It's a cute screenplay, with a cuter baby as the main 'prop'. Rather reminds me of a film a few years later: "Bathing Beauty", in which Red Skelton somehow is accepted as a student in an all girls' school. That was much more of a gaudy musical comedy than the present film, but minus a baby as a main character. Along with Esther Williams' water shows, it featured 2 big name bands, as well as comedy mainly relating to Red. Also, it was filmed in Technicolor vs. the B&W of the present film.
There is only one new song that Eddie Cantor sings, plus a new song : The Canford School Song", sung by the attendants to a school reunion at the beginning of the film. In addition, the school girls, as a group, sing a number of standards, including the well remembered Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown hit "You Were Meant for Me", which was the theme song for "Penny Serenade": released the following year, and was an important song in "Singing in the Rain". The theme song, which Eddie initially sings to the baby('Chum'), is "Little Curly Hair in a High Chair". It's quite a memorable tune, and is reprised as a group sing in the finale.
Eddie plays a kindly legitimate, if nearly destitute, professor, instead of his usual little schnook character. He's out of work, and happens upon a young woman(Marian) who's despondent about her husband abandoning her and her baby boy. Eddie surmises that she's about to jump off the pier, and grabs and talks to her. He takes her to a nearby restaurant, and talks some more, facilitating her getting a job at the restaurant as a waitress. Eddie leaves and finds the baby in a basket, with no apparent caretaker around. He finds a note in the basket implying an abandonment.
Meanwhile, after job training, Marian goes to reclaim her baby, but finds it gone. Eventually, she contacts the Department of Missing Persons, who eventually trace the baby to Eddie via a judge to talked to him about stealing a bottle of milk and suggested he apply for a job opening at Granville Girls School. The outgoing male teacher had been dismissed for flirting with the girls. He was quite popular with the girls, whereas Eddie seemed much more nerdy and homely. Thus, the girls devised various tricks to make Eddie want to leave, and make the head mistress want to fire him. These tricks are often amusing, eventually involving attempts to convince him they love him(in a romantic way), so that he will be fired.
Eventually, the poor woman that Eddie had left the baby with, showed up and said she couldn't take care of the baby anymore. So, the baby was sneaked into Eddie's bedroom.. Eventually, the girls, then the head mistress discovered the baby. Whereas the latter fired Eddie for harboring the baby and flirting with the girls, the girls competed to take care of the infant, washing his clothes, knitting clothes, etc.. The girls staged a mutiny until Eddie was reinstated. In the finale, it's evident that Eddie has been reinstated. "Chum" seems to have been adopted by the class. It's unclear to me what Marian's status is now. She is there singing with the group. Did she marry Eddie? Is she a student? Or perhaps she just hasn't left yet? She could be charged with child abandonment, and Eddie could be charged with kidnaping.
It's always a treat to 'discover' another Eddie Cantor film. This one had been swept under the rug. But, I found it at YouTube, and it doesn't disappoint, with Eddie doing more drama and less slapstick and musicals than usual. Busby Berkeley, known for his distinctive choreography, as well as directorship, had worked with Eddie in some of his early films. Currently he was also directing the Mickey & Judy musical series, incorporating a few lavish dance numbers into each film. But, there's no such number in this film.
Other films I'm familiar with that feature men being suddenly called upon to take care of an unfamiliar infant include "Three Men and a Baby", and "3 Godfathers". In the latter, John Wayne carries on alone under very trying conditions, after his 2 partners die.
There is only one new song that Eddie Cantor sings, plus a new song : The Canford School Song", sung by the attendants to a school reunion at the beginning of the film. In addition, the school girls, as a group, sing a number of standards, including the well remembered Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown hit "You Were Meant for Me", which was the theme song for "Penny Serenade": released the following year, and was an important song in "Singing in the Rain". The theme song, which Eddie initially sings to the baby('Chum'), is "Little Curly Hair in a High Chair". It's quite a memorable tune, and is reprised as a group sing in the finale.
Eddie plays a kindly legitimate, if nearly destitute, professor, instead of his usual little schnook character. He's out of work, and happens upon a young woman(Marian) who's despondent about her husband abandoning her and her baby boy. Eddie surmises that she's about to jump off the pier, and grabs and talks to her. He takes her to a nearby restaurant, and talks some more, facilitating her getting a job at the restaurant as a waitress. Eddie leaves and finds the baby in a basket, with no apparent caretaker around. He finds a note in the basket implying an abandonment.
Meanwhile, after job training, Marian goes to reclaim her baby, but finds it gone. Eventually, she contacts the Department of Missing Persons, who eventually trace the baby to Eddie via a judge to talked to him about stealing a bottle of milk and suggested he apply for a job opening at Granville Girls School. The outgoing male teacher had been dismissed for flirting with the girls. He was quite popular with the girls, whereas Eddie seemed much more nerdy and homely. Thus, the girls devised various tricks to make Eddie want to leave, and make the head mistress want to fire him. These tricks are often amusing, eventually involving attempts to convince him they love him(in a romantic way), so that he will be fired.
Eventually, the poor woman that Eddie had left the baby with, showed up and said she couldn't take care of the baby anymore. So, the baby was sneaked into Eddie's bedroom.. Eventually, the girls, then the head mistress discovered the baby. Whereas the latter fired Eddie for harboring the baby and flirting with the girls, the girls competed to take care of the infant, washing his clothes, knitting clothes, etc.. The girls staged a mutiny until Eddie was reinstated. In the finale, it's evident that Eddie has been reinstated. "Chum" seems to have been adopted by the class. It's unclear to me what Marian's status is now. She is there singing with the group. Did she marry Eddie? Is she a student? Or perhaps she just hasn't left yet? She could be charged with child abandonment, and Eddie could be charged with kidnaping.
It's always a treat to 'discover' another Eddie Cantor film. This one had been swept under the rug. But, I found it at YouTube, and it doesn't disappoint, with Eddie doing more drama and less slapstick and musicals than usual. Busby Berkeley, known for his distinctive choreography, as well as directorship, had worked with Eddie in some of his early films. Currently he was also directing the Mickey & Judy musical series, incorporating a few lavish dance numbers into each film. But, there's no such number in this film.
Other films I'm familiar with that feature men being suddenly called upon to take care of an unfamiliar infant include "Three Men and a Baby", and "3 Godfathers". In the latter, John Wayne carries on alone under very trying conditions, after his 2 partners die.