Slightly reminiscent of Metro's later Red Skelton musical, "Bathing Beauty" in that most of the action centers around a lone male in a girls' school, "Forty Little Mothers" is much less funny. Indeed most of the comic opportunities in the script seem to have been deliberately bypassed. This accent on the dramatic rather than the comic is unfortunate, as the drama becomes corny and sentimental. True, Cantor is allowed to make a few quips and sing a song, entitled "Little Curly Hair in a High Chair" by Harry Tobias (or his brother, Charles Tobias, depending on which reference book you consult) and Nat Simon. On the other hand, although the movie's direction is credited to Busby Berkeley, anyone expecting lavish Berkeley production numbers here is going to be mightily disappointed. There are none!
Review of Forty Little Mothers
