Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) User Reviews

Lasting impression

[ezrockmaz · 8/10 · 18 February 2005]

This is very silly, but I watched this movie as a young boy in the late 50's or early 60's for the first time. To this day, this movie remains vivid in my mind. For some reason, I was imprinted with Frank's speech on how to save time while showering.

As the efficiency expert, it was just part of the family's daily routines laid down by their father. It did however seem extremely obvious to me that the shower scene was a comment on how to tackle any problem presented to one in their daily lives.

Get it done, accurately and quickly!

50 some years later I often have visions of the father giving instructions to the small children and their intense desire to understand his rapid fire directions. While the movie was a comedy in nature it was also a true picture of the family unit of that time.

My main statement is that it is one of the movies that has made a lasting impression in my mind. If a movie is able to affect an individual positively for over 50 years there must be someone up above smiling and knowing that they achieved their goal of putting a story into our minds that would last not only on celluloid but in our hearts and minds.

A Kinder, Gentler Hollywood Family

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 25 December 2005]

Once again, this is a movie in which the original is better than the re-make, even though the latter was a decent, popular film.

What the two films offered, however, was another stark contrast in how the culture (and Hollywood) has changed. In this original version, unlike today's films: 1 - The father rules the roost; 2 - the kids are nice kids. They actually behave and are respectful; 3 - The general atmosphere is a far more kind and gentle one than scene in today's "family films."

In other words, this is a real throwback to an era of nice family films, when they really were truly that. It reminded me of "Life With Father." If you liked that film, you'd enjoy this.

Clifton Webb was fun to watch as the strict father. Myrna Loy's role as the mother wasn't as much as one would expect. Perhaps if the title hadn't already been taken, this would have been more aptly named "Life With Father" since Loy's part was so minor. The kids were pretty wholesome and believable for that era except Jeanne Crain was far too old to be playing a 17-year-old.

If the film could be described in one word, it would be CHARM. It doesn't provide a lot of big laughs but it's pleasant, and at 86 minutes doesn't overstay its welcome.

Still a joy to watch

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 22 August 2011]

Forget the mediocre Steve Martin remake, this film is the Cheaper By the Dozen to see. Jeannie Crain is a little too old for her role as the oldest daughter that I have to agree with. The rest however is delightful entertainment. There is nothing hilarious here, but some lines and scenes are funny and very pleasant, plus some moments are touching. The film looks great, has a beautiful soundtrack and a story to warm the heart, and it has a script that has its humorous and sweet parts. The film is short but not too short, and it is snappily paced. The children are very believable, Myrna Loy doesn't have as much to do but is suitably warm and sympathetic and Clifton Webb is absolutely wonderful. All in all, still a joy. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Great Movie for the active mind!

[skitrees-geo · 5 September 2004]

I saw this movie on our local PBS station last night. I had never seen it before, and sat there sorta wondering why on earth I wasn't changing the channel. As I watched the characters develop, and the continued background scenery of spacious houses and country that looked much different than what we see now - I understood why I couldn't change the channel. This film makes you think. It makes you realize how spoon-fed we are. We are spoon-fed movies, plots, stories, violence, sex, etc.

A film such as this allows us to stop being spoon-fed, and lets us pick and choose what we want from the story, from the film.

It is amusing to me that most of the posts against this fine film appear to be posted while watching the film through 2004-style glasses. It isn't a pretty thing, but women weren't held in the same position that they are today - and the film portrayed this wonderfully. Did it make the wife in the film any less admirable? I think it showed the inner strength that women had to have, making a remarkable statement about women of the era - that even though they might not be able to be out in the forefront - they had every bit as much (if not more) strength then the men. Even the father couldn't handle all the children - but the mother could -WHILE having a profession to boot!!

While the father wasn't necessarily warm, and you didn't get that fuzzy feeling modern movies give us - I believe the character was very true to life when put in the context of the 1920s. I have spoken a great deal with many people I know, that had lived through that time period. I can tell you now, that many people in the early 1900s never experienced the type of love and closeness we feel today. Survival wasn't a near-guarantee back then, and harshness, crassness, and distance from others was more common. Children died at an alarming rate . . . adults too.

