Forty Little Mothers: An odd, sweet, and dusty mess

Is it worth your time?

If you like old, black-and-white stuff that feels like it was filmed in a library, you’ll probably dig this. It’s sweet, a bit dusty, and very low stakes. If you need your movies to have, you know, actual momentum or a plot that isn't just people running in and out of doors, skip it. You will hate the pacing. It feels like it was made in a time where people had nothing but time.

The premise is cute. Prosper Martin is just a guy trying to teach, and then—boom—baby on the doorstep. The way he tries to hide a literal human infant in a small room at a boarding school is peak absurdity. You’d think he was hiding a stolen sandwich, not a crying child.

The boarding school vibe

The girls are everywhere. They’re peeking behind curtains, whispering in halls, and generally being the most observant people on the planet. It’s actually kind of stressful watching him try to outsmart them. One of the girls literally just stares at a closet door for ten seconds too long, and you can see him sweating.

The movie doesn’t really care about the 'why' of the baby being there. It’s just the device to make everyone act silly. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Pretty Ladies, where everything feels like a stage play that escaped into the wild.

• The baby is surprisingly chill about being a prop.
• The headmistress is terrifyingly sharp-eyed.
• The lighting in the hallway makes everyone look like a ghost.

There’s a scene where he’s trying to feed the kid, and it’s just pure chaos. He’s got his coat over the cradle, someone knocks, he jumps—it’s very much a "don't look here!" routine. I laughed, but I also felt exhausted for him.

It’s not a masterpiece. It doesn’t try to be. It’s just a weird little story about a guy who gets into way over his head. Sometimes that’s enough. Other times, you just want the movie to get to the point, but it prefers to linger on a shot of a staircase for no reason.

I caught myself wondering if the baby actually liked any of the actors. Probably not. The whole thing has this weird, detached feeling, like the camera is just watching a play unfold and hoping nobody trips over the furniture. It’s a bit like watching The China Plate—delicate, slightly fragile, and easily shattered if you think too hard about the logic.

Anyway. It’s an hour or so of your life. Not the worst way to spend it, but maybe not the best either. 🍼