Bachelor Bait

Mildly amusing film about a mild-mannered man named William Watts (Stuart Erwin) who works at city hall in the marriage license bureau and demonstrates a knack for helping underage couples get married (as we see here, when a very young Anne Shirley shows up in the office with her young man and Watts convinces the young man's father as to the benefits of marriage), but gets himself fired via very silly plot element. Out of work he decides to place an ad, with assistance from his always helpful neighbor Cynthia (Rochelle Hudson), in the newspaper as a matrimonial consultant, offering to get men wives at $5 a pop. Follows an almost instant huge reaction to the ad, after which he meets up with a taxi driver/attorney and they immediately become partners starting "Romance Inc.", a dating service with an office soon PACKED with men and women meeting each other and complaining about inaccurate photos, etc. - a sort of 30s version of online personals, you could call it. When a letter comes from a bumbling Oklahoma millionaire/oilman who wants a wife, Watts takes it upon himself to become personal matchmaker for the man, handpicking Cynthia, now the office secretary and in love with Watts. Which makes one wonder, how come Watts, a man so enamored of the institution of marriage and finding romance for all comers doesn't seem to want a wife for himself?

This film is so-so - mostly amusing in the scenes featuring the ex-wife of the attorney who comes in to Romance Inc. seeking her alimony and ends up chasing after the millionaire oilman throwing one-liners and catty comments right and left as she battles against Cynthia to win him and his dough. Grady Sutton appears as the millionaire, in a role not unlike almost every other role I have ever seen him in, so - no surprise quite well played. Rochelle Hudson is pretty here, but quite dull. The film features a number of familiar character actors in small parts. Worth a peek.

William Watts (Stuart Erwin) is the pushover clerk at the Marriage License Bureau. His boss fires him after a misunderstood overheard conversation. He starts a dating-marriage matching business. He immediately gets a lot of letters from men. He falls for his secretary Cynthia Douglas (Rochelle Hudson) but sets her up with a wealthy client.

I thought the opening start is interesting. I am going with the bumbling pushover character. He gets fired and the story starts losing me. I'm not that intrigued with his romantic potential which never heats up. The comedy never gets that funny. It runs out of steam.

"Bachelor Bait" is a fun and well executed little picture, kind of a gentle B+ level movie. It has good dialogue, well thought-out direction, sharp set decoration and lighting, and a fun cast of characters delivering their lines nicely. With all that, however, it somehow doesn't have anything really great going for it. But it is generally enjoyable and I am glad to have seen it. If you are a film buff of the era, you probably will be glad, too.

This is a moderately interesting time-passer and nut much else. Now it started pretty well with hard working Stu Erwin opening a matrimonial agency and helping many lonely bachelors find mates--so far so good. But later, when a pushy gold digger appears and insinuates herself into the life of a lonely millionaire (who Erwin is trying to find a partner for), the film loses steam. It's really a shame, as up until then, Erwin was a likable character and the plot was moderately engaging. But with the introduction of the woman, the film became a bit annoying--after all, she is so pushy and unlikable that you soon tire of her. Fortunately, the film ends pretty well and is generally very inoffensive and typifies the word "mediocre".

Stu Erwin is fired from his job as clerk at the marriage license bureau. Based on his years of observing people in love, he goes into the matrimonial agency business. He is a roaring success andsoon acquires a partner in shyster Skeets Gallagher, but never realizes he loves his adoring secretary, Rochelle Hudson.

I rarely enjoy Erwin as a lead in his comedies; his slow-witted hick does not amuse me. Here, however, under George Stevens (directing his first feature at RKO), he's enjoyable amidst a cast that includes good roles for Pert Kelton, Grady Sutton, Berton Churchill, and Clarence Wilson. Stevens even sneaks in a brief, uncredited talking role for his father, Landers Stevens.

According to studio records, this movie was not a success. It booked a loss of $6,000. Stevens would do better by his backers.