Movie #287 ........................."The Big City"

Movie #287 "The Big City" is a great black and white film I caught on TCM on Maureen O'Brien Day. Always a great fan of hers, I had never heard of this one, so I'm glad I caught it. Here's the premise: Robert Preston (of Music Man fame) is a Methodist minister, Danny Thomas is a Jewish cantor (who lives with his mother (who happens to be an opera singer), and George Murphy (that's senator Murphy) is an Irish (roman catholic?) cop. They all find a little baby on the church steps, abandoned by her mother. They go to a judge (who happens to be the bad guy from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) who says they can all three be foster parents until one marries --- and that one can adopt the little girl (Maureen O'Brien). Present day she is now age 8 or so and has a life with all three of her fathers (Robert Preston is her teacher of the mind, George Murphy the teacher of her body, and Danny thomas the teacher of her heart) and the singing now "Grandma" --- she loves being raise by all three..............until the cop falls in love with a bar singer (Betty Garrett) whom the other two fathers think is not a good influence on their little girl. That starts a big feud that brings problems for Maureen O'bRien. And might I say that I really had no idea how talented she was......I was (as everyone I guess) a big Shirley Temple fan. But Maureen O'Brien can act!!!! and sing and she was laugh out loud funny imitating a bar singer. So I'm recommending this. however, it has a disclaimer. There's a lot of music in this ---- by the opera singer and Danny Thomas, so if you fast forward through some of that, I think you'll enjoy this film. I give it a 3.8 for the story.