Some things I liked some I did not.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

An absolute waste of money

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This picture had a lot going for it; a good cast, good supporting cast, fairly good story and direction. But several reviewers have already mentioned the miscasting of Frederic March, who was one our best actors, in a role for which he was unsuited - because he's just not funny. He lacks Cary Grant's facial expressions and air of controlled hysteria, and comes off in some scenes as forcing the issue of humor.Have you seen "Les Miserables" or "The Best Years Of Our Lives"? There was March at his considerable best. Or "Inherit The Wind". Here, he does his level best in a thankless role as a selfish playwright married to Loretta Young, who is gorgeous as his celebrated actress/ wife. The story itself is OK but becomes tiresome before the madcap, slambang ending which saves the day.As mentioned, the support cast was good but wasted - not enough screen time for Robert Benchley and Eve Arden, who appears here in a straight role without her sarcastic darts. Hard to figure how you can waste Eve Arden. A good, entertaining movie which could have been much better.

"Bedtime Story" is a quasi-screwball comedy from 1941 that stars Frederic March, Loretta Young, Robert Benchley, Alan Josslyn, and Eve Arden. It's a little miscast but manages to be entertaining.March and Young play theatrical couple Luke and Jane Drake. He's a playwright and she's a great actress. Jane is planning to retire to a farm she and Luke have bought, and the two plan to spend time doing something besides work. Well, that's what Jane is planning. When she finds out Luke has written another play, she goes ballistic and leaves him. The separation doesn't last long.Jane comes back, but she discovers that Luke has sold the farm and is putting the money into a new play. She leaves again. For the rest of the film, Luke attempts to win her back by any means necessary. He hires a comedienne (Eve Arden) to pretend to be doing the lead in the play and then in front of Jane, she quits, and Luke "cancels" the show. Things like that. Meanwhile, Jane's engagement to a banker (Josslyn) has been announced.Cute comedy that becomes a complete free-for-all at the end and is slightly miscast. I say slightly because these two stars are just fine. Young is impossibly beautiful, with gorgeous clothes, and she acquits herself well, as does March as her manipulative playwright husband. With Powell and Loy, however, this could have been fabulous. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur. Light comedy was not March's forte, and although Young did light comedy, she wasn't as sharp at it as the other actresses mentioned.This is interesting casting, a little against type, which I'm all for, but it doesn't really come off. Excellent work by Helen Westley as a tell it like it is actress and Eve Arden.

I discovered Bedtime Story this morning on TCM quite by accident, and I couldn't have been more pleased. This is one of the most well-written, intelligent, marvelously-acted films I've ever seen, and I'm a devoted fan of old films; I'm always hoping to run across a wonderful film that I've never seen or heard of before, and Bedtime Story fit this criteria perfectly.Loretta Young and Fredric March have such sparkling chemistry together, and I was most impressed by March's comedic acting ability, as I've always associated him with great dramatic parts; to me, he always brought a kind of gravitas to the roles that I associated him with, so this was a pleasurable comedic turn to watch. The supporting cast was equally good, with the delightfully funny Robert Benchley and a sly Eve Arden injecting real energy into their parts.I rated this film a "9", but if I find myself enjoying it as much on repeated viewings, I might easily up that score to a personal "10", but I usually reserve 10's for what I consider "important" or groundbreaking films, or those which define a genre. For me, a "9" is a thoroughly enjoyable film that I would watch again and again, a film which gives me considerable pleasure. Don't miss it!

"Bedtime Story" is an enjoyable comedy with a plot that seems to have been borrowed from other, most successful films. This 1941 Columbia release is fun to watch because it is seldom seen and the brilliant cast that was put together for it. Frederic March and Loretta Young are wonderful as the sparring Drakes, a theatrical couple, at the center of the story. The Broadway scene of the times is captured in the film.Alexander Hall directed this stylish comedy with sure hand. Mr. Hall got excellent performances all around, especially of the two principals. Frederic March was at the height of his movie career and he shows why he was one of the best actors working in films at the time. Loretta Young also has some wonderful moments in the film as the suffering wife of Luke Drake, the playwright of the moment.As with other comedies of that period, the supporting cast in "Bedtime Story" shows some accomplished actors of the caliber of Eve Arden, Allyn Joslyn, Helen Westley, and Joyce Compton, among others.The film will delight classic movie fans.