History is what it is - and it is NOT subject to change, regardless of the nature of today's political attempts. Slavery happened, women weren't seen as equals, people were lynched by mobs of overzealous citizens, people starved, the dust bowl occurred. None of these events are wonderful, but they are our history, and there should be no shame in discussing - or accurately portraying / conveying these topics. I think this film is what it is too - a look at the life of an average family (perhaps an above average number of children - but even that wasn't all that rare).

Enjoy this film - but please, be prepared to leave your glasses smudged with 2004 politics and standards behind - this is a treasure where we can get a glimpse of the type of characters that lived with our grand parents, great grand parents, and the like. If you like to be spoon-fed, please DON'T watch this movie.

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 6/10 · 29 September 2005]

A highly episodic comedy with little in the way of a solid plot and certain segments which are dragged on beyond what is necessary, the film is nevertheless good overall, with some really amusing bits in the mix too. Clifton Webb is very good as the fuddy-duddy father of the gang, and he adds a few extra sparks to the material. Based on true happenings, it surprisingly seems very fictitious, however that is not really a factor that subtracts much from it. I am yet to see the 2003 remake and I cannot say that I really want to - a modern updating of the material is only likely to ruin it. Part of what makes it work is the sense of nostalgia that it has.

An Interesting, Semi-Biographical Peek at the Gilbreths

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 20 September 2014]

"Cheaper By the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.

Although most people have heard of "Cheaper by the Dozen", these days (2014) they are probably more familiar with the Steve Martin incarnation. This is unfortunate, as the Gilbreth clan (as depicted here or in the book) are a very interesting slice of American life. While some of the measurements Frank makes seem silly, he did have some important contributions to society, such as the use of a surgeon's "caddy".

The film is a bit more of a comedy, and tends to focus on Frank's struggle with his eldest daughter and the fight against modernity. This is a bit interesting itself in hindsight, as one could see the 1950s/1960s cultural divide, which was obviously not the intent for a film made in 1950 and taking place in 1923.

Clifton Webb and Children, Incredible

[jcholguin · 9/10 · 19 May 2003]

One of my favorite characters is Mr. Belvedere as played by Clifton Webb. A man that is a genius and knows everything about anything including raising children but very little patience for kids. So the idea of Webb raising a dozen little ones was interesting. The film about the Gilbreth family, in the early 20th century turns into a wonderful family picture as Webb is Mr Frank Gilbreth, a man concerned with efficiency. A role perfect for Webb. Gilbreth is a very strict and opinionated man about how to do things quicker and faster. Gilbreth even has opinions about the quickest way to operate on tonsils, even though he is not a doctor. The best way to prove his theory is to film the mass operation of eleven children and himself. The whole film truly centers on the love of a man for his family and Webb is the perfect person for this picture. The ending is a sad event because the film takes the time to develop lovable characters that you care about. A film well worth the time to sit and have a bag of popcorn and "soda pop" and don't forget your dog. Enjoy!

It's like Mr. Belvedere with a family...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 23 September 2006]

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN is based on the true life experiences of a family with a dozen children, although when watching the film you have to suspect that some of these "events" were embellished for the sake of laughs rather than accuracy. And Clifton Webb, in stiff collar and still bossing everyone around, reminds one of Mr. Belevedere with a family.

Still, he's the main reason for watching this highly sentimental illusion of what family life was like in America in the early 20th century. The film itself is no more than a series of vignettes, just glimpses of humorous minor events that happened in a family where the father ruled the roost while the mother (MYRNA LOY) took care of the children and her husband, not necessarily in that order.

MYRNA LOY and JEANNE CRAIN (as the oldest daughter), don't have much to do and Crain is a bit simpering and coy in a role she was really too old to play. But most of the kids have some good moments and it's all over in a brisk 86 minutes, so no need to squabble about too many dull moments.

If you like CLIFTON WEBB as an eccentric and overbearing efficiency expert, you'll get a lot of amusement from this one.

