Father Is a Bachelor (1950) User Reviews

The type of film they don't make any more...and one of Holden's before he hit super-stardom.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 18 January 2018]

If you watched this film and knew nothing about William Holden, you'd likely be shocked to learn that he become a mega-star only a few years after making "Father is a Bachelor". Now I am not saying this because the film is bad...but it is very slight and the sort of film that seems to have nothing to do with Holden's later, grittier films (such as "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Stalag 17") seem so incredibly different and earthier. Instead, this film is almost like a Disney family film of the 1960s.

The movie begins with Johnny (Holden) singing. However, it's obviously not him singing...and he's in black face!! He's apparently part of a traveling medicine show and they are shysters. But when they run out of town with the law behind them, the law doesn't recognize Johnny without his makeup and he gets away and takes up refuge with some orphan kids. Their parents recently were killed and they have been able to scrape by...but how much longer will it be until the law also looks at them? And, what will happen when Johnny finds he's actually falling for the kids and wants to do right by them?

This is just a nice and cute film....nothing more and nothing less. Light, easy viewing and a movie that's hard to hate.

On The Territory of Der Bingle

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 April 2008]

Father Is A Bachelor marked the end of what William Holden termed his 'Smiling Jim' roles. His next film would be for Paramount and would be Sunset Boulevard which forever changed his screen image. This film was done for his other studio master, Columbia.

When it was decided that Columbia would have next call on his services for Father Is A Bachelor, Holden must have brought over the script from Paramount because if there ever was a Bing Crosby picture that Bing didn't do, this was it. This actually might have been a classic had Crosby done this over at Paramount.

Bill Holden for the one and only time in a film sang although not with his voice. The voice of Buddy Clark who was one of the great radio singers back in the day and rival of Bing Crosby was the voice that Holden used. Holden/Clark sang about eight numbers all public domain stuff. Had it been done at Paramount Burke-Van Heusen or Livingston- Evans would have done an original score for Crosby.

Buddy Clark was heard posthumously coming out of Bill Holden's mouth. He was killed in a private plane crash in the fall of 1949. Clark was also the singing voice of Jack Haley in Wake Up And Live and he had one of the most pleasant voices to listen to ever.

The story has Holden singing in black-face the opening number in a medicine show run by Charles Winninger. One of the crowd recognizes Winninger as a guy who bilked a few customers a time or two before. Though the black-face is demeaning to black people it actually serves a purpose in the plot because after Holden has wiped off the burnt cork, no one recognizes him and he's free while Winninger is in the slam.

But he doesn't stay free for long because the free and easy Holden gets involved with a family of five orphans who are trying to stay together and avoid an orphanage or being divided up with several families.

Coleen Gray is Holden's love interest in this film, she's the daughter of Lloyd Corrigan the judge who Winninger is before. Stu Erwin is the sheriff and the orphans are Gary Gray, Billy Gray, Wayne Farlow, Warren Farlow, and Mary Jane Saunders. Sig Ruman has a nice part as the owner of a beer garden who employs Holden as a singing waiter.

The biggest crisis in the film comes from the closest thing to a villain in the piece, sleazy lawyer Clinton Sundberg. He finds out that Holden is really no kin to those kids and he offers him a choice, marry one of old maid sisters either Peggy Converse or Lillian Bronson, either one doesn't make any difference to him. It's quite a pickle Holden's got himself in.

Father Is A Bachelor is a nice family entertainment film, but it was also the kind of film Holden was trying to get out of doing and succeeded magnificently in his next work. Besides though Holden was good, he certainly was poaching on the territory of Der Bingle.

Entertaining Story About An Easy-Going Guy

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 9 May 2014]

As a fan of William Holden, I can't say this is one of his better films, but it is entertaining enough if you can get past the dubbing of his singing voice. "Born Yesterday" and "Sunset Boulevard" would be released in the same year (1950).

Holden plays Johnny Rutledge, a self-described loafer who says, "The prettiest girl in the world couldn't get me--I'm woman-proof!" But he manages to get hitched to five orphaned siblings and finds himself settling into respectability and facing responsibility.

He does his best to provide for the kids. He even tries to sew a dress for the little girl May (Mary Jane Saunders) with comic results. Eventually, he realizes that a mother figure might be useful in bringing up children.

I think Mary Jane Saunders is one of the highlights of this film. She reminds me of Shirley Temple--cute and bright.

This is very light fare. There's even a scene where a life-altering decision is decided on the flip of a coin.

