Watching this David Niven vehicle made 70 years ago (ouch!) for Four Star Playhouse I couldn't avoid recalling my having been brought up in the '50s watching so many TV sitcoms -at the time this one was aired my favorite was "My Little Margie".
The story does address a serious issue, namely the reluctance of many people (in this case it's the woman) to consider adoption. Niven casts himself way against type: he's a kindly American husband (with a British accent of course) who bonds with a young orphan boy (Tommy Rettig) while out fishing one day and soon wants to adopt the irresistible tyke (Niven's character was adopted in 1918). Not irresistible to his wife (very well-played by Frances Rafferty, who single-handedly takes on all the dramatic acting of the episode), who wants a family of her own. When she becomes pregnant she's even more adamant that Niven return the kid to his orphanage and be done with it. How her mind is changed I won't spoil here.
Another key role is handled smoothly by Hugh Beaumont, playing the reverend who runs the orphanage and is a no-nonsense type, compared to the emotional family characters. My mind couldn't help wandering, given how dated these '50s stories were handled, to the notion of how Hugh could have really stretched and tested his acting chops had the story been more modern (and loaded with hindsight). What if the Catholic church higher-ups had not hidden all the child abuse going on for decades and dealt with the serious issue head-on back in the '50s, saving generations of youngsters? Beaumont could have been accused of sexually abusing Rettig and we'd have a significant storyline here.
Niven is miscast, and the presence of a cast of such popular family show talent (Rafferty as Spring Byington's daughter in "December Bride", Beaumont forever the dad Ward Cleaver in "Leave It to Beaver" and Rettig, the original young co-star in "Lassie") makes for comfort food-style television.
The story does address a serious issue, namely the reluctance of many people (in this case it's the woman) to consider adoption. Niven casts himself way against type: he's a kindly American husband (with a British accent of course) who bonds with a young orphan boy (Tommy Rettig) while out fishing one day and soon wants to adopt the irresistible tyke (Niven's character was adopted in 1918). Not irresistible to his wife (very well-played by Frances Rafferty, who single-handedly takes on all the dramatic acting of the episode), who wants a family of her own. When she becomes pregnant she's even more adamant that Niven return the kid to his orphanage and be done with it. How her mind is changed I won't spoil here.
Another key role is handled smoothly by Hugh Beaumont, playing the reverend who runs the orphanage and is a no-nonsense type, compared to the emotional family characters. My mind couldn't help wandering, given how dated these '50s stories were handled, to the notion of how Hugh could have really stretched and tested his acting chops had the story been more modern (and loaded with hindsight). What if the Catholic church higher-ups had not hidden all the child abuse going on for decades and dealt with the serious issue head-on back in the '50s, saving generations of youngsters? Beaumont could have been accused of sexually abusing Rettig and we'd have a significant storyline here.
Niven is miscast, and the presence of a cast of such popular family show talent (Rafferty as Spring Byington's daughter in "December Bride", Beaumont forever the dad Ward Cleaver in "Leave It to Beaver" and Rettig, the original young co-star in "Lassie") makes for comfort food-style television.