Fine Entertainment - The Old Fashioned Way

[67redsox · 10/10 · 21 February 2000]

If you want a treat, watch this movie. Watch it with your kids, despite the movie being made 50 years ago I bet they enjoy it. It is truly Clifton Webb ( as Mr. Gilbreth ) at his best. A shame he never won an Academy Award despite three nominations in his career. You can't help but enjoy the High School dance scenes. Edgar Buchanan's brief scenes as the family physician are also a treat. It's 85 minutes you won't regret spending.

I was expecting this to be better than the no more than mediocre 2003 remake, which it definitely is

[Beta_Gallinger · 7/10 · 29 May 2011]

Not much less than a year ago, I saw the 2003 remake of "Cheaper by the Dozen", a remake starring Steve Martin, a comedian I had seen in some funny movies. I didn't know that film was a remake until no more than a few hours before I watched it. That was when I learned about this 1950 film of the same name, an adaptation of a book of the same name, but it would be a while before I would finally see this one. I was not very impressed with the remake, and found its unbelievably stupid 2005 sequel to be even worse. I was expecting this 1950 version to be much better. While I certainly don't think this original film is a GREAT family film, like some clearly do, it definitely is better than the cheesy and crude remake, like I was led to believe.

Based on a true story, set in the early 1920's, Frank Bunker Gilbreth is an efficiency and motion study expert with an extensive family. He and his wife, and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, have a total of eleven offspring, and all eleven of them live with their parents in Providence, Rhode Island. The Gilbreth family moves from there to Montclair, New Jersey, where they live in a large house, and the many children of the family are often used as test subjects for their father's scientific theories. The family also welcomes a twelfth child. The film focuses on several different events as the Gilbreths stay in Montclair, scientific tests are carried out, and family meetings are held to make decisions based on votes. Frank often has trouble with his offspring, especially with his rebellious teenage daughter, Ann, who disagrees with his old-fashioned views.

I was obviously expecting to laugh when I saw this original "Cheaper by the Dozen" film adaptation, something I don't recall doing while watching the remake. While this 1950 family comedy movie is far from hilarious, I certainly did laugh a number of times, even if the laughs were usually small, and Clifton Webb's performance as the easily angered Frank Bunker Gilbreth was a major part of this. Unlike the remake, I can't describe any of the gags here as notably lame. The part I laughed the hardest at might have been Frank's reaction when he is informed that there was no film in the movie camera when it was used to document the tonsil operations. The plot isn't the most fascinating I've ever seen in a movie, but it can be interesting, and it also gets poignant towards the end. All this film's merits make it not a masterpiece in family filmmaking, but a recommendable piece of family entertainment, unlike the 2003 version and its sequel.

Cheaper by the Dozen

[jboothmillard · 5/10 · 7 October 2009]

I confess that I had seen the Steve Martin remake before seeing this original from director Walter Lang (Call Me Madam, The King and I), but that didn't stop me. Basically in Providence, Rhode Island, the Gilbreth family are made up of husband/father Frank Bunker (Clifton Webb), wife/mother Lillian (Myrna Loy), and their eleven children, and including daughters Ann (Jeanne Crain) and Ernestine (Barbara Bates). There is no specific story, it is just seeing how the family cope in certain situations, e.g. going on a day out and stuff, but you do see some storyline concerning marriage and that. I will admit I dozed off somewhere in the middle, but I woke up to see the quite sad ending with father Frank dying. Also starring Betty Lynn as Deborah Lancaster, Edgar Buchanan as Dr. Burton, Mildred Natwick as Mrs. Mebane and Sara Allgood as Mrs. Monahan. I did laugh at quite a few moments, I almost prefer the concept of the remake, but this original period comedy certainly does feel like it deserves three stars out of five. Worth watching!

