Eccentric Jackie Gleason utilizes alcohol, not only for "medicinal" purposes, but to express his desire to be kind to his fellow man. Equally as big hearted as he is in size, Gleason, somewhat an embarrassment to his wife and oldest daughter, is truly a hero to his youngest daughter, throwing love on her like frosting on top of a birthday cake. A mixture of flamboyant comedy and pathos, this is a period slice of life of one man's life, Gleason really a male version of Mame Dennis, and as far from Ralph Kramden as possible.

Having won the hearts of a few people who managed to see past the pretentiousness of the artistic "Gigot" (where he was a mute),Gleason really is father of the year, and citizen of the year, as he shows his uppity family members how they can't live without his bigger-than-life love, even winning over his uppity father-in-law (Charlie Ruggles, cast against type) in the process. Watch how he deals with the humorless store owner Charles Lane who discriminates against his clerk, a new father, and struggles to give his younger daughter her dream by purchasing an entire circus just so she can ride on a horse and cart in the town parade.

Gleason in real life may have been a difficult star personality to deal with, but with many of his film performances, he was able to show a huge heart that beat underneath "the great one" bravado. Linda Bruhl also scores as the younger daughter who really could have written a book and called it "I Remember Papa". As for Gleason's obvious alcoholism, his light-hearted demeanor while intoxicated may offend those who see drinking as an evil (especially when involving children),and even if you don't, you do pray that at least he will try and curb his drinking.

There's a cute scene between Brul and Glynis Johns (as the loving but stern mother) where mama tries to get a recording of "When Will You Come Home Bill Bailey?" out of her reach, but Bruhl simply and honestly shows her how that doesn't work. An honest confection of early 20th Century small town Texas (featuring a garishly purple house),this will offer you smiles, laughs and tears, and not necessarily in that order.

After years of reading about this movie, I finally checked out Papa's Delicate Condition from my local library several days ago. Jackie Gleason plays a railroad supervisor who occasionally drinks which makes him a little generous when trying to please his youngest daughter, Corrie, (Linda Bruhl) to the consternation of his elder daughter, Augusta, (Laurel Goodwin) and wife, Amberlyn, (Glynis Johns). When Corrie wants a pony, he buys the circus that goes with it. He also buys a drugstore in order to keep a young man employed there and the mean previous owner (Charles Lane) off his back. Quite funny and touching is Gleason's performance and it's a hoot seeing him singing, "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey" but also touching when also hearing him warbling "Call Me Irresponsible" when his family temporarily abandons him. That song was original to the film and was good enough to win the Oscar for Best Song for James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. Maybe the ending was a bit pat but it was believable enough for me. So on that note, I recommend Papa's Delicate Condition. P.S. As always, I like citing when a player from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, is in another one and here, it's Mr. Lane.

The first thing that ought to be pointed out is that this film is based on a book by Corrine Griffith (the little girl Corrie in the film) about her childhood in turn of the century Texas. Her father was a hard-drinking railroad executive who tried to make up for long absences and other failings as a husband and father by occasionally giving rather outlandish gifts to his wife and daughters.

Jackie Gleason, who had an undistinguished screen career in a range of roles in the Forties and a great success in comedy on television beginning in the Fifties, appears here near the peak of his form as a dramatic actor. This side of his talent is almost forgotten today, but it included his role as Minnesota Fats (for which he won Best Supporting Actor) in The Hustler, as well as very creditable star turns in Gigot and Soldier In The Rain.

In Papa's Delicate Condition we have Gleason playing a complex role that ranges from the breezy banter and physical comedy familiar from his work on The Life of Riley, The Honeymooners and The American Scene Magazine, to great pathos. No stranger to the pitfalls of "demon rum" in his own life, Gleason is masterful in his portrayal of a man deeply in love with his wife and children and yet seemingly doomed by his dipsomania to disappoint them. Gleason, a very successful composer and band leader who couldn't read music, also sings the title song Call Me Irresponsible which furnishes a wonderful portrait of his character - "Say I'm unreliable, but it's undeniably true, I'm irresponsibly mad for you."