited research, to exploit the theme and engage it as a series. As noted similar programs followed and then dropped off by the early 70's. BF deals with its premise, after the initial couple of episodes, by never mentioning why Kelly is living with Bentley again.

BF is fun to watch. It is so of it's era, the direct opposite of Seinfeld which downplayed the present tense (in order to increase its syndication value), that you almost expect to catch 'Wagon Train' or 'The Ann Sothern Show' when its over. It's really nothing special. That is its charm.

Each episode's theme seems to be based on Bentley chasing ladies and its 'unintended consequences' or Kelly's awkward ritual of passage through her teens. All are done with a classy ease that makes one wish life really was so certain and clear. Bentley's 'dates' are all beauties of the era, all seem to fall into his lap, and all are a bit leery of his reputation. None break him down enough to actually merit more than dating. Kelly runs the usual gauntlet of teen angst and manages to deal with all as expected. She boarders on being super bright, average, bossy, selfish, cute, hip, sexy, dumb, boy crazy (often), jealous, etc.

BF in season 5 follows Kelly into college and possibly getting married. But, having run out of networks in the spring of 1962, BF is doomed to TV black space. It leaves us hanging without knowing what becomes of Kelly, Bentley or Peter. If anything, BF kept a 50's version of TV life in a time capsule, at least to 1962.

The final season (1961-1962) is all over the place. Howard returns for several (9) episodes, I think as Kelly's boyfriend. He then disappears later in the season, replaced by (love interest) Warren Kincaid (a lawyer working for Bentley). Four episodes in he also vaporizes. Kelly is a college freshman in season 5. Howard and Ginger are as well and attend the same school. Never having a formal finale, in the last episode 'Curfew Shall Not Ring' Kelly moves near campus but soon returns home. And, with yet another boyfriend: a low-budget character who eats a lot of cake. By my count she has at least 5 boyfriends in season 5.

Given the confusing final season, it's hard to guess which direction season 6 would have gone. Probably with Kelly in college, Bentley slipping back into his 'bachelor' ways and Peter remaining Peter.

Howard was dropped late in season 5. An important character he provided continuity, laughs and male teen 'insight' for Kelly, and Bentley. His relationship with Kelly was fun yet confusing. Was he her boyfriend or not? Ginger in season 5 is portrayed as a 'typical' teen girl and Kelly's close friend and confidant. Yet, oddly, appears in only 5 episodes. This is hard to understand. BF had continuity issues. Howard and Ginger were not developed much, if at all. 'Bentley' breaks down the 4th wall in a few episodes and provides narration in most throughout the series run. Given that, it's clear, the program is from his own POV.

Kelly glides through the series with limited character development. Bentley is a superficial male of that era. Only Peter shows any real change. Guest roles were weak, usually centered on Bentley. It had light, frothy plots, none serious. They also show no unique qualities, some were imitative of others, including rip-offs of 'I Love Lucy' (travel to Europe, Bentley on vacation (season 6, ILL, 'Building a BBQ')). BF would have benefited from better writing. The characters did have room for growth.

'Bentley' went on to star in 4 shows and as the pervert judge in 'And Justice For All'. He continued acting and voice work until a few years ago (he died in 2010 at 93). Peter, portrayed by Asian prototypical actor Sammie Tong, was lined up for a new show in 1963 in much the same type role. The show failed. A 'degenerate gambler', deep in debt and in trouble with the mob (even with real life help from Forsthye) Tong committed suicide in 1964, some claim, in order to avoid shame. Kelly (Noreen Corcoran) went on to sing, appear in TV guest roles and 60's beach movies (including a popular effort which featured Lesley Gore). Never really catching on she left the trade in 1969 to focus on dancing or production. Corcoran died in January 2016 at 71. She never married and had lived in San Francisco, California.

Bachelor Father aired for a few years on Retro TV (RTV). It was picked up by Antenna TV in September, 2012 and aired there on T-F from 4-5a EST and at 2-3a on Sundays. It was dropped at the end of 2014. According to sources the cable channel decided not to renew it after negotiations with the rights owners failed to reach agreement on long-term plans to broadcast the show. After decades of not being on broadcast television at all it has once again returned to TV black space. It also is not out in DVD.

Re:"Trpdean's" review of BF. Either you forgot the locale of BF or you never watched the series.

Attorney Bentley Gregg lived/worked in Beverly Hills, California, not the East Coast or the Midwest as you stated.

Also, he did not live in a penthouse, he lived in a home (actually two homes).

I don't know how you could come up with the scenario of living either on the east coast and/or the Midwest.

Each episode pounded into our TV heads that he lived and worked in Beverly Hills. They even had location shots of him tooling around the Beverly Hills neighborhood in his beautiful Chrysler New Yorker convertible (first season he had a 1957 Thunderbird).