In Bachelor Mother (1939), Ginger Rogers plays Polly Parrish, a shopgirl who, after finding an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage, is mistaken for the child’s mother by the staff and by David Merlin, played by David Niven, the son of the department store owner. Directed by Garson Kanin, the comedy follows Polly as she tries to keep her job and her dignity while caring for the baby.
Rogers is sparkling in Bachelor Mother, combining comic timing with warmth, and her chemistry with Niven is a highlight. The film was a popular success and showed Rogers as a leading comic actress in her own right, beyond musicals.
