Father Is a Bachelor

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.

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!

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.

"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".

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!