Un turbine di gioia

This film is and will always be one of the unsung classics of the RKO Studio. A musical remake of "Bachelor Mother", "Bundle of Joy" is a funny, heartwarming tale of mistaken identity and blossoming love.

The only downside of this movie is the fact that it has Eddie Fisher in it. He should have stuck to singing as he is the most excruciatingly bad actor I have ever seen.

Overall, I give this movie 41/2 out of five stars.

Glossy and tuneful--if terribly contrived--remake of a just-adequate Ginger Rogers comedy from 1939 ("Bachelor Mother", itself a reworking of "Little Mother" from 1935). Salesgirl, fired at Christmastime from her department store job for "over-selling", finds an abandoned baby on the steps outside a foundlings home but can't get anyone to believe the child isn't really hers. The spotlight this time is equally on Debbie Reynolds (doing sprightly, decent work as the bachelor mother) and then-husband Eddie Fisher (leering at the camera while playing a singing junior-executive). Supporting roles are colorfully filled, production and song numbers are decent, though the script lands us smack in the middle of Risqué 101, with misunderstandings "Three's Company" would envy (She has a baby but not a husband?! And who's the father?). Worth-seeing for Debbie, who sings and dances--and rolls her eyes with expert exaggeration when it's time to change a diaper. **1/2 from ****

If it wasn't for the professional ease DEBBIE REYNOLDS displays in almost any role she plays, BUNDLE OF JOY would rank among the most forgettable romantic comedies of all time.

And this is true, even though she's surrounded by pros like TOMMY NOONAN (as an ambitious but overly flirtatious floor-walker) and ADOLPHE MENJOU (as a man who wishes he was the grandpa of the cute baby boy). And in the middle of this mess, is a weak performance by EDDIE FISHER, clearly in need of comic timing and finesse, especially since the lines he's given to speak are slightly short of ridiculous. His department store musical number at the film's start is an embarrassment to watch, clumsily staged and performed.

Director Norman Taurog is to blame for not being able to put any life into this retread of a GINGER ROGERS/David NIVEN/CHARLES COBURN film called BACHELOR MOTHER. The story is not the only handicap. The songs are third rate, even though Fisher and Reynolds deliver them in an appropriate style. Only one of them is a remotely catchy tune called "How I Love My Pretty Baby".

Obviously this is the kind of story of mistaken identifies that someone like Norman Krasna could write in his sleep (too bad he wasn't summoned to help with the script), but it's played in such uninspired fashion by Fisher and most of the cast (including the usually reliable Adolphe Menjou, Melville Cooper and Bill Goodwin), that it falls flat in injecting any real wit or humor into the contrived situations.

Summing up: Debbie deserved better than this. Both she and Fisher appear to be completely clueless as to what a dud this really is.

Many times have I wondered what Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher were like in their careers (I'm a Star Wars buff). I finally sat down and saw this film. I must say that after watching, I just loved it and wanted more. Since then Debbie Reynolds has become my favorite actress ever. After seeing this I raced to my mother for more info. and she told me of the trouble that followed. I was severely disappointed, because the chemistry in this film was superb. Among the highlights is Debbie's ability to use her magnificent talent to use subtle face gestures to get across the idea of what she is thinking. Eddie was less so, but did an average job. But after hearing the truth, everytime I re-watch this film, I can't help but imagine Eddie with horns on his head or a dunce cap a mile tall. Debbie's charm is the main reason to see this film. She steals the show, the script, the clothes, and anything else she touches. The back-up roles are performed well. This is a remake of the earlier film, "Bachelor Mother." If anyone but Debbie were in the lead, this movie would stink, but it gets a solid 3 stars from me (out of 4).

I might be considered biased in my view because my twin brother Don and I played the baby in Bundle of Joy. We were only a year old, and lived in the San Fernando Valley area of L.A. when we were picked out of approximately 200 sets of twin boys to be the baby in the movie. Over the years, I have heard my mom and other relatives tell many stories of the filming of this movie, and being VIP guests at the premier movie opening in Hollywood. I have, of course, seen the movie countless times over the years, and still like to watch it and laugh at the cute smiling babies we once were. My mom had to be on the set with us whenever we were filming, by state law. She has told us that Debbie Reynolds was a truely remarkable actress and treated us extremely well. Adolphe Menjou treated us like his own grand kids. Unfortunately, she also said that not everyone in the movie industry was so nice, and our parents decided not to sign a contract with RKO Pictures which would have allowed us to be in more films. Oh well, our short movie career aside, we both have grown up and are very happy in our own careers. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes light-hearted films with happy endings!