Good ole' boy Fred Stone is happy in the old sailor's home, surrounded by pals he has things in common with, so when his well-meaning son (Dennis Morgan) and surprisingly supportive daughter-in-law (Gloria Dickson) ask him to move in with them, he reluctantly agrees, believing his son needs his help at the office. But they mistakenly believed that he was unhappy and he is unhappy-right after moving in. A montage of obnoxious cooks coming and going shows their unhappiness with the old codger's interference in their cooking, and the first one needed to go anyway with her already bitter attitude and lethargic demeanor. Dickson isn't the perfect daughter-in-law although she loves her father-in-law dearly, and she is also a bit of a social climber, but when Stone announces his desire to move into a nearby home for retired gentlemen, she shows her tender side by sobbing, "If he did this because he overheard me, then I'll never forgive myself." Stone does find some happiness living with them with the pauper Sonny Bupp who lives with his nefarious uncle in a basement apartment next door, but Bupp is a street tough who steels bananas from fruit stands and whom Stone comes to believe robbed him of the money he had stashed which would help him move into the old gent's home.
This is one of those sentimental films that in spite of a few implausibilities still works. Stone is the heart and soul of this film, which in itself is the remake of an older film, "The Expert", which starred Chic Sales back in 1932. By the late 30's, Warner Brothers was remaking some of their earlier talkies as the bottom of the bill of double features, and this is standard, if likable fare, for what movie audiences wanted as the world was heading towards the second World War. Morgan has little to do but be kind, while Dickson gets to show a variety of emotions as the torn wife who wants to do right but can't help but show displeasure as Stone tears her house apart, embarrasses her in front of guests, yet means well. Young Bupp is adorable and his scenes with Stone remind us of how a boy's best friend used to be his grandfather (as well as a dog). So if you want to see a good old fashioned comedy with a few tears of what a less cynical life used to be like, this is your film. Sweet, to the point, yet never saccharine, and short enough to keep even the most fidgety of audiences from getting bored.
This is one of those sentimental films that in spite of a few implausibilities still works. Stone is the heart and soul of this film, which in itself is the remake of an older film, "The Expert", which starred Chic Sales back in 1932. By the late 30's, Warner Brothers was remaking some of their earlier talkies as the bottom of the bill of double features, and this is standard, if likable fare, for what movie audiences wanted as the world was heading towards the second World War. Morgan has little to do but be kind, while Dickson gets to show a variety of emotions as the torn wife who wants to do right but can't help but show displeasure as Stone tears her house apart, embarrasses her in front of guests, yet means well. Young Bupp is adorable and his scenes with Stone remind us of how a boy's best friend used to be his grandfather (as well as a dog). So if you want to see a good old fashioned comedy with a few tears of what a less cynical life used to be like, this is your film. Sweet, to the point, yet never saccharine, and short enough to keep even the most fidgety of audiences from getting bored.