Life With Father

[telegonus · 9/10 · 16 November 2001]

Clifton Webb is a joy in this delightful film, based on a true story, of an eccentric genius and his twelve children. The color is gorgeous, and the interior design of the family's New Jersey home ought to have won an Oscar. Myrna Loy is solid as Webb's patient, loving wife, and Jeanne Crain energetic as his spunky daughter. There isn't much story here, as events unfold naturally, as they do in life, and one isn't always sure where the film is going. Early twentieth century America is captured in all its overstuffed, art nouveau-ish glory, as the film's plot, irregular, often going off on odd tangents, perfectly mimics that style of design so popular at the time. The movie is really about the end of an era, as we see the very tail end of the Gilded Age turning into the roaring twenties, and with it the death of the old paternalism, at times stiff, occasionally charming, perfectly embodied by Mr. Webb; and there is an awesome sadness at the film's conclusion, as we see a man and his era pass into history.

A kinder and more gentle side of Hollywood

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 7/10 · 9 November 2006]

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed enjoyed the classic "Cheaper By The Dozen", despite how cheesy it could be by today's standards, I thought it had such a kind feel to it and felt like a baby blankie. I wanted to see the original before ever thinking about seeing the remake with Steve Martin, but Hilary Duff is holding me back from seeing it, shallow, I know, but she's so annoying! But the original just had such a sweet and touching story about the struggles of coming from a huge family.

Cheaper by the Dozen is about the Gilbreth family, a family of a mother, who is a house wife, a father, who is an engineer, and 12 of their children. They move together in a bigger house only to find that it wasn't big enough for them, but too small for the maids to be hired, so they must chip in and work on the house together. The kids are growing up and the father is finding it so hard learning how to sometimes let go.

Honestly, I don't know if I'll see the remake, I'm afraid of what today's Hollywood has done to it, not to mention my sheer dislike of Hilary Duff. But please see the original Cheaper By The Dozen if you get the chance, it may be a little Leave It To Beaver, but I think it's one of America's finer family films.

7/10

Depressing Film

[jromanbaker · 4/10 · 29 January 2022]

I have no idea why this film was made but as far as I could tell the story of this conservative film about family life should be looked at with more objective viewing. I lost count initially at how many children Myrna Loy had because I was dazed with boredom and a bit cross that she had to endure so many childbirths. Clifton Webb plays her husband, set in his rigid roles and when a number of the children have their tonsils out he refuses a hospital and has the operations filmed at his home. This scene went relentlessly on, and I was relieved when Jeanne Crain in ' Margie ' mood decided she liked hunky young men. I have no idea what the actor's name was but my one ray of hope was that I would see more of him. Then further gloom descended and no more spoilers. The film has a short scene with Mildred Natwick who had a sparkle in her eyes and she should have come back, but didn't. A pale glimpse of feminism cheered me up, but frankly I was sad that the great Myrna Loy looked so downcast for most of the time, and the one moment I laughed was when the children ( except the girls ) rushed into the bushes to relieve themselves after a long journey. Toilet jokes were rare in 1950's American films and I applaud the director for recognising the needs of human nature. A reluctant 4 for the very sporadic moments I actually liked.

Twelve Kids and She Still Looks Like Myrna Loy

[dougdoepke · 9 August 2012]

Amusing family drama, set in the 1920's, and immensely popular on first release. No wonder, since the movie presents an idealized family portrait that goes humorously beyond the usual two or three kids. Here, of course, it's a dozen. With that many offspring, all kinds of kid hi- jinks are possible to fill out the screenplay. Nonetheless, it's the prickly Webb at the height of his popularity who dominates, along with a bemused Loy looking on. There's really no plot, just a series of ordinary family episodes centering around Mom, Dad, and the two eldest girls (Crain & Bates).

Still, there is something of a socially conservative subtext behind the scattered goings-on. Importantly, it's one that doesn't harm the generally humorous results. Take the way the family-planning lady (Natwick) is gently mocked when Dad parades his army of offspring before her. This was, after all, back in the day when contestants on quiz shows with bigger families got bigger applause. Or take the prom scene where young Tom (Hill) pointedly affirms to teen-age Ann (Crain) what her dad has already explained to her—namely, that boys only marry "good girls". This scene, however, appears aimed specifically at the audience and is a bit awkward for such an otherwise smooth production.

