Bachelor Mother

Polly Parrish works as a temporary clerk at Merlin's department store during the Christmas season, and she loses the job when the holiday rush ends. On her way home she sees a woman abandon a baby outside a foundling home, and when she picks the child up, officials and passers-by mistake her for the mother. Unable to convince anyone otherwise, she finds herself responsible for an infant she did not bear, and the nursery where the baby was left presses her employer to keep her on and raise her pay. David Merlin, the owner's son, becomes involved in her situation and grows closer to her, while his father suspects David of being the child's father.

Garson Kanin directed the film, which was released in 1939 and runs 82 minutes. It was his first credited feature as director; he followed it with My Favorite Wife the next year. Norman Krasna wrote the screenplay, Buddy G. DeSylva produced it for RKO Radio Pictures, and Ginger Rogers plays Polly opposite David Niven as David Merlin, with Charles Coburn as J. B. Merlin. The credited cast numbers 34.

The film took about 2 million dollars at the box office. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.5 from roughly 5,200 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.2 from 81 votes. A critics' rating of 7.3 from eight reviews places it slightly below the audience score on IMDb and close to the TMDB figure.