When a recently fired department store employee (Ginger Rogers) finds an abandoned baby, she does what any good woman would do: she tries to get rid of it. But the orphanage she takes it to is sure she is lying about not being the mother and follows her home to return the baby, refusing to take no for an answer. All of a sudden, she has her job back, and every man she knows is yearning to play papa. But circumstances make it appear that the department store owner's son (David Niven) is the responsible party, and hilarious results ensue.This delicious screwball comedy is a bit more subtle in its humor than classics like "My Man Godfrey", "Libeled Lady" and "Bringing Up Baby", but classic none the less. It focuses more on how a definitely single woman must change her life and how she handles sudden and unwanted motherhood. An amusing scene has Niven and Rogers becoming closer with Niven insisting a baby book he's reading indicates that to feed a baby, you must rub oatmeal in the infant's belly button (or "navel") and his awkward reaction to being corrected.A cute Donald Duck toy causes all sorts of contention in the department store, much like Auntie Mame's roller skates. This duck is used as a metaphor to comment on the way adults sometimes argue, talking over each other and sounding perfectly ridiculous. The wonderful Charles Coburn has a wonderful supporting part as Niven's imperious father who gets to be a bit emotional when he learns that he may be a grandfather. Rogers is hysterically funny in pretending to be a Swedish heiress, making up ridiculous sounding words as she goes along, and finally getting a good dig in at the snooty socialite Niven has dumped for her. An intelligent and witty screenplay (by Norman Krasna, with assistance from director Garson Kanin) helps this rise above the average Hollywood comedy, making it a true classic that you won't want to miss.

Ginger Rogers almost made the mistake of her career, when she flatly refused to appear in "Bachelor Mother". Pandro S. Berman forced her to do it and when released she was at last recognised as one of Hollywood's top comediennes. I love this film!!!!!Polly Parrish (Ginger Rogers) has just been given a pink slip from Merlin's Department Store. After being forced to listen to quacking toy Donald Ducks all day the last thing she needs is a baby!!!! While on lunch she finds a woman abandoning a baby at a foundling home. When Polly is caught holding the baby she can convince no-one that the baby isn't hers. The foundling officers contact her boss David Merlin (David Niven) and she is given her job back plus a bonus. She still can't convince anybody that the baby isn't hers.One of the funniest sequences is when she and Freddie (Frank Albertson) enter a dance competition and David comes to the night club with the baby in tow. Another funny sequence is when Niven tries to return a faulty Donald Duck (ha!ha!) incognito and finds the staff less than helpful. Then there is the part where he takes Polly out to party with his rich friends and she impersonates a Swedish girl who can't speak English.When "a friend" sends a note to David's father (Charles Coburn) implying that David is the father then the shoe is on the other foot.Charles Coburn is wonderful as the grandfather (he thinks!!!) "I don't care who the father is - I'm the Grandfather!!!" It is a very funny film and at the end a few men stand up to claim paternity.Ginger was never better than in these type of working girl roles.

I checked the spoiler box, just in case I reveal something, but I just wanted to say that I adore this movie. Like someone else said, this is a perfect romantic comedy. The actors are great and the story is great. When I first saw it a few months ago, I was wondering how this story would play out being that it was filmed in the 30s, but it worked out wonderfully.All of the actors had great comedic timing and the chemistry was perfect. Nobody hammed it up or tried to overtake the other actors. Even the baby gave us a show! The story is simple and fairly predictable by 2007 standards, but for me, that didn't make it any less enjoyable. I would pick this one over many of the RomComs of today.

This is yet another Depression Era take on Cinderella - not for nothing is is the David Niven character named Merlin - designed to take people's minds off both the recent austerity and the global war waiting in the wings. What comes across strongly is the sheer professionalism from all Departments, Script, Directing, Acting, that almost succeeds in preventing awkward questions - the film begins on what Americans insist on referring to as 'the day before Christmas', known to the rest of the world as Christmas Eve, with Ginger Rogers being made redundant from her temporary salesperson position at Merlin's Department Store; due to plot machinations the son of the owner of the store (David Niven) is moved to reinstate her and the continuity implies that she goes back to work the next day (Christmas) - etc. The character played by the reliable and prolific Frank Albertson (so memorable in It's A Wonderful Life) fluctuates between up and down like a dysfunctional yo-yo but it's a safe bet that no one in 1939 noticed any of this and were content to bask in the high Enjoyment factor. Even today it holds up pretty well if only perhaps for one first-time viewing.