FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND: Blu-ray (MGM, 1951) Warner Archive

Movie sequels are a tough nut to crack. Invariably, they are all judged – unfairly, as inferior – to the original that spawned them. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. But Vincente Minnelli’s Father’s Little Dividend (1951) is not among them. Despite being considered the pioneer of the ‘legit’ movie sequel (something Hollywood had not yet considered, though franchise film-making was a cottage industry throughout the late 30’s thru mid-50’s), Father’s Little Dividend is a pretty pedestrian affair. It’s a full-on reunion for the cast and director of Father of the Bride (1950), the year before. But there are several reasons why ‘Dividend’ does not come up to par. First, the plot. While the arrival of a baby is generally cause for celebration, it in no way compares to all the hoopla and chaos leading up to a young couple’s wedding day. So, the story already sports a ‘hand-me-down’ quality. Worse, the actors are largely going through the motions this time around, in characters they have better established before. On occasion, returning to a role can be a gratifying prospect for an actor. Alas, only eleven months had passed between these two movies – not nearly enough of an absence for the afterglow to be resurrected with fondness for their shared familiarity.

Add to this, some real-life scandals and tragedy covered in the tabloids of their time, and MGM’s zeal to merely recreate – rather than evolve – the magic and…well… Father’s Little Dividend could not hope but to be considered a distant successor. Partly to blame – Minnelli’s concentrated preoccupation on An American in Paris, the only movie he really wanted to make in 1951, and for which he would win Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. While sets were being constructed for Minnelli’s grand musical, newly appointed Metro boss, Dore Schary saddle-bagged him with Father’s Little Dividend. To be fair, Minnelli agreed to the terms, eager to establish his reputation as a ‘company man.’ And rather deftly too, the deed was done in a mere 28 days – a record for Minnelli, as much as a test of his endurance to get the damn thing finished so he could get along with sculpting the meticulous details on ‘Paris.’ Viewed today, ‘Dividend’ remains the least Minnelli-esque of the director’s comedies, generally lacking in his sparkle of originality and the usual modicum of joy Minnelli brought to the first flick.

Co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Bennett were going through their own trials by fire behind the scenes. Bennett, playing ‘Dividend’s forthright/upright matriarch, was, in fact, having an affair with her agent, Jennings Lang, and soon to be discovered in her flagrante delicto by hubby/producer Walter Wanger, who promptly pumped a bullet into Lang’s crotch. As Lang did not die from his injuries, Wanger served mere months in a penitentiary for his ‘crime of passion.’ Bennett, however, was chagrined. Her post-Dividend career would fizzle into a brief series of C-grade cameos from which she ostensibly retired in 1956, only to resurface three more times in even less distinguished fare in the intervening decades. Meanwhile, Taylor, who had made Father of the Bride to coincide with her real-life nuptials to hotel magnet/heir apparent, Conrad ‘Nicky’ Hilton (she wore the same bridal gown in both the first movie and at her own wedding) was fast discovering Hilton’s chronic alcoholism and addiction to gambling were eroding whatever chances at happiness briefly existed between them. Rumor has it, by the time Father’s Little Dividend went before the cameras Taylor was under much duress, even to endure several ‘beatings’ from her husband.

Father’s Little Dividend picks up pretty much where Father of the Bride left off. Newlywed, Kay Dunstan (Elizabeth Taylor) announces she and hubby, Buckley (Don Taylor) are expecting. In post-war American cinema, pregnancy – even under the covenant of marriage – was still considered something of a taboo subject. While, both families rejoice in the good news, Kay’s pappy, Stanley Banks’ (Spencer Tracy) middle-class morality lingers on reflections from the recent past and his still modest and brewing contempt at being made a grandfather by a son-in-law for whom he doesn’t much care. Stanley recalls how his own wife, Ellie (Joan Bennett) brokered the announcement with a veiled hint. Stanley assumed it had something to do with Buckley's fledgling business. The groom’s parents, Doris (Billie Burke) and Herbert (Moroni Olsen) could not be more pleased. But Stanley’s mid-life crisis prevents him from appreciating the initial joys to be had in such a situation.

