The Bachelor Father

The premise to this film is pretty unique, and clearly pre-Code. An old British gentlemen boasts to his doctor that he's had affairs with women all over the world, resulting in adult children he's never met. While irascible, he's perfectly happy with his life and doesn't want to "fill this place with a lot of noisy ill-bred brats," but is persuaded to summon three of them to his manor.

One of the kids is a plucky American girl played by Marion Davies, who sasses her father and gradually softens him in spite of himself. C. Aubrey Smith is the dad and fun to watch, as his strong appearance and mannerisms are perfect for the role. The other two kids are played by Nina Quartero and a dapper 24-year-old Ray Milland; both are engaging, but their roles are small. After doing things like dance around the place with her siblings, Davies agrees to call their father Chief, because after all, "We're all out of the same firehose," which was funny and eyebrow-raising at the same time.

The film is a little creaky in places, with poor sound quality and clearly based on a stage play, so it's far from perfect and requires patience. It attempts comedy, romance, and drama, and I can't say it does a great job at any of them, though the moment with the airplane towards the end is pretty good, and on the strength of Davies' endearing performance, it's decent enough. My favorite lines from her: "You said you loved me, and so did John. But as soon as I do something wrong, I'm out. That isn't the way I love. When I love somebody, no matter what the other party does, I go on loving them just the same. That's the way I am."

A grumpy old baronet, happily unmarried, decides to send for his three grown-up illegitimate children and provide them a home at his manor. To his surprise, he finds himself bonding with his uninhibited American daughter. Can he find satisfaction in his new role as THE BACHELOR FATHER?

This 1931 film, in which he gives a robust performance, marked the arrival at MGM of elderly Sir C. Aubrey Smith, very soon to be one of Hollywood's most valuable character actors. With his great hooked nose & beetling brows, Sir Aubrey looked every inch the part of the duke or general or statesman he would play so often. The acknowledged leader of the British community in Hollywood, Sir Aubrey would also champion the game of criquet in Southern California. He would remain very much in demand in studios all over town, right up to his death in 1948.

The film's top-billed star is Marion Davies. Best remembered today as the mistress of media mogul William Randolph Hearst & the chatelaine of Hearst Castle, the most fabulous residence on the West Coast, she was actually a very talented & pretty comedienne. For a few years, Hearst attempted to make her the queen of MGM (with her own production company & a huge bungalow-dressing room) but the studio already had several other queens - Dressler, Garbo, Shearer, Crawford - and he eventually moved her to Warner Bros. Here Miss Davies gets a chance to joke & clown and her scenes with Sir Aubrey are entertaining.

Her love interest is played by Ralph Forbes, a handsome young British actor who was just starting to find good films (THE TRAIL OF ‘98) as the silent days ended. He had all the qualities for major stardom, but sadly it was not to be. Celebrity would come to Ray Milland, here making one of his first screen appearances. Halliwell Hobbes & Doris Lloyd also appear to advantage.

Bachelor Father, The (1931)

** (out of 4)

A mix of drama and comedy in this pre-code from MGM. An aging man, Sir Basil (C. Aubrey Smith) has been a bachelor from day one. Throughout his rich life he traveled the world and ended up having three kids by three different women. He hadn't had any contact with them but now he wants all three to come live with him with one (Marion Davies) who might not be who she thinks she is. It's really amazing to see some early talkies that sound extremely bad and this here is one such example. I'm really not sure what was going on in 1931 but we have a wide range of sound quality in various films but what's here is perhaps the worst I've heard. There isn't much hiss in the soundtrack but at times it appears the dialogue and sound completely drop off. Just take a look at an early scene where the three kids and their father are getting to know one another. As one character moves away, while talking, the dialogue gets lower and lower until you can't hear what's being said. I'm not sure if this was because of her walking away from the mic or what but it's very distracting. Like many early talkies, this one here is based on a famous play and the film just contains way too much talk. The pre-code nature of a man having kids all over the world is something mildly amusing and we get a couple naughty jokes out of it. The drama in the "twist" isn't really anything special and adds very little to the film. Davies turns in a pretty good performance even though the screenplay really doesn't give her too much to work with. We have Ray Milland in a minor role as well as Ralph Forbes. The main reason to watch this film is the performance by C. Aubrey Smith who really seems to be having a good time in the role. He manages to be quite touching and funny. In the end however, there's just not enough here to make the film work as well as it could have. Fans of the actors are the only ones who will want to check this one out.

This 1931 comedy gets better with every viewing because of the comedic talents of Marion Davies and a terrific performance by C. Aubrey Smith. Smith plays a gruff old man who gathers his grown children (from his younger days as a rake) in his declining years. One is American (Davies), one English (Ray Milland who looks about 18), and one Italian (Nina Quartero). There are some surprises as the plot moves along with Ralph Forbes(was has no appeal at all) falling for Davies.

Davies and Smith are just wonderful together and very touching. Davies also gets to do a few dances and make a few "big" entrances. And of course Davies is just gorgeous.

Halliwell Hobbes, Doris Lloyd, Elizabeth Murray, Guinn Williams, Edgar Norton, and David Torrence co-star. Had they given out supporting Oscar awards in 1931, Smith might well have been nominated. He's just excellent in this this gem.

Baron Winterton (C. Aubrey Smith) decides to locate this three estranged children and invite them to live on his estate. He sends an aide to the United States to contact Tony Flagg (Marion Davies), daughter of a dancer now deceased, who is thrilled to come. When the three siblings arrive, they strike up a friendship. Now living in the lap of luxury, it is a "fish out of water" situation for the three---especially Tony, who is something of a wild child. Still, the Baron learns to loosen up and allow himself the enjoyment of their company. However, a complication arises that may jeopardize their newly-created family.

This is definitely a pre-Code film, considering that the three children were born out of wedlock. The Hays office mandated some changes in the script, but still there is ambiguity about the relationships that produced the Baron's progeny.

The story is play-based, and it shows. Also, the humor is not very subtle. Still, it is a cute film, and it is easy to like the characters.

Watch for Ray Milland, who is nearly unrecognizable as one of the three siblings.