Despite the one scene, this is not an in-your-face subtext, but it is present and quite consonant with the times. After all, idealized families were not unusual for either movies or TV of the 50's, unlike today's often ribald variety. However, I am curious how in such a sunny movie the unexpectedly dark development suddenly occurs near the end. I guess its inclusion was to maintain the facts of the real life family on which the movie is based. At the same time, the development prevents things from getting too sentimental, always a pitfall for movies like this. Nonetheless, it is understandably passed over quickly and at a distance.

All in all, the movie remains warmly amusing, thanks mainly to another of Webb's prickly but likable characters. Then too, the kids are cute without being cutesy; at the same time, the lovely Crain looks a little long in the tooth to be playing a teenager. However, I'm still wondering how Mom can bear all of twelve kids and still look like Myrna Loy. Oh well, just another of Hollywood's enduring mysteries.

Very well-crafted but "über-depressing"

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 September 2006]

Okay, by the title you can't guess that this ultimately will be an extremely depressing film. While that IS a spoiler, I thought it only right to point it out right away because some people might be turned off by this and should avoid the film. This is particularly true for people who are ALREADY depressed--this film will no doubt make it worse! Now this ISN'T to say that this is a bad film--it's actually very well made and quite enjoyable. But, since it's based on real people, the studio couldn't exactly give it a happy ending just to please the audience (though they HAVE done this a few times---almost always with disastrous results).

Clifton Webb wonderfully plays an efficiency expert who is quite the character. While at times he seems a bit dictatorial and arrogant, he is also quite loving and charming. I have almost always loved seeing Webb in films and since he did so few movies, I made sure to see this one--his performance certainly didn't disappoint. In fact, Mr. Webb IS the film--as he strongly dominates the movie in a positive way. Interestingly enough, he plays the father of a brood of twelve kids, while in real life he was gay--an interesting fact, but not especially important to his performance.

His wife is the ever-faithful and patient Myrna Loy. She is a much more down-to-earth person and the perfect counterpoint to Webb's somewhat bombastic performance. Together, they are the parents of 12 kids--kids that are much more normal and believable than the ones you'll see in the recent CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN--a film that bears no relationship with this 1950 version.

All in all, this is very entertaining and well-made. And, if you liked this film, there is a follow-up entitled BELLES ON THEIR TOES.

The Original is the Best

[DKosty123 · 7/10 · 10 September 2012]

I know Steve Martin fans will not agree, but this is the best version, the original. Granted the values of family and the father being really old fashioned are not today's values. The thing is though, the father here commands respect and because he gets it the family is much more of a well behaved unit than the newer version.

Myrna Loy is really too beautiful to have 12 children, at least you would think so. Actually any woman who has 12 children would be attractive though. I once met a woman who in real life has 20 kids (10 boys and 10 girls) and she is still an attractive woman. Of course she is not Myrna Loy, but that's Hollywood. I mean they never would type cast Phyllis Diller as a mother of 12. She would be too funny anyhow.

Clifton Webb is excellent as the father figure. This film has 1950 values throughout. It is the best dozen without any doubt. The remakes all fall short of this classic based upon a real family.

New Version

[magnoliablosssom · 10/10 · 16 December 2003]

Even though I think the remake may be funny, there is no comparison to the original. The actors were unique and cannot be duplicated. Even though the original came out before I was born, my parents introduced me to a lot of movies. I am glad they did because I know would have missed seeing these great actors.

Taken in context, this is an excellent movie.

[stevehaynie · 7/10 · 7 April 2006]

I bought the DVD of Cheaper By The Dozen months before watching it. The movie was part of a larger number of old movies that I was working through. Part of the reason for putting it aside was that in order to appreciate some movies you have to be in the right frame of mind.

Knowing that Cheaper By The Dozen was made shortly after World War II, it was expected that the family's values would reflect Hollywood's "perfect" world of that era. The truth is, many families strove for that level of obedience and order. With the story set in the 1920's and the nature of Mr. Gilbreth, there was another level of family structure that may seem odd today. Instead of watching the movie randomly, I chose a time at which I could think in terms of the real Gilbreth family and their environment. I had to bring myself to the level of the movie instead of waiting for the movie to draw me in.