Ellie is more pragmatic. She accepts that time has passed. She also revels in plans for a lavish baby shower, something Stanley thinks is absurd and costly. Ellie envisions the happy couple moving into their family home in a newly renovated suite of rooms, but is heartbroken when the more affluent Doris and Herbert announce their plans to build an entire wing onto their estate for the couple and their new arrival. Both sets of parents get a big surprise however, when Buckley and Kay inform, they have already purchased a small home on their own, not far from everyone, but where they plan to start their lives together. While Doris is mildly saddened by this news, Ellie dives headstrong into helping Kay redecorate her modest abode. Kay confides in Stanley her concerns the baby may alter the chemistry in her relationship with Buckley. But Stanley quells these fears by reminding Kay how much he came to love Ellie even more after Kay was born.

Very soon, an unhealthy rivalry stirs between the Banks and Dunstons - each trying to outdo the other with gifts for the newlyweds. This spectacle unravels one evening when both sets of in-laws aim to have a stake in the naming of the baby. Kay is distraught and runs from the room. Once again, Stanley proves a comfort to his daughter. But the next day, he begins to have pause over Kay’s choice of pediatrician, Dr. Andrew Nordell (Hayden Rorke), over his ‘modern’ methods in childbirth and infant care. Things quiet down momentarily until Stanley receives a late-night phone call from Buckley who believes his wife has decided to leave him for good. Stanley, who has never much cared for Buckley, believes he will be able to justify these feelings after talking over the reasons for Kay’s hasty departure. Instead, Stanley discovers the depths of Buckley’s concerns for his wife. He confides Kay thinks he may be having an affair but assures Stanley his late nights are all work-related. Having illustrated Buckley’s fidelity to Kay, Stanley now sets aside his residual angst for his son-in-law and diligently works to bring the couple back together.

The arrival of the baby is celebratory to everyone except Stanley, as the infant boy seems to have a natural dislike of him, crying whenever Stanley comes near. When the child is six-months old, Kay leaves him with Stanley and Ellie to follow Buckley on a business trip. Stanley takes the boy to the park in a carriage but becomes distracted by some other young boys playing soccer. When he returns, he discovers the pram gone. Frantic, Stanley returns home, only to learn Kay has returned ahead of schedule. Now, Stanley flees to the local constabulary to plead his case. Much to Stanley’s relief, he learns the police sergeant (Richard Rober) and other members of the force have safely ‘rescued’ the boy. They do not chide Stanley for his forgetfulness but restore the babe to him now. For the first time, the child does not cry when held by his grandfather. In fact, he seems excited to see him. Relieved, Stanley returns home, keeping his brief ordeal a secret. Sometime later, the child is christened Stanley Banks Dunstan, with a joyous Stanley holding his grandson up with pride.

Father’s Little Dividend rounds out the story begun in Father of the Bride with as little distraction or articulation as possible. With a deftness for a marketable hit, MGM lined up another bumper crop of familial woes and wonders, paying humorist/author, Edward Streeter a mere $10,000 to regurgitate his characters and situations. Minnelli’s deft handling of Metro’s double-scheduling resulted in no conflicts, but an extremely tight production of only 3 short weeks in which to finish ‘Dividend’ before investing infinitely more on An American in Paris. Producer, Pandro S. Berman could have so easily gone with a different director to helm this sequel. But Berman trusted in Minnelli’s artistic verve and, also, his ability to carry over continuity from the original movie. Buoyed by its short gestation from page to screen – barely 11 months (just enough time for a real couple to sire an heir), Father’s Little Dividend went on to gross $3,100,000 on its relatively paltry budget of $941,437.  Likely, audiences were charmed by the prospect of returning to familiar and beloved characters.

