Father's Little Dividend (1951)

Stanley Banks is looking forward to enjoying a little freedom a year after his daughter, Kay, has got married but that is short-lived when he learns that he is to become a grandfather. He is far from overwhelmed at the prospect but his wife and the other grandparents to be are overjoyed… to the extent that they start to take over from Kay; giving their ideas of what the baby should be named among other things. There are some hiccoughs before the baby, a boy, is born then Stanley is a little put out by the fact that the little one gets on with the rest of the family but cries the moment he sets eyes on him.I was a little concerned that having not seen 'Father of the Bride' this might be a little hard to get into; thankfully it didn't matter at all. The story is fun with a decent number of laughs throughout. It isn't plot heavy; more a series of mostly amusing events that take place between the announcement that Kay is pregnant and the christening of the child. There is some drama although I doubt anybody will think things won't be resolved fairly quickly. Spencer Tracy does a fine job as Stanley Banks; this is very much his film as he is rarely off screen. He is ably supported by Joan Bennett as his wife Ellie and Elizabeth Taylor as Kay. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of older films who want a fun film which contains no offensive material.

This will be a short review. I've read the other comments and I'm surprised that some people have taken this movie so seriously and judged it from the viewpoint of today's values instead of when it was made. It's a bit like putting a bra on Venus de Milo or painting eyebrows on the Mona Lisa '...because that's where we are today....' style of revisionism. Get over yourselves, people! The film is a bit of fluff, well acted by all, reasonably well scripted, and directed with a light touch...and that's it. It is not a social document although it reflected some of the values of 60 years ago. I've never seen the prequel, though I want to. My only other comment is about a scene which I find very touching. It is where mother-to-be Elizabeth Taylor has left her husband Don Taylor and gone back to her parents. Spencer Tracy is caught up in the dispute between them that has caused the separation. His concern is for her attitude that the marriage is finished...but Tracy knows the husband is a good man. You need to see the scene through to appreciate it, but suffice to say that all three actors make it work. Elizabeth Taylor has rarely looked more beautiful nor more vulnerable. Their performances are not just about acting but re-acting.

FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND, a comedy for adults, and of adult fun, requires a bit of life experience so that it may be enjoyed. Tracy has a hot woman who's apparently striving to look like a modest housewife; he feels in his veins rushing the torrents of lustful, incandescent conjugal desire and finds this wife of his to be very stimulating. Tracy's dreams and longings for conjugal love in exotic locations are disintegrated by his daughter's going to have a baby. The comedy of libidinousness begins with the horny daddy Tracy's amorous advances mildly rejected by his wife. His dreams of sexual happiness are ruined. A young family's life is filmed through a grumpy oldster's eyes. Brass' LA CHIAVE will be the reversed FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND—there you see another lustful oldster craving for conjugal sex. Tracy, frustrated by wife in his love initiatives, is praised by daughter for his discretion and self—effacement. Grandpa Tracy makes here one of the best comedy roles in the American cinema; he had, I believe, the age, the temperament and the experience required (--we would not attribute wisdom to this fabulous drunk--). Joan Bennett, a fine piece of ass, plays Tracy's wife; she looks, of course, a bit sophisticated for the woman of a blue collar. Tracy will be _asexuated, castrated by the familial event of his daughter's having a son. This poor oldster is deprived of sexuality; there are hints that he enjoys soccer—but age deprives him of that, too. Ya see, there's even a certain _plentifulness in Minelli's comic, something realist and down—to—earth (--only imagine how corny such a subject could have made any comedy …--), and daddy Tracy seemed to enjoy his role; stylistically, this Tracy/ Bennett/ Taylor comedy is very achieved—competent, discreet and inspired direction.

This solid sequel to "Father of the Bride" has some good moments, and with the same cast on hand plus a similar story line, it feels very much like a direct continuation of the original. "Father's Little Dividend" is a cut below its predecessor, but it works all right in itself.Spencer Tracy once again plays the rather hapless Stanley Banks, and again he shows how good he could be in a rather thankless role. It's almost unfortunate that he seems so natural as a flustered or put-upon husband or father, since he often played such roles although he could do so many other things as well or better. But as far as this pair of movies went, he was certainly a fine choice, since he makes the character believable and sympathetic.Tracy's character is the focal point for the common kinds of changes and adjustments that families must make as the younger generation grows up. Although his reactions are often exaggerated, in general it is fairly easy to understand Stanley's constant feeling of apprehension about any and all changes.As with the first movie, Elizabeth Taylor works very well as Kay, giving her an appealing presence and a simple believability.The pace and the material of this one are not as consistent as they were in the first movie, and some of the comedy ideas come across rather awkwardly. But at other times the characters and cast make things work quite well, and in fact the simplest moments are some of the best ones in the movie.