BEDTIME STORY is an uneven comedy with screwball touches for the slapstick finale which seems like something out of a Marx Bros. comedy. Although the cast is good, the script is all over the place between comedy, drama and screwball nonsense as it tells a non-too-convincing story about a show biz couple torn between the wife's retirement and the playwright's ambitions.
The manipulating role that March plays would have been perfect for a lighter comedian such as Cary Grant. March is much too saturnine in nature to be believable in a romp such as this, only occasionally giving his character a deft touch. Allyn Joslyn, on the other hand, proves himself a genius at light comedy, easily walking off with many of the film's best moments.
Loretta Young acquits herself believably and well in the role of a wife who is fed up with the manipulations of her husband to get her back on the stage. Eve Arden, Robert Benchley and Helen Westley offer fine support but the end result is a formula comedy with mixed results.
Fredric March, although a fine actor, is out of his element here in a role that could have seemed more likable if played by Cary Grant or Ray Milland. His wild schemes to prevent his wife from marrying another man are often on the mean-spirited side and March doesn't have the light enough touch to make his character sympathetic.
The manipulating role that March plays would have been perfect for a lighter comedian such as Cary Grant. March is much too saturnine in nature to be believable in a romp such as this, only occasionally giving his character a deft touch. Allyn Joslyn, on the other hand, proves himself a genius at light comedy, easily walking off with many of the film's best moments.
Loretta Young acquits herself believably and well in the role of a wife who is fed up with the manipulations of her husband to get her back on the stage. Eve Arden, Robert Benchley and Helen Westley offer fine support but the end result is a formula comedy with mixed results.
Fredric March, although a fine actor, is out of his element here in a role that could have seemed more likable if played by Cary Grant or Ray Milland. His wild schemes to prevent his wife from marrying another man are often on the mean-spirited side and March doesn't have the light enough touch to make his character sympathetic.