DbcultAccessing Vault...
6.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Bachelor Father remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have about 90 minutes and want to see how movies handled scandalous topics before the censors ruined everything, you should check out The Bachelor Father. It’s perfect for people who like watching old men get annoyed by their own decisions. If you hate stagey movies where people talk in big rooms for a long time, you will probably be bored to tears. 🥱
The whole thing starts because Sir Basil Winterton is old and has a bad heart. He’s played by C. Aubrey Smith, who has the most aggressive eyebrows I have ever seen on a human being. He decides he wants his kids around, but the thing is, he never actually married any of the mothers. Back in 1931, this was a big deal, but the movie treats it like he’s just talking about old cars he left in different garages.
He sends his poor lawyer out to find them. He’s got one in Italy, one in London, and one in America. The American one is Tony, played by Marion Davies, and she basically carries the whole movie on her back. She’s loud and messy and completely refuses to treat her dad like royalty.
The first time they all meet at the dinner table is so awkward it’s actually funny. You have this Italian girl who is very dramatic and a British guy who seems like he’s made of wood. Then there is Tony, who just wants to eat and talk back to the old man. I noticed the camera stays on C. Aubrey Smith’s face for a long time whenever she speaks, just to show him fuming. 😤
Marion Davies has this weird energy. She feels like she’s in a different movie than everyone else. While the others are acting like they are in a serious play, she’s over there doing bits and making faces. It’s great. It reminded me a little bit of the lighter moments in If I Were King, just that sense of someone not giving a hoot about the rules.
There is a young Ray Milland in this too! He plays a guy named Geoffrey. He looks so young it’s almost confusing. His hair is perfectly slicked back, and he spends most of the time looking at Marion Davies like he’s never seen an American woman before. Which, to be fair, in this house, she’s basically an alien.
The house itself is huge and looks very cold. I kept thinking about how much it must cost to heat a place like that. There’s a butler, of course, who looks like he’s been holding his breath for forty years. He’s very good at looking disappointed without moving a single muscle in his face.
One scene that really stuck with me is when Tony is trying to be 'ladylike' but she just can't do it. She keeps slipping back into her slang and her spunky attitude. It’s not a deep movie, but it’s honest about how people don’t really change just because they moved into a mansion.
The pacing gets a bit slow in the middle. They spend a lot of time talking about who is going to inherit what. It felt a bit like a dry run for a soap opera. If you want more action, you’re better off watching something like Thunderbolt, because here the only action is people walking up and down stairs.
I did notice a weird thing with the sound. Sometimes the background noise just cuts out completely. It’s that early talkie thing where the tech wasn't quite there yet. It makes the silences feel heavy and a bit spooky, even when the scene is supposed to be lighthearted.
There is this one shot where Sir Basil is looking at a portrait of one of the moms. He looks genuinely sad for about three seconds. It’s the only time I actually liked him. Then he goes back to being a jerk to the servants. 🙄
The ending is... well, it’s a 1930s ending. Everything gets wrapped up in a way that doesn’t totally make sense if you think about it for more than a minute. But it makes you feel good, I guess? Tony gets what she wants, and the old man isn't so lonely anymore.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s a bit dusty and the jokes don’t always land. But Marion Davies is just so charming that you don't really mind the parts that drag. It’s a weird little window into what people thought was funny ninety years ago.
I liked it more than I expected. Mostly for the eyebrows. And the fact that Tony calls her dad 'Chief' just to make him mad. That never gets old.
IMDb —
1919
Community
Log in to comment.
