Marriage by the dozen
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Marriage by the dozen |
| Original title | Belles on Their Toes |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 88 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Henry Levin |
| script | Phoebe Ephron , Henry Ephron |
| production | Samuel G. Engel |
| music | Cyril J. Mockridge |
| camera | Arthur E. Arling |
| cut | Robert Fritch |
| occupation | |
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| chronology | |
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← Predecessor |
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The dozen nubile (Belles on Their Toes) is an American movie from 1952 in Technicolor . Directed by Henry Levin . Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron adapted the book Children Become People by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey for the script . The main roles were played by Myrna Loy and Jeanne Crain . The film is the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen .
action
The film tells how the Gilbreth family stayed together after their father Frank died. The school graduation ceremony for the youngest daughter, Jane, serves as the framework, where the whole family gets together and where Lillian, the mother, remembers the events.
The whole family works on the cleaning and maintenance of the house, even the little ones playfully help out. Cousin Leora comes to visit and explains to Lillian that it is impossible for her to feed and raise so many children on her own. She, Leora, would be happy to help and take in one or two of the youngest children. But even they obviously don't want to. Days later, Leora was told by phone that the family wanted to stay together. The children cheer.
Lillian wants to give her husband's lectures in Prague and London. But before she leaves, the children are sent to the holiday home on Nantucket with the servant Tom . When the children leave, it turns out that there are too many: Two children from the neighborhood wanted to come too. But it's not that nice in the holiday home. It looks more like a hut. And to eat there are beans, beans, and beans again. The children play with the cans and can even build castles out of them. Ernestine, the second oldest daughter, meets Al Lynch there, who earns money by delivering groceries. Tired of the beans, Martha meets with Tom and her siblings for a cozy get-together on the beach. When there is to be a celebration, the whole family is invited, as Martha planned. Later in the evening, disappointed Lillian comes back from Europe. She couldn't make the speeches because a man was expected. So it goes back to Montclair .
Dr. Bob Grayson, a young doctor, is at the hairdresser's. When he is not in the shop, the Gilbreth family arrives, led by their eldest daughter Ann. To get her name (and address), he pretends to be an employee. However, the hairdresser comes back before he has received all the information. Shortly afterwards, Bob is singing on a bicycle next to the family car, but only gets a few laughs when he leaves the road and falls into a flower bed.
The children make root beer with Tom's help . You can even convince Lillian that this can save a lot of money as much as the family drinks. Sam Harper comes and asks Lillian if she can name someone who can train more of his employees like her husband did. The answer that she could do this, however, does not correspond to his image of women and so he refuses. When he sees all the children, he becomes thoughtful, but leaves. As soon as he's gone, the newly filled bottles in the cellar begin to open loudly. Tom has to confess to Lillian that he wanted to make alcoholic beverages instead of root beer and is therefore fired. As soon as that is done, Sam comes back, he has changed his mind so that Lillian can now train. When Tom later comes with a self-written testimonial that Lillian should sign, Lillian realizes that she still needs this employee.
Ernestine invited Al, whom she met in Nantucket, for a few days. When Al is in the bathtub, Ernestine's brothers disturb him until he breaks up with Ernestine in anger and disappears. Ernestine initially reacts with tears, so Lillian investigates what happened there. When she finally got into Frank jr. has found the culprit and makes it clear to him that he has hurt his sister, he can show Lillian that Ernestine is enjoying himself again at the party that is just taking place.
An invitation from the Engineers Club of America : LM Gilbreth is to give a speech there. Of course, Lillian goes there with a prepared speech. At the door, however, she was told that someone had tried to cancel her. Women are not allowed in. She angrily hands him the manuscript and gets into her car. When pulling out of a parking space she demolishes the two cars in front of and behind her. She has an accident on the way home and ends up in the hospital. Of course, they all want to visit the children there. Since this is only allowed for children over twelve years of age, this must be done secretly. Bob, who is Lillian's doctor in charge, notices this, but does nothing. Later Sam also comes to visit. Upon learning of the story, he announces that he will make sure everyone in America knows that LM Gilbreth is a woman, and a remarkable one at that. He achieves this by making a short film about the family of efficiency expert Lillian Gilbreth and introducing it to a major Hollywood film. The film shows the family having an efficient breakfast, that is, first at high speed and then backwards. The cinema audience thinks this is funny, but Lillian and especially Ann don't. Back home, Sam explains to them that the goal will be achieved in this way. Bob, who was also there in the cinema, agrees.
