Bachelor Mother

Directed by Garson Kanin, Bachelor Mother details the chaos and confusion that ensues after a department-store employee (Ginger Rogers’ Polly Parrish) is thought to have abandoned her baby (which isn’t even hers). It’s an appealing premise that’s employed to low-key yet watchable effect by Kanin, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Norman Krasna, delivers an affable comedy that receives plenty of mileage out of its star’s charming, compelling efforts – with Rogers’ agreeable work matched (if not exceeded by) David Niven’s scene-stealing turn as Polly’s eventual (and obvious) love interest. And while the narrative is periodically a little more meandering than one might’ve preferred, Bachelor Mother, which boasts a number of memorable, funny sequences (eg Niven’s character attempts to confront Polly at a dance contest), builds towards a tremendously satisfying third act that boasts an amusing climactic misunderstanding and a legitimately heartwarming finale – which does, in the end, cement the picture’s place as an entertaining romcom that fares better than one might’ve anticipated.

*** out of ****