User Reviews

Spencer Tracy blusters around quite nicely in this fluffy sequel to Father of the Bride. It's most interesting to watch as a sort of time capsule, to see the attitudes and quirks of the early 1950s. I love the scene where Liz Taylor describes to her father how her doctor believes in the bizarre new concept of childbirth, wherein the mother is actually conscious during the process, and then she is with her baby as much as possible during the coming days. It's quite funny, then, to the viewer, as Tracy's eyes widen in horror -- and episodes like this pepper the film. It's not a masterpiece, but it's cute, and for fans of the genre, it's just fine.

This is not a "great" movie, but it is light-hearted fun, and worth watching. The studio was trying to cash in on Tracy's new-found cachet as a comic actor. I liked that his character stood for reason and tolerance - could just as easily been bombast and intolerance. Instead of coercing his daughter, he takes the time to let her see how it all works out, much as in "Father of the Bride." There's certainly a place in my heart for a man like that. In fact, Tracy reminds me of my father at his best. I do wonder at all the varying concerns - the rush to the hospital by all parties, the nervous mother and father in the months to the baby's arrival. Aside from the black and white filming, there are some other things that really date this movie, such as the casual use of tobacco and alcohol. It was interesting to see Hayden Rorke in his pre- "I dream of Jeannie" days, and with a bit less of a featherbrained character. Paul Harvey ("Good Day!") and Bob Hope make appearances too. The doctor's guidance surprised me with the degree of prenatal care - 8 glasses of water a day, plenty of walking, vitamins. I'd have guessed that back in the day, they'd have the gals kicking back with a beer to just relax. Also, when the son-in-law phones in from the maternity ward, he's all bubbly; when I called my dad to tell him about my kids arriving, I could barely talk, I was so choked up. My dad told me later he was a little worried that something bad had happened. Ah, well. I also understand a little better why my dad was so taken with Elizabeth Taylor, she's just a knockout in this movie, young, big dark eyes, so pretty. Folks may think that such movies suffer by their age, but I think it's interesting to see how people lived and what their attitudes were, kind of like being with my grandpa again. Not so obsessed with health, more about genuine concern for one another. I'm glad TCM runs these movies.

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.

A befuddled Spencer Tracy and a scatty Joan Bennett find out they are to become grandparents in this charming sequel to 'Father of the Bride'. Although the original film was better, this is a funny, warm, and worthy follow-up.

Elizabeth Taylor again appears as daughter Kay, looking beautiful and radiant. Husband Buckley (the slightly wooden Don Taylor) struggles to cope with his pregnant wife's mood swings, while the in-laws (Moroni Olsen as the pompous ex-Harvard father-in-law, Billie Burke as the twittery mother-in-law) almost come to blows before baby has even arrived.

The star performance in this film is, as ever, Tracy, as he comes to terms with his little girl growing away from him, with his life 'slipping away' with the arrival of the new baby, with his resentment of the rich in-laws. It's a winning performance, and his scenes with Bennett and with Taylor are pure gold.

In this sequel to Father of the Bride (1950), Stanley Banks learns that his daughter Kay is going to have a baby.

When they get the news everyone except Stanley is overjoyed.

His wife and grandmother-to-be Ellie broadcasts it everywhere and all Stan can do is worry about the practical things like how his son-in-law Buckley can afford it.

Well, having not long ago paid for the wedding, Stanley has no intention of bearing any of the expenses involved.

Buckley's parents and Ellie are overjoyed at the news and virtually take over redecorating the young couple's new house.

Crisis and false alarms take over their lives and when the child is born, the only person he doesn't seem to like is Stanley.

A walk in the park - and absolute panic when Stanley misplaces his grandson - seems to resolve the situation.

The print I saw was good but the sound was muffled. This film was made at a time when Hollywood started to direct films like TV shows.

That's not necessarily a negative.

Tracy's wive in this movie looks 35 years younger than him. He looks like he should have been the great grandfather, not the grandfather.

