Cheaper By the Dozen (1950)

Buy This Item Cheaper By the Dozen (1950) by 20th Century Fox  Available from Amazon  $6.98  on 8-30-2008     Though it's impossible to gauge just how much of it is true, this endearing family comedy (based on the book by their children Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey) is inspired by the true story of the husband-and-wife efficiency experts Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and their adventures raising 12 kids at the turn of the century. Director Walter Lang takes a loping pace through the episodes of family life: the kids descend upon the new school in force while Dad (fussy Clifton Webb) offers his unsolicited views on education; Dad takes his oldest daughter (wholesome Jeanne Crain) to the school dance and becomes the hit of the ball; a mass tonsillectomy becomes an opportunity to document the ordeal as an experiment in efficiency. Myrna Loy almost steals the film in her one standout scene, holding back a smirk while a birth-control advocate (played by Mildred Natwick) solicits this mother of 12 to speak at a rally, but her martini-dry comic deadpan is criminally underused in this picture, which is dominated by Webb's stern, military-like parenting and Crain's adolescent crises. Though this sometimes overly sentimental classic never builds to any real dramatic plateau or comic highlights, it maintains an even tone of good humor and warmth throughout, capturing a bygone era through the travails of a loving family. A charming sequel, <I>Belles on Their Toes</I>, followed two years later. <I>--Sean Axmaker</I> Reader Reviews I love this old movie and was thrilled to find this title along with the second part of the life of this family: Belles on Their Toes. I enjoy anything with Myrna Loy - loved her in the Thin Man series. Clifton Webb is great as the father and so funny. My mom and I enjoy watching old movies together. Great family movie.

Cheaper By the Dozen (1950) Available from Amazon Price: $6.98 Updated on 8-30-2008.

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