This was yet another film I missed out on over the years on both local TV (back when they still showed movies regularly and not just recent titles!) and the MGM cable channel. However, I was not so enthused by the result this time out and, in retrospect, not only is Leonard Maltin's ***1/2 rating excessive but I cannot fathom how it ended up being Oscar-nominated for Best Picture – over such large-scale epics that repay repeated viewings as THE GREAT RACE or THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES! Incidentally, its other Academy Award nods were for Adapted Screenplay (understandable and, well, deserving) and Score Adaptation; with respect to either of these, however, my general apathy towards the film has made me forget both the titular reference and a popular song that is repeatedly sung throughout while being strummed on ukelele! On the other hand, Martin Balsam surprisingly emerged the winner of the Supporting Actor category – when he had even failed to make the shortlist at the Golden Globes (where the film did receive recognition for Musical/Comedy Actor and Actress for Jason Robards Jr. and Barbara Harris respectively); it is not that he had much in the way of competition, but it is also true that he only really shined in one sequence shot in semi-darkness to boot! For the record, Robards and Balsam – here playing brothers – would re-appear together in two real-life enactments i.e. TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970) and ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976; which landed Robards the first of two consecutive Oscars).
Anyway, the plot deals with the writer of a TV kids' programme who quits and, since he is taking care of his 12 year-old nephew (abandoned by his mother, Robards' sister, and whose father is unknown), the Welfare commission turns up at his apartment to look into the sustainability of the situation. This already hardly augured well for comedy material, but much of the proceedings seem very unlikely, thus unconvincing (contrasting with the harsh cinematography of the New York locations – that said, the exteriors are often depicted via flashy montages which, again, dispels the intended realism and, set to loud ragtime music, prove that more irritating)! Despite the protagonist's backdrop, one cannot imagine the life of an out-of-work person with familial responsibilities to be as carefree as we see here; nor is it believable for Harris' social worker/psychologist – green though she may be – falling for him so easily (and for whom she even leaves patronizing colleague/boyfriend William Daniels)! Overstretched at nearly 2 hours, the film is at its most strident when Robards, youngster Barry Gordon and future director Gene Saks (as the child-hating star of the afore-mentioned TV show) give vent to their booming voices, and particularly in the climactic confrontation featuring all three. This is not to say that the movie is not worth watching, but it singularly lacks memorable incident and sympathetic characterization (THE KID {1921} it definitely is not!). In conclusion, producer/director Coe's only other effort for the big screen was ME, NATALIE (1969) which, while reuniting him with Balsam, is best-known today (albeit hard-to-find in serviceable quality) for being Al Pacino's debut!
Anyway, the plot deals with the writer of a TV kids' programme who quits and, since he is taking care of his 12 year-old nephew (abandoned by his mother, Robards' sister, and whose father is unknown), the Welfare commission turns up at his apartment to look into the sustainability of the situation. This already hardly augured well for comedy material, but much of the proceedings seem very unlikely, thus unconvincing (contrasting with the harsh cinematography of the New York locations – that said, the exteriors are often depicted via flashy montages which, again, dispels the intended realism and, set to loud ragtime music, prove that more irritating)! Despite the protagonist's backdrop, one cannot imagine the life of an out-of-work person with familial responsibilities to be as carefree as we see here; nor is it believable for Harris' social worker/psychologist – green though she may be – falling for him so easily (and for whom she even leaves patronizing colleague/boyfriend William Daniels)! Overstretched at nearly 2 hours, the film is at its most strident when Robards, youngster Barry Gordon and future director Gene Saks (as the child-hating star of the afore-mentioned TV show) give vent to their booming voices, and particularly in the climactic confrontation featuring all three. This is not to say that the movie is not worth watching, but it singularly lacks memorable incident and sympathetic characterization (THE KID {1921} it definitely is not!). In conclusion, producer/director Coe's only other effort for the big screen was ME, NATALIE (1969) which, while reuniting him with Balsam, is best-known today (albeit hard-to-find in serviceable quality) for being Al Pacino's debut!