It's a very bumper type movie transitioning from the 40s to the 60s.

Not exactly my cup of tea, but not a horrible movie.

The 1951 sequel to the Father of the Bride starring Spencer Tracy & Elizabeth Taylor directed by Vincent Minnelli (Some Came Running/An American in Paris). Picking up after the events of the original, Tracy's daughter is now pregnant & as much as the extended family means well (the in-laws offer to build a home for the expectant newlyweds, they prattle on w/name suggestions for the newborn), being put under a microscope for any & everything is starting to take its toll on Taylor to the point where she moves back home to reorient herself even though her husband, played by Don Taylor, can't seem to catch a break. Tracy, musing through his v.o., thinks he's above it all, the only sane man in a mix of lunatics but his own actions belie that belief (in one hilarious sequence he gets sidetracked by a bunch of kids playing soccer losing the sight of the pram which contains his grandson). Efficient, tidy & ultimately rounded out to the most pleasant number possible, Dividend doesn't overstay its welcome & Minnelli manages to capture winning comedic perfs from his cast while having the story streamlined within an inch of its life. Co-starring Joan Bennett as Tracy's put upon spouse, Russ Tamblyn as one Taylor's brothers & Hayden Roarke (who I remember as Colonel Bellows from I Dream of Jeannie) as Taylor's doctor.

I absolutely loved FATHER OF THE BRIDE. This was my favorite Spencer Tracy film in that it gives him a chance to play an "everyman" and you really grow to care about him and his growing family. So, I was thrilled that MGM made this sequel (and I ordinarily hate sequels). Now that his lovely daughter, Liz Taylor, was married off in the last film, this movie tackles the next big life-changing event in Tracy's life--the imminent birth of his grandchild. All the worries and changes are dealt with so deftly that you soon forget that nothing earth-shattering or amazing happens in the film--it's just a wonderfully written, directed and acted slice of life film that is enhanced by its realism and gentle humor.

Revisiting my review of "Father of the Bride", I was surprised to read this: "We all have moments in our lives when we know a step has just been taken and there is no coming back. It can't be marriage because we can divorce. A birth is different." That was my way of asserting that the central relationship in the film wasn't the marital one but the irresistible bond between Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) and his daughter Kay. Unknowingly, I was also foreshadowing the importance of the next step, when it's the daughter's turn to give birth... to the future scene-stealer, the final nail in the symbolical coffin where Daddy's girl will rest forever.

That's the circle of life, the moment where the father loses his momentum forever with his little girl and can only benefit from a nine-month suspended sentence to reminisce about the good old days where he was still the center of her universe. And if it's of any consolation, even the former bride will get his comeuppance for having stolen his baby's heart and will become a neglected entity as well, which gives more three-dimensionality to the character of Buckley (Don Taylor) who wasn't as interesting in the original film.

And the title is also half appropriate as it conveys the idea that a grandparent gets every benefit of a grandchild without having to assume the burden of being a parent, it's like the pros without the cons. But the birth of the first grandchild IS still a big deal and it's dealt with a honesty and a straightforwardness that makes "Father's Little Dividend" a fine companion piece to its Best Picture nominee predecessor. And it's a fine continuation as well, perhaps one of the earliest example of the genre., the same cast and the same director are embarked for a second exploration of the habits and customs of a typical upper-middle class American family, a film with a a tenderness of its own hidden underneath the practical approach of the wedding.

It was the 50s then and one would expect an immediate expectancy after the wedding but subverting the trope of the nervous perambulating father with hundreds of cigarettes on his beck and bags under his eyes, this time we have the story told once again from the perspective of a father..., played once again by Tracy with that edgy self-consciousness and humorous grumpiness that make him the perfect actor to play the average American father, long before the rise of TV sitcoms. It's always a delight to relate to his outsider's point of view, as soon as Kay announces that she's pregnant, it's like an existential epiphany hitting the poor man's head, he's to become a grandfather. That heavy word resonates like the ominous gong but tactfully, the film doesn't circle around ageist thoughts and only inspires a little interlude where we see Stanley Banks proving he's still got it through gym activities.

