AllMovie

One's reaction to The Milkman very definitely will depend on one's fondness for its leading men, Donald O'Connor and Jimmy Durante. Certainly, no viewer is going to sing the praises of Milkman's screenplay, which somehow involved the work of four (credited) writers. What they all were working on is a mystery, for Milkman's story is thin stuff indeed, and the gag lines and situations could have been created by any one person in a couple of afternoons rather than by a committee. The score is somewhat better; Sammy Fain's music is pleasant and hummable, if not anything to write home about. Fortunately, with O'Connor and Durante on hand, Fain's songs are bound to be presented in a manner that will show them off to their best advantage. They don't get the kind of lush physical treatment they would have in even a MGM B-musical, but the two boys give the songs their all, and that's saying a lot. They also do what they can with the screenplay. This is a tougher assignment, but they acquit themselves nicely, making Milkman a considerably more entertaining film than it really has a right to be.