Watch B.F.'s Daughter For Free

You won't be disappointed!

Absolutely brilliant

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Barbara Stanwyck plays the title role of B.F.'s Daughter, a very wealthy heiress who marries iconoclastic liberal minded economics professor Van Heflin. B.F. is Charles Coburn and he's one of those people who's two initials everybody knows because he's that wealthy and powerful. Coburn is a firm believer in Herbert Hoover's rugged individualism and he's inculcated those values in his daughter. Stanwyck falls for a man who is the antithesis of her father's values, but he's barely getting by on his professor's salary. She decides to help by using her piece of her father's fortune to send him on a lecture tour for one of his books. Heflin turns out to be a natural, but he's never to know that his wife bought him a career.The novel was written by J.P. Marquand who is best known for those Mr. Moto mysteries. It was published at the beginning of World War II and MGM took several years to finally get it to the screen.Rich heiresses who overpopulated the cinema in the Thirties were a dying breed of movie heroines by the time B.F.'s Daughter came out in 1948. Stanwyck however makes it work and Coburn is in most familiar surroundings as the gruff millionaire.Van Heflin had teamed well with Stanwyck the year before in The Strange Loves Of Martha Ivers and he does well in somewhat lighter fair by comparison. Margaret Lindsay does well as Stanwyck's best friend who marries yuppie Richard Hart who goes to war. The term yuppie was not in use back then, but that is what Hart is. He proves to have the right stuff when that is questioned by Keenan Wynn.Wynn plays a part that seems a dress rehearsal for the role of the news commentator in The Great Man. A little less bitter, but just as cynical and he's got an incredible knack for predicting events wrong.B.F.'s Daughter is a great part for Stanwyck and a great film for her as well.

In 1932, the Great Depression has most Americans sewing buttons on ragged clothing. Lucky to escape financial ruin is blustery nouveau riche capitalist Charles Coburn (as Burton "B.F." Fulton). His money never stops flowing, which keeps young Park Avenue socialite daughter Barbara Stanwyck (as Pauline "Polly" Fulton) dripping in fur and jewels. Daddy's little girl ditches her attorney boyfriend when she meets apparently poverty-stricken professor Van Heflin (as Thomas "Tom" W. Brett). They have a whirlwind romance and run away to Minnesota, but Ms. Stanwyck's wealth threatens her relationship with Mr. Heflin...This story features some interesting class concepts regarding the rich and the poor. Unfortunately, the characters are obtuse and the story artificial. Stanwyck and Heflin try and cry for director Robert Z. Leonard, but nobody gives "B.F.'s Daughter" any depth...Perversely, the phony costume designs received an "Academy Award" nomination. We are boldly told the story begins in 1932, but Stanwyck is decked out in contemporary fashion. Heflin has a big tear in his vest and Keenan Wynn shows his lowly status with a silly, misshapen hat. There are no real "poor" on screen. Since Heflin is assistant professor of economics at Columbia University and Mr. Wynn's character has his own radio talk show, we can assume they are doing better than most. Romantic entanglements seem barely past an adolescent level. Still, the sets look nice and everything is photographed well, by Joseph Ruttenberg.**** B.F.'s Daughter (3/24/48) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Charles Coburn, Keenan Wynn

John Marquand didn't deserve to have his novel turned into this film, which was probably a vehicle for its star, Barbara Stanwyck. Mr. Marquand was a writer whose books were popular and some of them endured the passing of time. It appears that MGM asked screen writer Luther Davis to transform the novel into something that the book was not. Under the direction of Robert Z. Leonard, one gets the impression this was a movie to show us how a woman in love can throw away all the comforts and perks of her wealthy life for a man that could not make a decent living to keep her in style.It doesn't make sense that Tom sweeps Polly off her feet by their first encounter in that "divine" little bistro in the Village, circa 1940s. Polly in furs and Tom in rags, give me a break! It would be laughable with today's audiences.Barbara Stanwyck and Van Hefiln, by the magic of the celluloid never age; if anything they get better looking. Ms. Stanwyck was a marvelous actress with the right material, but in here, she is bogged down by a the mediocrity of the writing. Ms. Stanwyck and Mr. Heflin worked together to better results in two other films. This film has to be viewed as curiosity piece that never made it big.Richard Hart was perfect as the stuffy Bob, the fiancee that is left behind when he can't cut the mustard. Charles Coburn also appeared in other films in which Barbara Stanwych shone, like "Lady Eve", and he is perfect as B.F. Fulton, Polly's father. He always played rich men. Margaret Lindsay has only a small part. Keenan Wynn is perfect as Marty Ainsley, Tom's friend.On one positive note, the decor of the homes we see in the film is just "divine", to imitate what Apples would say, as are the costumes and the glossy look they gave the film.

Glossy, slow-moving and inconsistent soap opera with heiress (Stanwyck) marrying college professor (Heflin), but they realize their true love for each other years later. Performances are good, except Heflin, who seems out of place. Also, the script is a mess, to say the least. *1/2 out of **** for this one.