Le bébé de Mademoiselle

In the light of the sad demise of Debbie Reynolds, I was keen to see this film, since I had never seen anything with Debbie and her husband Eddie Fisher. It's a very silly film unfortunately and the suspension of disbelief is so drastic that I find it very difficult to deal with. We are supposed to believe that in the 1950s a woman can suddenly produce a 1 year-old child, having had a full-time job, no one noticed that she was pregnant, she wasn't off work, no one looks after the child, she doesn't know the name or gender of her own child, and her employer is happy for her. At the same time, she is denying that she is the mother of the child and no one believes her!

Apparently everyone was very broadminded and didn't understand how human reproduction works. I was born in the 1960-s and my adopted brother in 1970, at which time there was still a huge stigma to single mothers. In the 50s it would have been worse. I assume that audiences for this film would have just bought it as pure fantasy.

Apart from that, it was a fun film, apart from the songs which are not memorable. Debbie Reynolds is a legend. Eddie Fisher on the other hand, seemed rather underwhelming.

The movie is a fluff piece, but I enjoyed watching Debbie and Eddie when they were America's sweethearts in a more innocent time, pre-scandals and pre-drug problems. Unlike many, I find Eddie Fisher to be a beautiful singer. He really can hit those high notes, and his voice has a particularly angelic quality in the higher range.

I didn't see a lot of chemisty between the leads; maybe it's hard to project chemisty when you're going home to your marital abode after the shoot. But the studio wanted to cash in on their status as everyone's cutest couple at the time.

I thought the supporting cast was fine too, and the comic subplots worked.

How did they get those babies (twins) to act so beautifully. They were charming.

This film is and will always be one of the unsung classics of the RKO Studio. A musical remake of "Bachelor Mother", "Bundle of Joy" is a funny, heartwarming tale of mistaken identity and blossoming love.

The only downside of this movie is the fact that it has Eddie Fisher in it. He should have stuck to singing as he is the most excruciatingly bad actor I have ever seen.

Overall, I give this movie 41/2 out of five stars.

"Bachelor Mother" was a delightful movie, but one can imagine why a musical, in color, remake would crop up. Debbie Reynolds as Polly Parrish was a good choice, and wound up carrying the movie. Eddie Fisher, as the junior Merlin, was not such a good choice. Many other actors at the time would have been far better. Had someone like Donald O'Connor had the role, it could have been an unmitigated success. Too bad Fisher got the job.

Overall, the movie is delightful. The basic plot, of a sales clerk in a large department store who winds up with a baby that's not hers, but that no one believes is not hers, is an excellent set-up for comedy. This one does a good job. "Bachelor Mother" does a better job. And an even better one may pop up in the future.

gaynor wild

I might be considered biased in my view because my twin brother Don and I played the baby in Bundle of Joy. We were only a year old, and lived in the San Fernando Valley area of L.A. when we were picked out of approximately 200 sets of twin boys to be the baby in the movie. Over the years, I have heard my mom and other relatives tell many stories of the filming of this movie, and being VIP guests at the premier movie opening in Hollywood. I have, of course, seen the movie countless times over the years, and still like to watch it and laugh at the cute smiling babies we once were. My mom had to be on the set with us whenever we were filming, by state law. She has told us that Debbie Reynolds was a truely remarkable actress and treated us extremely well. Adolphe Menjou treated us like his own grand kids. Unfortunately, she also said that not everyone in the movie industry was so nice, and our parents decided not to sign a contract with RKO Pictures which would have allowed us to be in more films. Oh well, our short movie career aside, we both have grown up and are very happy in our own careers. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes light-hearted films with happy endings!