Nice Sentimental Family Film

[Gemini730 · 13 November 2003]

I`m a huge William Holden fan and I enjoyed this film very much.I like the nostalgic American mid-west turn of the century time setting of the film.Bill Holden has great interaction with the children-his true gentle sweetness when singing "In The Gloaming" as a lullabye to the little girl shines through.The scene with Bill trying to sew the little girl a dress from a pattern is hysterical.Buddy Clark did a wonderful job of dubbing his voice to match Bill Holden`s-if I didn`t know better,I would swear it was Bill singing. A nice family film with great sentimental, turn of the century songs with a wonderful, funny, sweet performance from Bill Holden.Its a shame Columbia has never released this on video or DVD.I obtained my copy from a private collector.

nice and sweet

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 9 August 2022]

Johnny Rutledge (William Holden) works for traveling snake oil salesman Professor Mordecai Ford. The professor gets imprisoned for thirty days. Rutledge intends to wait for his release. He encounters five young children living in a cabin with no parents. Rutledge and the kids pretend that he's their uncle. School teacher Prudence Millett takes an interest in him and the kids.

Stranger danger aside, this is a rather nice and sweet movie. The kids are cute. Even the con men are sweet. The one bad guy has a redemption story arc. It's all very sweet.

plotboiler

[grizzledgeezer · 6/10 · 10 January 2016]

"Father is a Bachelor" is one of those facilely sentimental films that deserves a swift kick in the butt. It's reminiscent of "Pennies from Heaven" a pretty bad Bing Crosby film. But it has some merit, despite being "wholesome".

William Holden was Captain Cynic, a confirmed misanthrope; even his voice sounded world-weary and cynical, regardless of the role. This served him well in "Father Is a Bachelor", keeping the film from veering too far into sentimentality. (Had Bing Crosby starred (another reviewer notes the obvious possibility), it would have gone right over the cliff, bursting into flames before it crashed.)

The story is set in the American South, though whether antebellum or postbellum isn't clear. (I assume the latter.) Five orphaned (and not-icky) children adopt him, and he has to go through the transformation from "I don't care about anyone but me" to "I'm willing to sacrifice for someone else's happiness". The change is played mostly seriously, and is almost believable.

The story's strongest point is that Colleen Gray doesn't fall for Holden because he's good looking, but because she's convinced of his high character. (A similar transformation occurs with the town's plutocrat.) In other words, the story (sort-of) approximates a character-driven drama, rather than a plot-driven melodrama.

The man driving the rich guy's carriage is Hank Worden, probably best-remembered as Mose Harper in "The Searchers".

"Father is a Bachelor" should be issued on DVD

[Sonetto · 9/10 · 17 April 2008]

At the moment I'm watching "Father is a Bachelor" on TCM. I think it is a movie well worth issuing on DVD ... its audience potentially is great ... especially for those parents who would want their children to see an appealing film without gratuitous violence and sex as can be the case even in today's PG films. Who makes decisions about which films to reissue? I would like to find out. One person who previously commented mentioned the person who dubbed the singing. Both the singer and William Holden made it look very real, the singer by matching his vocal quality to Holden's speaking voice and Holden by perfectly matching his mouth and facial expressions to the music. A charming and sweet movie. Not the norm for this star, whose roles hardly ever involved children but were dramatic and sometimes violent. Then there are the children portrayed in the film ... not the pseudo-sophisticated worldly, overly made-up kids that today are often shown as far wiser than their parents. I can truly appreciate those qualities in a movie.

Charming, if saccharine, family movie that resembles yet-to-come to TV sitcoms.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 12 December 2011]

Some people might think that William Holden was a bit miscast in this light-hearted comedy that doesn't feature laughs as much as smiles. This was before his rise from respectable actor with only two classics at that time ("Golden Boy" and "Our Town") under his belt. But with two of 1950's top rated films ("Born Yesterday" and "Sunset Boulevard") just down the road, he would be ranked a lot higher than he was throughout the 40's.

The film's simple story is of a traveling medicine man (Charles Winninger) who ends up in jail for fraud, while his minstrel man (Holden) comes across five orphaned children and reluctantly takes on the job of being their papa. At first, he only breaks bread with them to get some greens to eat with the fish he has caught, but soon, is taken in by the sweet Mary Jane Saunders, the youngest of the children, all named after the first five months of the year. A concerned citizen (Colleen Gray) looks in on them and believes Holden to be their uncle. When Holden is forced to remain around after beating up a nasty local who insulted the children, he finds he has no choice to continue the facade. The town's shady lawyer (Clinton Sundberg) blackmails him into becoming engaged to one of his spinster sisters, but its obvious that the kids won't have anybody else but the lovely Ms. Gray for their newly found "uncle".

There is nothing to criticize about this film other than its formulatic and predictable plot. The children aren't all sappy, and the songs are pleasant, if unremarkable. Everything is resolved nicely, something a growing cynical audience in 1950 wanted. Holden and Gray are a nice team, and Saunders is adorable without being an imitation of Shirley Temple or Margaret O"Brien. It won't win any awards, but that also means it won't be on any worst list either.

