Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1931
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Running time: 90 minutes
Cast:
Marion Davies, Ralph Forbes, C. Aubrey Smith, Ray Milland.
Synopsis:
Sir Basil Winterton (C. Aubrey Smith) isn't feeling well as of late, so he summons all of
his illegitimate offspring dotted about the globe to his estate in England. The bachelor
suddenly has his hands full with three grown children. Tony (Marion Davies) is one of the
two daughters and is a sharp tongued New Yorker. Maria is the other daughter and is an
aspiring opera singer. Ray Milland plays the son in one of his earliest performances.
The three of them decide to put "the Chief" on trial for a month or so before
making the decision to stay. Tony and Sir Basil grow very close, as do Tony and Ashley,
Sir Basil's Lawyer. Tragedy strikes when Tony learns from a visiting friend that she is
not really the daughter of Sir Basil. She wants to tell him but can't bring herself to do
because both of the other siblings have had to leave on important business.
Sir Basil learns of the mistake and confronts Tony. She leaves the estate and plans to fly
back to the U.S. with her pilot friend. The plane crashes on take-off as Sir Basil reads a
telegram that Tony sent before she boarded the plane. It explained that she loved him very
much and she was sorry for what had happened.
Tony has survived the crash and is carried into Sir Basil's living room to rest by Ashley.
The film ends happily with Sir Basil promising to adopt Tony and Ashley promising to make
her his wife. THE BACHELOR FATHER won Marion great praise by critics and
audiences alike and is one of her finest performances.
Index