Seeing 'Bundle of Joy' in tribute to the late Debbie Reynolds, who lightened up the screen in so many of her films even in lesser ones, it turned out to be a film that isn't bad as such but it isn't particularly good either.Essentially an unnecessary musical remake of 'Bachelor Mother', the best thing about 'Bundle of Joy' is Reynolds herself in yet another charming and perky performance. Adolphe Menjou is amusing and brings crusty authority to his role as Eddie Fisher's character's father, and Tommy Noonan steals every scene he's in. The baby is simply adorable and every bit the bundle of joy that Reynolds is.Production values are handsome enough, and the film is very nicely photographed. The songs are likable too if not timeless classic status.However, Eddie Fisher is a disaster of a leading man, his only saving grace being that he has a good singing voice. Otherwise, he completely lacks charisma and charm, ironically generates little chemistry with Reynolds (for a married couple!) and even less with Menjou. As nice as the songs are and regardless of how well sung they are, the way they're staged lack energy and range from the indifferent to the fairly embarrassing (the opening number's staging being particularly risible).Apart from the odd sweet and amusing moment, the script is generally too silly and too laboured, and very flimsy and less than loving in the more romantic parts. The story lacks energy and lightness of touch, too often coming over as dull and saccharine with flat comic timing. Norman Taurog's direction is suggestive of somebody who didn't have faith in the material.Overall, loved Reynolds and a few other elements but generally didn't fill me with joy. 5/10 Bethany Cox

From veteran director Norman Taurog, and far better than his later Elvis movies. A cute romp with Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.The songs are just O.K. and quite short. It's a nice Technicolor confection. Both Debbie and Eddie do very well singing and dancing, and play well to the camera. The "book" portion of the movie follows the "Bachelor Mother" plot almost scene-for-scene. The storyline should by now be very familiar, as it has been filmed 3 times. An underpaid and overworked Dept. store clerk finds a baby "on a doorstep" and everybody assumes that she is the baby's unwed mother. This allows her to keep her job when she is about to be fired, at Christmastime. Single parenting is so commonplace today, but it was a terrible scandal and disgrace decades ago. Ironically, Debbie was pregnant with Carrie during the filming. Enjoyable if you can sit through those innocuous and predictable songs. Who are "John's parents"? It's hinted that maybe Dan Miller Jr.(Eddie Fisher) actually is the father. The baby looks a lot like him. Is Roxanne Arlen, the blonde bombshell with the pixie haircut, the mom? The character she plays is "bone-headed" enough to leave a baby on the doorsteps of the Arlen Foundling Home. We are never really told, but it's a distinct possibility, and it's all left up-in-the-air. Worth your time and quite likable. A good supporting cast as well. The soundtrack needs to be "re-processed" and contains occasional "noise and chatter". (Therefore, not fully restored.)

Glossy and tuneful, if terribly contrived, remake of a just-adequate Ginger Rogers comedy vehicle 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 her 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 101 'risque' misunderstandings (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 ****

This film is strictly for fans of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.I get angry at TCM for showing this mess more frequently than Bachelor Mother, the delightful original. I get angrier still that some Hollywood boob thought it would be a good idea to remake Bachelor Mother, filling it with some lame songs that only serve to interrupt the flow of a cute comedy. Instead, Hollywood could have spent the time, money, energy and talent wasted on this horrible remake to give us something new and original - Wow, what a concept!Bachelor Mother (the original), with Ginger Rogers and David Niven is a spicy stew, simmering with sexuality. It is a 1930's wink at the Hays Office. Bundle of Joy (the remake), with Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher is strictly milk and cookies. It is a 1950's handshake with Eisenhower.Which cast would you rather watch - Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher and Adolphe Menjou, or Ginger Rogers, David Niven and Charles Coburn? For me, every member of the cast in the original version is far better than his/her counterpart in the remake.In the original a beautiful, young Ginger Rogers is at her peak. David Niven delivers perfectly as a somewhat spoiled, sophisticated and yet befuddled scion of a wealthy department store magnate. And I always love to see Charles Coburn in a movie. In Bachelor Mother, he is priceless as the desperate grandfather wannabe.In Bundle of Joy Debbie Reynolds is her usual perky self. She is fine in this role, although her performance (along with Fisher's) completely changes the tone of the story. As an actor, Eddie Fisher is hopeless. He is completely lacking in screen "presence." Here he is way too wholesome for this story. His acting is completely bland and clueless. Likewise, his singing is so bland and unremarkable that it has been completely forgotten by the world at large. The only time he is not completely painful is in Butterfield 8 - where, incidentally, he doesn't sing. Here, Fisher's lame performance alone is enough to ruin this movie. Adolphe Menjou, a favorite character actor, delivers a competent performance, but not one of his best. He is more blustering than commanding. He and Fisher are not convincing as a father and son.Do you see a musical for the music, the story being merely incidental? Or do watch a musical for a story, with some (hopefullly) good music used for seasoning? If the former, you might like this lame remake. Otherwise you are much better off watching the Ginger Rogers non-musical original, Bachelor Mother.