It's great to see lesser-known Columbia movies again. But ...

[Handlinghandel · 4/10 · 6 January 2007]

This movie has many charms. It has a fine cast. William Holden, in an atypical role, is fun as the dreamer who sings many standard songs. (It opens with him singing in black-face, though. That is always shocking when encountered today. And I wonder if it wasn't viewed as somewhat inappropriate even in 1950 when this was released.) Coleen Gray makes a charming love interest for Holden. And Charles Winninger is always a welcome presence.

The supporting cast is excellent too. Stuart Erwin gets low billing but what a fine actor he as! And the two spinster sisters who are interested in Holden are nicely cast also.

It is indeed a pleasure to see Columbia pictures other than the Capra films and those with Judy Holliday (whom I love) turn up. A few with Jean Arthur have been around in the VHS/DVD era but none to compare with the great number to which we were treated in the 1960s and seventies when local TV stations showed old movies.

However, the print of this one was terrible. At first I thought it was a nighttime scene. But it wasn't. It was very, very dark.

I am delighted at the Columbia movies trickling out again. Now, what about the Republic movies other than the ones that star John Wayne?

A great movie and apparently not widely known.

[srgmwagnerop · 15 June 2003]

I've been watching movies on TV from the time I was a teenager and there were no video or DVD players then. Therefore, I remember well the movies that I thought were exceptional. "Father Is A Bachelor" with William Holden was one of them. He plays a drifter (as I remember) and meets up with five (?) orphaned brothers and sisters (children). They don't want to be separated and convince Mr. Holden to be their "father." He reluctantly agrees at first, but soon begins to like his role and the children. He is strict, loving and fair. He meets a young woman and falls in love. I don't want to tell you more: watch the movie! It needs to be taken off Hollywood's shelves and put into a video/DVD format, preferably immediately!

The movie has that old time romantic quality about it.

[jfarms1956 · 2/10 · 15 May 2014]

Father Is A Bachelor is a movie best appreciated by the baby boomer generation and by those who love the old black and white sappy type movies. The opening song creates the mood for the entire movie. William Holden is okay. I am used to see him in more challenging roles and doing a great job. The movie has a slightly different romantic twist about it though. This is a good movie for those late night insomniacs or the rainy day afternoon crowd. The movie has a slow pace so for those late night watchers, you might want to drink some coffee or other caffeinated beverage to stay awake to finish the movie. I give the movie two thumbs up.

Dear God, now I've seen everything

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 5/10 · 4 April 2020]

William Holden pretending to sing. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it for myself. He's still got the Young Holden mannerisms. But his voice is starting to crack and turn into Cynical Holden. Coleen Gray. Whoa. What a dish. I see she lived into her 90s. Well done. There is nothing objectionable about this movie so go ahead and load up gampie and gammie in front of the TV and catch a glimmer of yesteryear. Just don't expect any car crashes or fist fights or bad guys named ''Hans," if that's your thing.

A great movie and apparently not widely known.

[srgmwagnerop · 15 June 2003]

I've been watching movies on TV from the time I was a teenager and there were no video or DVD players then. Therefore, I remember well the movies that I thought were exceptional. "Bachelor Father" with William Holden was one of them. He plays a drifter (as I remember) and meets up with five (?) orphaned brothers and sisters (children). They don't want to be separated and convince Mr. Holden to be their "father." He reluctantly agrees at first, but soon begins to like his role and the children. He is strict, loving and fair. He meets a young woman and falls in love. I don't want to tell you more: watch the movie! It needs to be taken off Hollywood's shelves and put into a video/DVD format, preferably immediately!

William Holden's Worst Film

[drednm · 28 July 2018]

This hideous "heart-warmer" opens with William Holden in blackface and singing songs (he's dubbed) to sell snake oil to the rubes in turn-of-the-century Kentucky. While his partner (Charles Winninger) is arrested, he escapes to Mudville, where he runs across five orphans living in a shack.

Of course he moves in and pretends to be their Uncle Johnny. When a do-gooder (Coleen Gray) comes by, she demands they be sent to school. Slowly, Holden gets sucked into their lives more and more and eventually gets a job as a singing waiter (he's still dubbed) in a beer garden. He's nearly coerced into marrying a local spinster, but you can already guess the ending.

Holden had an odd contract deal with Paramount by which Columbia bought half his contract. This is one of the last clunkers he made for Columbia, and it was released a few months before the release of the film that made him a superstar: SUNSET BOULEVARD.

Holden is incredibly miscast in this pap. Others in the film include Stu Erwin, Sig Ruman, Clinton Sundberg, Lillian Bronson, Peggy Converse, Willie Best, and Billy Gray with his harmonica.