Le bébé de Mademoiselle

Glossy and tuneful--if terribly contrived--remake of a just-adequate Ginger Rogers comedy from 1939 ("Bachelor Mother", itself a reworking of "Little Mother" from 1935). Salesgirl, fired at Christmastime from her department store job for "over-selling", finds an abandoned baby on the steps outside a foundlings home but can't get anyone to believe the child isn't really hers. The spotlight this time is equally on Debbie Reynolds (doing sprightly, decent work as the bachelor mother) and then-husband Eddie Fisher (leering at the camera while playing a singing junior-executive). Supporting roles are colorfully filled, production and song numbers are decent, though the script lands us smack in the middle of Risqué 101, with misunderstandings "Three's Company" would envy (She has a baby but not a husband?! And who's the father?). Worth-seeing for Debbie, who sings and dances--and rolls her eyes with expert exaggeration when it's time to change a diaper. **1/2 from ****

Directed by Norman Taurog, this Musical remake of Bachelor Mother (1939) by Felix Jackson, with a screenplay by Robert Carson, Norman Krasna, and Arthur Sheekman, doesn't come close to the charm or quality of the original. It was primarily made to capitalize on the Eddie Fisher-Debbie Reynolds marriage and her pregnancy, which would produce future actress and writer Carrie Fisher.

But like their marriage, the film fails because of Eddie Fisher, who didn't really have an acting talent that was anywhere near as capable as his singing ability. Of course, Bachelor Mother (1939) had both Ginger Rogers and David Niven. At least the supporting cast in this one, which includes Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan, Una Merkel, Melville Cooper, Mary Treen, and Edward Brophy (among others), was up to the challenge, helping the movie (combined with Reynolds's pluckiness) salvage an average (vs. below average) rating from this reviewer.

Since I provided a full synopsis of the original for its review (find it on IMDb.com), I won't rehash it here. This remake doesn't stray very far from the source material except for the added (and rather uninspired) musical numbers, even the characters names were kept. Fisher plays Dan Merlin, son of store-owner J.B. 'John' Merlin (Menjou), who falls for Polly Parish (Reynolds) after she'd been mistakenly thought to be the single mother of a foundling she'd found on the steps of an agency (where Treen works). Noonan plays a co- worker of Polly's, Freddie Miller, who'd love to be her guy as much as he'd like to be promoted. Merkel plays Polly's understanding landlord Mrs. Dugan, Cooper plays the Merlin's butler named Adams, and Brophy plays one of the dance contest judges.

Many times have I wondered what Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher were like in their careers (I'm a Star Wars buff). I finally sat down and saw this film. I must say that after watching, I just loved it and wanted more. Since then Debbie Reynolds has become my favorite actress ever. After seeing this I raced to my mother for more info. and she told me of the trouble that followed. I was severely disappointed, because the chemistry in this film was superb. Among the highlights is Debbie's ability to use her magnificent talent to use subtle face gestures to get across the idea of what she is thinking. Eddie was less so, but did an average job. But after hearing the truth, everytime I re-watch this film, I can't help but imagine Eddie with horns on his head or a dunce cap a mile tall. Debbie's charm is the main reason to see this film. She steals the show, the script, the clothes, and anything else she touches. The back-up roles are performed well. This is a remake of the earlier film, "Bachelor Mother." If anyone but Debbie were in the lead, this movie would stink, but it gets a solid 3 stars from me (out of 4).

Bundle Of Joy was a musical remake of one of RKO Studio's brightest comedy hits from it's hey day, Bachelor Mother. Taking the roles that Ginger Rogers and David Niven had back in 1939 are the Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston of 1956, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

Reynolds was an established musical star who was loaned out from MGM to RKO in the studio's waning days for this film. Someone decided that putting Reynolds together with her husband, pop singing star Eddie Fisher was a natural.

If musicals were still in vogue, this could have for Eddie Fisher been something like Higher and Higher was for Frank Sinatra which incidentally was also an RKO film. Bundle of Joy alas was not given any songs as good as what Sinatra had in Higher and Higher.

Frank's role there did not call for any great acting and neither does Fisher's here. Eddie's a likable enough fellow, the son of the head of a department store who has the idea that Reynolds is an unwed mother.

How he got that idea? Like in Bachelor Mother where Ginger Rogers did the same thing, Reynolds is on her lunch break and sees an abandoned baby on the steps of a foundling home. Taking such pity on it, she takes it with her. Probably this being Christmas time definitely helped in the sentiment department.

Before long everyone just assumes it's her kid, no matter what she says and does so she has to go with the flow.

RKO did give Eddie and Debbie a nice supporting cast that includes Adolphe Menjou as his father and Una Merkel as her landlady. Tommy Noonan almost steals the film as Debbie's officious co-worker.

Bundle Of Joy is a good enough film to spend some time during the holiday season watching. Which I did and am not sorrier for the experience.

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.