Barnes & Noble

This classic adaptation of the autobiographical novel written by real-life siblings Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth takes place at the turn of the 20th century. Clifton Webb, the starchy patrician who first achieved screen fame in Laura, plays the family's stern but loving patriarch. Myrna Loy, in a far cry from her spirited portrayals of Nora Charles in the Thin Man movies, plays the gentle and patient mother who presides over the occasionally unruly brood. Though it doesn't have a strong central plot, the movie is a series of comic vignettes that never loses steam. One highlight finds the father accompanying his dateless oldest daughter -- the radiantly beautiful Jeanne Crain -- to her high-school prom, where he becomes the hit of the evening. Another finds Webb shepherding the ailing younger children to the hospital, where he oversees a mass withdrawal of tonsils. Other moments are less rib-tickling and one in particular is heartbreakingly poignant. But the kids -- little scene-stealers, the lot of 'em -- are enjoyable, and the unusual pairing of Webb and Loy yields unexpectedly entertaining dividends. Directed with flair by journeyman Walter Lang, Cheaper by the Dozen depicts family life in a radically different way than the 2003 remake -- but it's every bit as engaging. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Even allowing for the fact that it owed its existence to the popularity of Life with Father (1947), Cheaper by the Dozen is one of the freshest, funniest and most enduring "family" films ever to emerge from Hollywood. Based on the autobiographical novel by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, this is the mostly true story of famed efficiency expert Frank Bunker Gilbreth. As played by Clifton Webb, Gilbreth is a benevolent despot in his own home, managing to keep order and (sometimes) sanity despite the presence of twelve children (hence the title). Myrna Loy co-stars as Gilbreth's wife Lillian, who provides balance to her lively household, while Jeanne Crain is allotted the somewhat thankless role of eldest daughter Ernestine (who also narrates the story). The original book was basically a series of non-chronological anecdotes: Lamar Trotti's screenplay provides a throughline in the form of Gilbreth's ongoing ambition to deliver a series of lectures in Europe. The best moments (taken almost verbatim from the novel) include: Papa Gilbreth's insistence upon filming his family's tonsillectomies, including his own; a cruel but undeniably funny vignette wherein the Gilbreths flummox a lady advocate of planned parenthood (Mildred Natwick); Mr. Gilbreth giving an impromptu demonstration on how to take a bath in the least amount of time; and daughter Ernestine's senior prom, where her father ends up as the life of the party (appearing in this sequence as a Southern belle is Betty Lynn, who later played Thelma Lou on TV's Andy Griffith Show). The decision to retain the book's surprisingly downbeat ending provides a poignant coda to this heartwarming comedy. Cheaper by the Dozen was followed in 1952 by a sequel, Belles on their Toes. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 024543103943
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo
• Language: English, Español
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:26:00
• Sales Rank: 8,594

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Cheaper by the Dozen / Belles on Their Toes
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) / Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
• Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) & (2003)

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