After that, the story gets on track again and proves to be an insightful introspection into the state of pregnancy and how two families try to get the lion share of influence on the baby's life, before it has ever started. And it's refreshing to see Banks as the one figure who's always there to support his daughter and offer a few sound advices about the best way to handle motherhood in particular and parenthood in general. Stanley is such a great father that perhaps the little catch is that we never see his fatherhood operating with his sons; as a matter of fact, we never rally see his sons at all, they're so useless to the story that Kay could have been an only child as well, which would have justified how "precious" she was to both her parents.

Well, Kay is precious no matter what and the chemistry between Tracy and Taylor is as convincing as with his usual partner Katharine Hepburn, though his interactions with Joan Bennett who plays the wife aka the surrogate mother, have nothing to envy from the classic duo. By the way, her role had awakened so many painful memories as far as I was concerned, reminding me how toxic a mother-in-law can be, despite the best intentions, when they enjoy the continuity of life without caring much for the in-betweeners.

This is not to make the film sound like some sociological thesis but it does offer a fine look at the way pregnancy wasn't lived as differently in a bourgeois upper class than another background, it's a family occasion with its share of nervousness, false alarms, breakdowns and joy, and ultimately culminating with the delivery. The film is almost seven decades old and it's probable that the daughter of the little baby was flashing her physical assets during a Spring Break party, screaming and dancing while the male members of the same generation were cumulating pints of booze. I'm not sure a bond between Stanley Banks and Kay would be allowed in our narcissistic and ego-driven days when any crisis can defeat a couple and when the epitome of achievement consists on breaking continuities.

The "father" two-part comedy-drama is an enchanting parenthesis provided by Vincente Minnelli, movies with warmth, humor and a sweet poignancy. Everything is handled with the right balance of comedy and drama, though here and there you can't sense that the pacing is slowed donw and the film resorts to very contrived situations to lead to the obligatory conclusion where Stanley Banks and his grandson finally make peace. The last minute of the film is so emotionally rewarding made that it redeems all the little contrivances.

Released in 1951 - This somewhat ditzy Chick Flick/Comedy starred the radiant, 19 year-old Elizabeth Taylor whose beauty, alone, wasn't enough to hold its obviously rushed and weak-scripted story together as a whole.

Father's Little Dividend, which was a sequel to Father Of The Bride, was, above all else, a Spencer Tracy vehicle. Here Tracy revised his role of Stanley Banks whose daughter, Kay (the eldest of his 3 children) had married Buckley Dunstan, a stuffy, young man whom he didn't (and still doesn't) particularly approve of.

In this film, Kay, who has now been happily married to Buckley for a year, excitedly announces, to one and all, that she's pregnant.

Instead of joy, this news puts Stanley into a miserable snit because it's now going to make him a grandfather, which is something that he secretly resents.

There's lots of unnecessary bickering and confusion going on in this one's story. And there's one really terrible scene (which is supposed to generate the biggest laughs) where (once the baby boy has been born) Stanley takes his infant grandson out in the carriage for a walk and, due to sheer neglect, actually loses him in broad daylight.

Father's Little Dividend was a poorly-conceived picture on all counts.

Directed by Vincente Minnelli, it was filmed in b&w, with a running time of only 82 minutes.

I love the original Father of the Bride. Father's Little Dividend isn't as good, it is a little too short and there is nothing ground-breaking or special really in the story. However, it is still very good and very entertaining, and it is a little more realistic than the original I think. The cinematography and production values are still very promising, and the script is witty. The film is snappily paced and Vincente Minelli's direction is efficient. The acting I have nothing to criticise, Spencer Tracy is wonderful with his comic timing yet never stops to have a warm and loving chemistry with his co-stars. Elizabeth Taylor is also still lovely. Overall, a very entertaining sequel. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Not as good as the original but much better then that crappy remake with Steve Martin. This movie just seemed thrown together pretty quickly just because the first one was such a big hit that it really doesn't come together. It feels forced almost but it's a million times better then the remake. The movie is only 83 minutes and it shouldn't of been any longer. This one has Elizabeth Taylor having a baby and Spencer Tracy trying to accept the fact that he's now a grandfather. In one scene, Tracy goes to the gym to prove he isn't that old and the next morning he's stiff all over. This is a sequel that probably shouldn't of been made and you should only watch it if you loved the original.