Having recently been taught a little about how efficiency managers view manufacturing processes, I could understand the character of Frank Gilbreth much better. They really do look for ways to save ten seconds here and twenty seconds there. At the end of the day minutes or hours are saved, which translates into more product output. Seeing Gilbreth apply his morals and industrial efficiency techniques on keeping order within his household is what makes this movie funny. I admire Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth for their thoughtful parental guidance.

Clifton, Myrna and Their Merry Brood

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 23 May 2006]

Cheaper By the Dozen was a milestone film in the career of Clifton Webb. Though he had gotten great acclaim for his acerbic roles of the forties, Darryl F. Zanuck knew that Webb's screen persona made him extremely difficult to cast. Cheaper By the Dozen was an attempt to transition Webb into a kinder, gentler Clifton.

Of course to play wife and mother opposite him Zanuck got the services of Myrna Loy, THE personification of the screen wife. If the public were to accept Webb, she would be a part of their doing so.

Fortunately for 20th Century Fox the public did accept Webb in this role and he was able to branch out a bit in his choice of parts.

You mention this title now and of course most will think of Steve Martin and his two recent films that grossed gazillions at the box office. Martin's brood are a modern family, whereas Webb is the head of a family straddling the teens and twenties decades.

Cheaper By the Dozen also affords fans an opportunity to see a bit of Clifton Webb, dancer. Back when he was a musical comedy star on Broadway, Webb was considered every bit the equal of Fred Astaire as a dancer. He dances here with Loy and eldest daughter Jeanne Crain some of the period dances of the Twenties and cuts quite the rug.

Webb's character is Frank Gilbreath, well known industrial efficiency expert and a real person. Jeanne Crain provides the offscreen narration and we see the action in her eyes. She's also got an eye for lifeguard Craig Hill in the film and he's quite the eyeful.

This Cheaper By the Dozen is a nice nostalgic romp which a lot of studios were doing around this time. MGM did Life With Father and Warner Brothers filmed two of Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories with Gordon MacRae and Doris Day. This version can also hold its own with the Steve Martin version anytime.

I am not enthusiastic...

[Philipp_Flersheim · 6/10 · 19 December 2021]

This is a family film a bit in the line of 'Life With Father' (Michael Curtiz 1947). It does not have any scenes that will make you laugh out loud but you will probably be smiling through most of the picture. It is nicely made and for the most part well-acted, with Clifton Webb (as Frank Gilbreth) standing out. The children are doing well, too, even the smaller ones. My points of criticism are first of all the storyline, which is practically noneexistent. There is no opening that sets the scene and leads to more or less exciting consequences, and no conclusion where problems are being resolved; rather, the film consists of a series of almost entirely disconnected episodes whose common theme is that the same people appear. Most of these scenes are mildly amusing, but I was wondering why I should be interested. Another problem is Myrna Loy. I am finding her seriously miscast as Lillian Gilbreth who was, after all, a mother of twelve children. I suspect Loy shared my discomfort; that, at least, would explain why her acting felt so stiff and wooden in some scenes. All in all, the film is pleasing enough. It will help you while away 85 minutes when you haven't anything better to do, but I could not honestly call it outstanding or memorable.

Not so much old-timey but reactionary

[Karl Self · 5/10 · 28 August 2008]

I was really forward to this movie. For a number of reasons. First of, I'm a family type of guy and it seemed to be up my street. Then I knew that this movie (and the autobiographic novel behind it) single-handedly created the genre of "large family comedy" (viz The Brady Bunch, etc.) and was eager on seeing the original, which might well have turned out to be the freshest of the fray. Then the plot just seemed promising: a time-and-motion guy having to cope with a chaotic family of thirteen, especially as it was based on a true story. Finally I was looking forward to seeing Myrna Loy, who in this case was promising a strong female lead.

OK, well, I was disappointed. This movie was stolid throughout, and the humour pretty lame. Myrna Loy just teletyped her role in, her role consists entirely of looking approvingly at her husband. But worst of all, the movie is often decidedly reactionary. In one scene a birth control advocate is ridiculed for being a birth control advocate. In another, almost breathtakingly un-PC scene that would have made Larry Flint cringe, one of the girls has it explained to her by her heartthrob that he respects her for not putting out because, while he plans to sow as many wild oats as possible before marriage (wink, wink), he will only marry a pure girl. The whore-madonna-complex in living colour.

