Starring Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Adolphe Menjou, and Tommy Noonan
Directed by Norman Taurog
Music by Josef Myrow; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Reynolds was a bona-fide star by the time she appeared in Bundle of Joy in 1956. This would be one of the last movies made by perpetually unstable RKO Pictures, who was under new management and were trying to restructure. It was also intended to capitalize on Reynolds' much-publicized marriage to singing idol Fisher and their real-life impending "bundle of joy." How does the story of a shop girl who finds a baby and ends up raising it with her boss' son look now? Let's begin with that shop girl, Polly Parrish (Reynolds), as she's heading to her job at J.B Merlin's and Son's, and find out...
The Story: Polly was just fired from her job for overselling hats and creating too many returns when she finds a baby on the sidewalk. Turns out it's in front of an orphanage. Everyone there is convinced that the child is hers, no matter how much she protests that it isn't. Even after she tells them she lost her job and has to leave the baby there, they call store owner J.B Merlin (Menjou) and his son Dan (Fisher) and tell them. They rehire her at a greatly increased salary and bring the baby back to her.
Polly's not happy with the arrangement, but she eventually becomes fond of the baby, whom she names John. She grows pretty fond of John, too. He even takes her out on New Year's Eve when his original date stands him up. Her co-worker Freddie Miller (Tommy Noonan) who has a crush on her is jealous and tells J.B he's the grandfather. Now Polly finds herself saddled with too many guys thrown at her to be John's father...and she may end up losing John when J.B decides that Dan is the father and he should have his child.
The Song and Dance: Adorable remake of the 1939 RKO screwball comedy Bachelor Mother. Reynolds makes a perky and funny shop girl mom and manages an awesome dance routine at a contest with Noonan. There's a nice cast, too, including Menjou as the senior Merlin who wants his son to settle down, Una Merkel as Polly's understanding land lady, Nita Talbot as Reynolds' delightfully sarcastic best friend, and Melville Cooper as the Merlins' snooty butler. Gorgeous color costumes and sets bring to life a busy department store in New York and New Year's Eve in Times Square.
Favorite Number: Reynolds begins things as she admonishes Talbot to "Worry About Tomorrow" and sell more hats today on her arrival at the store. Fisher joins a group of musically-inclined employees for a swinging "employee emergency," "All About Love." Reynolds and Fisher perform a "Lullaby In Blue" to lull little John to sleep. Reynolds also gets an incredible swing routine at the dance contest with Noonan as they leap and twirl and he tosses her under him.
Trivia: Reynolds was pregnant with what would become her daughter Carrie Fisher during the filming of this and Tammy and the Bachelor.
Despite Reynolds and Fisher's popularity, this wound up being a fair-sized flop at the box office.
What I Don't Like: First of all, it's pretty obvious this was a comedy with added songs. Once again, most of the numbers are there more as padding or to let Fisher sing than to move the plot along. Second, there's Fisher. Even he admitted he didn't do that well. He sings wonderfully, but is otherwise a bit stiff, and doesn't have as much chemistry with Reynolds as you might think. It also sometimes comes off as a bit cutesy, even for something involving a baby. The music isn't terribly good, either. As Fisher pointed out, neither he nor Reynolds could get a single out of it, and it's just not that memorable.
The Big Finale: While no blockbuster, it is a cute way to pass an hour and a half during your own New Year's Eve party if you're a fan of Reynolds, Fisher, or the musicals of the 1950's.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warners Archive.
No comments:
Post a Comment