I usually do not care for sequels, but this one is a complete joy! The first film; "Father of the Bride" was rightly nominated for the Academy Award for best picture, so this film had a lot to live up to. Spencer Tracy does not come to mind when you think about comedy, but he is hysterical as Stanley Banks, who has to come to terms on grandparenting. Joan Bennett is a perfect co-star for him, they work extremely well together. Her "double takes" with him are particularly funny.

The film has a first rate cast but second rate writing and third rate filming. The film is nearly six years old but looks much like something from the 1930s or 1940s in the early years of black and white sound cinema. Despite the poor quality, the film's stars Spencer Tracy who returns as Stanley Banks who he played Father of the Bride. His wife is played by the wonderful Joan Bennett, another great Hollywood actress, and his daughter is played by none other than Dame Elizabeth Taylor as Kay, a newlywed who is going to have a baby with her new husband. There are some moments in the film that are amusing and there are some errors particularly about the baby's name. Anyway, I love Billie Burke as the mother-in-law. The cast is fine. The writing could be better and the film quality could be much better. The story is entertaining and was updated but you can't match the casting with an updated version. That's the difference. Spencer Tracy is lovable as the loving father of daddy's little girl who grows up, gets married, and has a baby of her own with her new husband. Elizabeth Taylor gives a decent performance as Kay but it's really Spencer's film after all.

This sequel to "The Father of the Bride" is not as good as its predecessor, but is a pleasant enough comedy. Tracy is the whole show again, this time playing the reluctant grandfather as he fancies himself too young to have a grandchild. Much of it plays like a situation comedy. Once Tracy gets used to the idea of being Gramps, he fails to bond with the baby, who starts crying every time Tracy comes near. Bennett is again the faithful wife and the two Taylors return as the newlyweds. Minnelli directed this fluff before moving on to "An American in Paris" later in the year. Unfortunately, the DVD is dreadful in terms of picture quality and sound.

I like this movie. It's a cute one with a wonderful story, Spencer Tracy is great as the grandfather and the mother [can't remember her name] is wonderful as the worrying mother! I haven't seen the first one but I sure like this! It just makes me happy.

Having just rewatched The Father of the Bride, I now had the need to watch for the first time its sequel Father's Little Dividend. So I found this on YouTube and just watched it with Mom who enjoyed this as much as the original. Me, I enjoyed it as well though I didn't find it as humorous as the predecessor though it did get pretty hilarious when Joan Bennett was rushing through traffic trying to make it to daughter Elizabeth Taylor's first offspring birth while hubby Spencer Tracy was getting flabbergasted! Spencer, himself, still has some good humorous scenes especially when reacting to his daughter's praise of her doctor's innovative methods of caring for her baby. There's also another believable argument/reconciliation scene between Ms. Taylor and her husband that made Mom laugh as all out! So on that note, Father's Little Dividend is worth checking out.

to me,this sequel to Father of the Bride is not as good.for one thing,there's less humour involved.it's more like a lite drama.also,i don't feel it has the same flow as "Bride".i didn't hate it,but i wouldn't call it a good movie either.maybe average at best.it's basically a rehash of "Bride" though instead of a marriage,its the impending birth of a baby,and Grandfatherhood.also,the particular DVD i viewed the movie on,had poor sound quality and no subtitle or caption options,so it was hard to hear everything.as far as i know,it's the only edition available.i would just warn anyone that this movie may only be available in poor quality.anyway,for me,Father's Little Dividend is a 5/10