Unemployed Polly Parrish (Ginger Rogers) impulsively picks up a baby left at orphanage doors at Christmas. Everyone assumes the foundling is hers, including Polly's playboy ex-boss (David Niven), who offers her a job if she'll live up to her maternal duties. A paycheck would be handy, so Polly complies. Then the boss's tycoon dad (Charles Coburn) assumes the infant is his secret grandson... and things really spin out of control. Buoyed by Rogers' irresistibly endearing performance, Bachelor Mother is one of those rarities, a brilliantly cast comedy where everything - plot, pacing and dialogue (thanks to Garson Kanin's savvy direction and Norman Krasna's witty script) - is exactly, hilariously right.

A young unmarried woman stops to take a peek at a little bundle of joy abandoned on the steps of an orphanage. This innocent act of curiosity lands her in hot water when the home's administrators conclude that she's the baby's true mom. In no time at all, she's crazy about the charming infant... and discovering other forms of love, too. Remade with Debbie Reynolds as Bundle of Joy (1956). Academy Award Nominations: Best Original story.