Bachelor Mother (1939)

89% of users liked it
(1,049 ratings)

Ginger Rogers slipped off her dancing shoes to play one of her best comic roles as Polly Parish, a salesgirl at a large department store. Single and with no steady beau, Polly leads a quiet life until she discovers a baby left at her doorstep. While puzzled by this development, Polly feels for the… More Ginger Rogers slipped off her dancing shoes to play one of her best comic roles as Polly Parish, a salesgirl at a large department store. Single and with no steady beau, Polly leads a quiet life until she discovers a baby left at her doorstep. While puzzled by this development, Polly feels for the child and decides to adopt the baby. However, most of her co-workers raise their eyebrows at Polly's new status as a single mother, believing that she's actually the mother. The owner of the store where Polly works, J.B. Merlin (Charles Coburn), is taken aback, and his son David (David Niven), who has a reputation as a ladies' man, is dispatched to lead Polly back to the straight-and-narrow. Bachelor Mother was remade in 1956 as Bundle of Joy, a vehicle for then-married Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 21 min.
Directed By: Garson Kanin
Written By: Norman Krasna, Felix Jackson
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 30, 1939 Wide

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Grason Kanin's witty comedy in which Ginger Rogers plays a single mother was a commercial hit, demonstrating her viability as a dramatic actress and comedienne after her separation from dance partner Fred Astaire.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Makes the most of a misunderstanding over maternity.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Okay comedy that ought to have been great.

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Cast

            Ginger Rogers as Polly Parrish

            David Niven as David Merlin

            Charles Coburn as J.B. Merlin

            Frank Albertson as Freddie Miller

            E.E. Clive as Butler

            Ferike Boros as Mrs. Weiss

            Ernest Truex as Investigator

            Leonard Penn as Jerome Weiss

            Paul Stanton as Hargraves

            Frank M. Thomas as Doctor

            Edna Holland as Matron

            June Wilkins as Louise King

            Dorothy Adams
            
            Murray Alper as Bouncer

            Irving Bacon as Clerk

            Chester Clute as Man in Park

            Elbert Coplen Jr. as Johnnie

            Hal K. Dawson
            
            Edythe Elliott
            
            Reed Hadley as Dance Partner

            Charles Halton
            
            Florence Lake as Woman in Park

            Horace McMahon
            
            Nestor Paiva
            
            Barbara Pepper as Dance-Hall Hostess

            Hugh Prosser
            
            Leona Roberts as Old Lady

            Gerald Oliver Smith as Hennessy

            Charles H. Bisharat as Bouncer

            Dennie Moore as Mary
See full cast

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