Bing Crosby and Joan Blondell left their 'home' studios and headed to Universal to pair up in this comedy with surprisingly good results. Crosby is a singer (who would've guessed) who sings greetings over the phone, but when he is required to make a home visit to deliver his vocal message, he gets involved with an old friend, Irene Hervey, battling her powerful father-in-law (C. Aubrey Smith) over her baby boy. H
Hervey's weak-kneed and often drunk hubby has vanished, so to prevent Smith's control, she leaves the baby temporarily with Crosby. Crosby has now moved on to 'singing taxi driver' (he has a record player in the car..) and is on track to marry his sweetie, Joan Blondell. There's the usual 'hide the baby' plot line as the boy's disappearance makes headlines. Crosby and Blondell have terrific chemistry, and some very clever back and forth patter, but Mischa Auer (as Crosby's astrologist roommate) is a scene stealer.
Usually Auer is relegated to a few 'crazy Russian' bits, but here he gets a little more screen time and range while still keeping the wackiness. He even gets a cute dance segment with Blondell. The music is secondary, although there are those warm moments when Crosby sings to the baby. Also well cast is Jerome Cowan as the radio gossip reporter who is always after Blondell, and wants to cash in on finding the infant. This really was a fun watch, and it seems like a natural for Turner Classic Movies, but the fact that it is not in the Turner library and it is rather obscure probably means that is not going to happen.
The baby was played by "Baby Sandy" who was supposed to be Universal's answer to Shirley Temple and who even had her own series of films. However, her last film was made at the age of five and she had no desire to be an adult or even a teen actress. She went on to disappear into California's middle class, reportedly quite happy with her life.
Hervey's weak-kneed and often drunk hubby has vanished, so to prevent Smith's control, she leaves the baby temporarily with Crosby. Crosby has now moved on to 'singing taxi driver' (he has a record player in the car..) and is on track to marry his sweetie, Joan Blondell. There's the usual 'hide the baby' plot line as the boy's disappearance makes headlines. Crosby and Blondell have terrific chemistry, and some very clever back and forth patter, but Mischa Auer (as Crosby's astrologist roommate) is a scene stealer.
Usually Auer is relegated to a few 'crazy Russian' bits, but here he gets a little more screen time and range while still keeping the wackiness. He even gets a cute dance segment with Blondell. The music is secondary, although there are those warm moments when Crosby sings to the baby. Also well cast is Jerome Cowan as the radio gossip reporter who is always after Blondell, and wants to cash in on finding the infant. This really was a fun watch, and it seems like a natural for Turner Classic Movies, but the fact that it is not in the Turner library and it is rather obscure probably means that is not going to happen.
The baby was played by "Baby Sandy" who was supposed to be Universal's answer to Shirley Temple and who even had her own series of films. However, her last film was made at the age of five and she had no desire to be an adult or even a teen actress. She went on to disappear into California's middle class, reportedly quite happy with her life.