I can see why many people like this movie, it's by no means god-awful, but it was less than I expected.

"Cheaper By The Dozen" Review

[lawson14 · 10/10 · 7 October 2012]

This movie is an excellent slice of life back in the day. The father and the mother were both pioneers in motion studies and took on the challenge of raising a dozen children according to their precepts of high educational and moral standards and this movie concerns the various humorous situations that occur throughout the years including the woman who was told that the mother would be a good "family planning representative," democratic family meetings, the father's insistence that the girls wear old fashioned bathing costumes at the beach, the father's stand against make up and new-style undergarments. Sadly, the father suffered a fatal heart attack while traveling and we get to see the family pull together to enable the mother to carry on with the family business.

No person with inner dignity is ever embarrassed.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 27 January 2011]

Cheaper by the Dozen is directed by Walter Lang and is based on the book of the same name written by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. It stars Clifton Webb, Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Betty Lynn and Edgar Buchanan. Story follows the Gilbreth family and how they grow up living in their new home in Montclair, New Jersey. Headed by father Frank (Webb), he and his wife Lillian (Loy), have a brood of twelve, six of either sex. Being a time and motion expert, Frank likes the family home to be run in an efficient and time saving manner, but the times are a changing and the big question is if Frank can change with the times; particularly as his eldest daughter, Ann (Crain) is about to blossom into a woman.

Very much a frustrating watch, Cheaper by the Dozen was a film that I could quite easily have walked out on at the half way point. Yet come the intriguing finale I was ultimately glad I saw it thru to the end. The first half of the film is very episodic, in fact it's a series of episodes strung together seemingly to show how anal Frank is. There's no character development for the other members of the family, with Loy serving only as someone who holds the baby and lets Frank rule the house with military like precision. Which might be somebody's idea of fun, but I found it all rather flat. But then once Mildred Natwick arrives for a quite delightful sequence about birth control, the film breaks free of its annoying shackles as Lamar Trotti's screenplay provides scope for narrative development.

You sense, too, that Webb is relieved to not be the sole centre of attention, for his performance improves and the comedy starts to flow more naturally. He's helped enormously by the plot strand (and I use that in a very loose way) that sees Crain (bright as a button) get centre stage as the eldest daughter starting to eye the men and show signs of rebellion. Some good scenes follow, with a chaperon centre piece very engaging and humorous, but then a turn of events comes out of the blue and gives off a confused message. The film appears to say that by Frank cutting loose and enjoying life a bit more, costs him his life! It would have been better if he had stayed as the one track thinking hypocrite he was, while banging the drum for male superiority in the home. As I said earlier, it's intriguing, but not all that clear what all involved in the story want to say.

A mixed bag, then, but entertaining regardless of its staid first half and its ambiguous outcome. 7/10

Oh so awful

[ergot29 · 3/10 · 27 August 2004]

By no means do I dislike "family" films, or require explosions and sex to like a movie. But this plodding, dated-when-made meandering piece of fluff failed to do even it's first job: entertain, and maybe produce laughs (since it's a comedy).

The father character is insufferable, and I felt no pity when any harm befell him. Unlike the father in The Sound of Music who eventually softened and became an endearing character, this father never discovers his flaws and remains unlikable through the entire picture. Obstinate, overwhelmingly ego-driven, and annoyingly nit-picky, yet somehow no one notices this, except maybe the school administrator who has to put up with his boasting that his kids are better than everyone else and demanded everything be done how he said. Being "old-fashioned" is not synonymous with being a jerk, or at least it isn't supposed to be.

The children are mostly props in the film, which is fine with that many, they didn't need to be prominent. Those that are featured don't inspire much interest though. Myrna Loy is the most dull you will ever see her as the walking, talking baby machine, and not much more.

Even judging this as a 1950 view of 1921, this still comes across as very dated from the day it was made. Worse than that, it's boring, goes nowhere, and not funny in the least.