Bachelor Mother

""And a little child shall lead them"... into the most delightfully surprising complications you've seen on the screen!"

1939 1h 22m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 82

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Polly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin's Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of a foundling. Outraged at Polly's unmotherly conduct, David Merlin becomes determined to keep the single woman and "her" baby together.

“"And a little child shall lead them"... into the most delightfully surprising complications you've seen on the screen!”

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Cast

Ginger Rogers
Polly Parrish
David Niven
David Merlin
Charles Coburn
J. B. Merlin
Frank Albertson
Freddie Miller
E. E. Clive
Butler
Elbert Coplen Jr.
Johnnie
Ferike Boros
Mrs. Weiss
Ernest Truex
Investigator

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Garson Kanin
Writers: Felix Jackson, Norman Krasna
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Garson Kanin, shot by Robert De Grasse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Wise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ginger Rogers and David Niven and Charles Coburn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Garson Kanin directs. Robert De Grasse behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Robert Wise cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.9× over at the box office.
487 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Directed by Garson Kanin, shot by Robert De Grasse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Robert Wise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ginger Rogers and David Niven and Charles Coburn carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: ""And a little child shall lead them"... into the most delightfully surprising complications you've seen on the screen!".
10IMDB entry: tt0031067 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 82 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.