There's a reason that the handsome and undeniably talented William Holden wasn't a musical comedy star, and Father is a Bachelor shows us why. It's not because of Holden's voice, although presumably his singing was not adequate, as he is dubbed by Buddy Clark here; after all, plenty of screen stars have done well in musicals but have had their warbling dubbed by others. No, Holden's problem is that he's not comfortable with the conventions of a musical. He doesn't have the kind of soul that just naturally picks up and sings, and it's that freedom, ease and comfort that is necessary for someone to really make an impression in tuners. Holden also doesn't really seem to be trying to hard in terms of his dramatic chores here, either, and it's not hard to see why: this is a film the script of which is simply dreadful. Clearly, the star was not inspired by his material, leaving the quintet of kids and the wonderful Charles Winninger to run away with the picture. The kids do it mostly on youthful appeal, which many will find grating, but Winninger does it on talent and experience. The rest of Father isn't worth much, but Winninger is.