Big City (1948)

An abandoned baby is raised by three men: the Rev. Andrews, cantor Feldman, and Officer O'Donnell. When Feldman and O'Donnell each find a woman to fall in love with, they both think of ... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Anne Morrison Chapin, Whitfield Cook

Stars:

Margaret O'Brien, Robert Preston, Danny Thomas

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Margaret O'Brien	...	Midge
Robert Preston	...	Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Danny Thomas	...	Cantor David Irwin Feldman
George Murphy	...	Patrick O'Donnell
Karin Booth	...	Florence Bartlett
Edward Arnold	...	Judge Martin O. Abercrombie
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins	...	Louis Keller (as Butch Jenkins)
Betty Garrett	...	Shoo Shoo Grady
Lotte Lehmann	...	Mama Feldman
Connie Gilchrist	...	Martha - the Judge's Maid
Page Cavanaugh	...	Trio Leader (as Page Cavanaugh Trio)

Storyline

An abandoned baby is raised by three men: the Rev. Andrews, cantor Feldman, and Officer O'Donnell. When Feldman and O'Donnell each find a woman to fall in love with, they both think of getting married and settling down. And each wants to adopt Midge officially and raise her without the other "fathers". And Midge has to find some way for them to all become a family again.

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Plot Keywords:

jew | police officer | minister | cantor | abandoned baby | 

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Taglines:

Excitement from Dusk to Dawn!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Catherine (Unfinished Symphony)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,725,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was a huge flop at the box office, resulting in a loss to MGM of $850,000 ($9M in 2019) according to studio records.

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Connections

Referenced in The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)

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Soundtracks

The Kerry Dance
Written by J.L. Molloy
Performed by Lotte Lehmann

User Reviews

Some advice from King Solomon

MGM's contribution to ecumenism and universal brotherhood post World War II came with this film Big City. The idea that a Protestant, Catholic, and a Jew combine to raise a child was certainly an intriguing one.

On his way home Cantor Danny Thomas finds an abandoned baby on the basement steps of his home. As it turns out Reverend Robert Preston and policeman George Murphy are on the scene as well and they're all friends. Thomas lives with his mother Lotte Lehmann. In one fell swoop with the blessing of Judge Edward Arnold the baby who grows up to be Margaret O'Brien gets three fathers and a grandmother.

But Judge Arnold made an interesting provision in deciding custody. Which ever of the men marries first there's a provision that he and his wife get sole custody. So Margaret who is now about 11 becomes the object of a legal battle when George Murphy decides to marry lounge singer Betty Garrett. Complicating things more is Preston and Thomas are both interested in Margaret's teacher Karin Booth.

Big City holds up well as a nice family film. I'm still not sure what the fuss was, despite the fact she sings in bars Garrett was a perfectly nice person. Still Arnold must have wished he could get some advice from King Solomon.

Big City is also a fine opportunity to see concert singer Lotte Lehman in one of her few film appearances. It's a good film for a family afternoon viewing.