MovieChat Forums > Father's Little Dividend (1951) Discussion > Kay scolding the baby

Kay scolding the baby

posted 13 years ago by R_U_Spongeworthy
4 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone noticed the way Kay speaks to the baby when they first bring him home and he cries when Stanley is holding him? In the bedroom she calls him a terrible child, and a minute later, she calls him a little brat. It's a little hard to hear because the baby is wailing both times. Then later on when she leaves the baby with her parents, she tells Stanley that he has her permission to smack him if he acts up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es4-L8U0PgY

I know it was another time; but it's still a bit interesting to see how different things were then.

[–] taylorje 13 years ago

Other things that were different:

1. Kay's doctor talking freely about her to both sets of grandparents. Today, a doctor would need written permission before doing that.

2. When Kay and Buckley announced the pregnancy and served champagne, Kay had a glass in her hand.

3. I don't think the word "pregnant" was used throughout the film, and Kay didn't have a baby bump.

4. Kay's shower was given very early in the pregnancy (and should have been given by her friends, not her mother). Most people would wait until the due date was much closer.

5. Buckley smoked, forcing Kay to breathe secondhand smoke throughout her pregnancy.

[–] noirgirl 11 years ago

Typically showers were not given until after the safe delivery of the child. Just in case there was a tragedy.

[–] gribfritz2 12 years ago

I saw each of those instances as tongue-in-cheek. Calling the baby bad because he cried in front of grandpa, for example. So you're saying you think she seriously thought her child was a horrible brat because he cried in front of grandpa?

[–] texastreasure517 8 years ago

Watch it again for free online: It wasn't "smack"...it was "spank". She was probably embarrassed that the baby took to everyone but her beloved dad and said that to make Pops feel as though the baby's reaction wasn't his fault. I don't know how old you had to be to get spanked in the 50s, but 6 months seems a tad young, no?