Burgess Meredith delivers a solid performance as the downtrodden "Oliver Pease," who earns his living crafting notices for misplaced animals at his local newspaper. An opportunity arises when he convinces the editor to assign him a more significant task: interviewing individuals to determine if a child has ever fundamentally altered their lives. His interviewees include musicians “Slim” & “Lank,” portrayed by James Stewart and Henry Fonda, followed by "Gloria Manners" (Dorothy Lamour) and then Fred MacMurray ("Al") along with his friend "Floyd" (William Demerest). The film reveals how each of these individuals’ paths were shaped by encounters with children. Stewart and Fonda are in fine form, showcasing some cleverly coordinated musical deception—one character even experiences an accidental drenching. Eilene Jackson embodies a Temple-like quality as the rather unpleasant "Peggy," and I confess I would have preferred to eliminate the last of the three children, "Zoot" (Carl Switzer), whose voice quickly became irritating. While not a particularly impressive film—the segmented structure occasionally falters, and “Mrs. Pease” (Paulette Goddard) felt somewhat underutilized—it provides a formative experience for the journalist himself as much as it does for the children involved, and there are moments of genuine amusement to be found. The film is perhaps most remembered for the sequence featuring Charles Laughton that ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor; it was considered too intense for what is otherwise a lighthearted story.

Source on TMDB