But Father’s Little Dividend is one of the least artistically adventurous movies ever produced at MGM – still considered the Cartier of American cinema in the early 1950’s. As with its predecessor, this one opens with a monologue from Stanley Banks – a basic recap of the first movie and a thumbnail sketch of all that will follow it. From here, Minnelli delves deeply into his usual bacchanalia of eye-catching intake – Kay’s baby shower substituted for the original’s wedding day plans. Given Minnelli’s short shrift in visual finesse, Dividend becomes rather slavishly embroiled to duplicate the success of its forebear, alas, without ever achieving any lasting distinction on its own. Minnelli hits his targets like a skilled marksman, yet with a certain ennui creeping in – acknowledgement, perhaps, that everything about Dividend is old news recycled for sheer publicity. And invariably, none of this retread contains the same zing as before.

As, predictably, we are destined to conclude on a high note, every moment wedged between the titles and final fade-out becomes a foregone conclusion. The actors assembled, as finely wrought in their respective craft, are generally sleepwalking through these performances. Taylor is less doe-eyed here, perhaps as the bloom of her first-time romance with Nicky Hilton has knocked her off her tuffet. So, the lack of spark between her and co-star, Don Taylor – present, though cleverly masked in Father of the Bride (there was too much going on in that movie to care whether the bride and groom were a love match), now seems utterly transparent and void of the necessary sentiment to make it click as it ought. One can no more imagine Kay wed to a milquetoast like Buckley Dunston than Elizabeth Taylor sticking it out with a guy who became violent after getting drunk. By the time Dividend streeted at Radio City in April, 1951, Taylor was already 3½ months divorced from Hilton after only 205 days of marriage!

Void of a romantic angle, the best scenes in Father’s Little Dividend mark exchanges between father and daughter. Elizabeth Taylor has found her subtler footing, sharing the screen with one of cinema’s truly great actors – Spencer Tracy. Herein, she matches Tracy’s inflection as one of the most believable father/daughter teams in movie history. If only Father’s Little Dividend had had more such tender moments to recommend it. Alas, the rest just seems like filler to get us to the end. And Minnelli, realizing what a gemstone he has in his two stars appearing together in a single shot, takes a much-needed step back to allow his camera, simply to exist in the same space, basking in Tracy and Taylor’s joyful reminiscences, revealed and remedied by the tender hand of fate in just being ‘daddy’s little girl.’ For a brief wrinkle, there were talks of turning Father of the Bride into a franchise, with plans for a ‘part three’. Doubtless, Dore Schary and MGM would have approved – given the lucrative nature of the first two pictures. But Joan Bennett’s marital scandal and the fallout wrought from it put a distinct period in her consideration to reprise the role of the demure Ellie. And Minnelli, though proud of having balanced his efforts between two top-tier hits for the studio in 1951, was decidedly finished with visiting this well. As far as Minnelli was concerned, the bloom was off the rose. Best to leave well enough alone.

For decades, Father’s Little Dividend has been subjected to some truly woeful home video incarnations, thanks to an oversight in rights renewals in the mid-1970’s that caused it to officially fall out of MGM’s jurisdiction and into the hands of bootleggers aplenty. Well, you can forget all of those. Because the Warner Archive (WAC) has secured the rights and, with an original camera negative to crib from, their new 4K scan, dumped to 1080p Blu, is a marvel well worth your coin. The gray scale exhibits a refinement not seen since its theatrical run. Blacks are rich and deep. Whites, clean and vibrant. Fine detail abounds. Contrast is bang-on excellent. A light smattering of film grain looks indigenous to its source. Truly, this one is a revelation. And about time too. Now, if WAC could only concentrate on getting ownership of Meet John Doe, State of the Union, Royal Wedding, Till The Clouds Roll By, This is The Army and Beyond the Forrest, we’d really have pause to rejoice. But I digress. The 2.0 DTS mono on Dividend sounds appealing, with crisp dialogue. Extras are limited to a trailer and two vintage Tom & Jerry cartoons. Bottom line: Father’s Little Dividend is a ripple in Vincente Minnelli’s career. The movie does not rate nearly as highly as this remastered new-to-Blu. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

2

VIDEO/AUDIO

5

EXTRAS

1