Bob and Ann have decided to get married. When Ann learns that Lillian has got a professorship, she thinks that her family needs her now and that she cannot marry yet. Bob does not agree and withdraws. A few weeks later, Sam comes to visit, apparently wanting to propose to Lillian. But first he is interrupted by Ernestine, who wants to drag Ann along on a double date at a school ball. Then Martha and Frank leave there too. The next disturbance is Bob, who comes and wants to speak to Ann because he is to be transferred to another city. At first he only learns that Ann is not there and wants to wait. This bothers Sam, who soon gossips about the double date. When he hears this, Bob gets angry with the family and makes it known. This tells Lillian why she hasn't seen Bob for so long and hurries with Sam to the party to speak to Ann. After Sam got Ann out of a dance competition, Lillian Ann explains that she keeps the family together so that her daughters can marry men like Bob. When he appears at the party, the two get together again. Lillian wants to dance a little more. When she and Sam arrive home, there is already a noise from the house that Lillian has to take care of. Sam asks Lillian if she is so busy with her children every day. She says yes. Then Sam leans back in his car, exhausted, and does not propose. Lillian goes back and meets the crying Jane. You can hear Jane being called at her graduation party, to which the film is now returning. Ann asks how she slept through the party she worked so long and so hard for. Lillian replies that she just thanked someone who loved them all and to whom she had promised. In addition, a scene from the first part is shown in which the family can be seen in their car with Frank Sr. at the wheel.
production
Production companies
The film was produced by 20th Century Fox .
Literature template and family history
Actually, the film adaptation of the book Children Become People is marriageable by the Dozen . This is the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen . This is alluded to at the very beginning of the film by first slamming the open book Cheaper by the Dozen and removing it. Below that appears Children Become People . This is opened and contains the opening credits on the first pages.
In contrast to Cheaper by the Dozen , Mary, who had died in 1912, long before the events shown in the two films began, does not appear marriageable in the Dozen . Thus only eleven children are shown. In the book Cheaper by the Dozen , Mary is kept silent. In From Children To People , their early death is mentioned in a footnote. Also now Jane is the youngest child like in real life, not Bob like in the first part.
occupation
Myrna Loy , Jeanne Crain, and Barbara Bates played the same roles as in Cheaper by the Dozen . Also Clifton Webb returned to his role again, if only for a brief appearance. In the role of Martha, Patti Brady was replaced by the now famous Debra Paget . For the larger role of Frank Jr. Robert Arthur was preferred to Norman Ollestad.
Since most of the film takes place relatively soon after the first part, but the productions were about two years apart, some of the children had outgrown their roles. As a result, some of the actors switched roles to an older child in the family. These were Teddy Driver (from Dan to Jack), Jimmy Hunt (from William to Fred), Roddy McCaskill (from Jack to Bob) and Anthony Sydes (from Fred to Dan). With the younger girls, however, the actresses kept their roles: Carol Nugent (Lillie) and Tina Thompson (Jane). Benny Bartlett also appeared in different roles in both films.
music
Music and especially songs play in the Dozen heiratsfähig a much larger role than in Cheaper by the Dozen . The following songs were particularly noticeable:
- Lazy by Irving Berlin . Sung by Tom and the children of the Gilbreth family while cleaning the house before cousin Leora arrives.
- Beans, Beans, Beans by Frank Silver. Sung by Tom and the Gilbreth children on Nantucket.
- The Japanese Sandman by Richard A. Whiting (music) and Ray Egan (text). Sung and danced by Martha and Tom during the party on the beach.
- Love's Old Sweet Song by James L. Molloy (music) and G. Clifton Bingham (lyrics). Sung by Lillian and the older children and Tom right after the party on the beach.
- Any Rags, Any Bones, Any Bottles Today? by Thomas A. Allan. Sung by Bob as he rides his bike next to the Gilbreth car.
- When You Wore a Tulip (and I Wore a Big Red Nose) by Percy Wenrich (music) and Jack Mahoney (text). Sung by the Gilbreth family in flashback with Frank sr. in the car.
World premieres
The world premiere was on May 2, 1952 in New York City . The German premiere was on October 28, 1952. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox .
The film was released on DVD on March 16, 2004.
Reviews
| source | rating |
|---|---|
| Rotten tomatoes | |
| audience |
 
|
| IMDb |
 
|
The film received a rating of 6.7 out of 10 at IMDb. Rotten Tomatoes did not give a critical rating (due to a lack of reviews), the audience rating was 3.8 out of 5 with an agreement of 75%.
Even if some negative was written about marriageable by the dozen , the summary is mostly positive. It's an entertaining sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen , a positive family comedy, a heartwarming sequel , just good, clean fun . On the other hand, it is an extraordinarily boring film, with which luckily the story of the Gilbreth family ends.
Of course, very often, nubile by the dozen is compared to cheaper by the dozen . Sometimes it is felt to be weaker than its predecessor, for example because the plot is overall less lively and imaginative. Marriage by the dozen is better than its predecessor, even if it is less appealing if you don't know the first part. The film is not quite as glamorous as its predecessor. As with Cheaper by the Dozen , this film also complained about its episodic character.
The increased integration of music is seen as controversial. Married by the dozen start as a musical, which immediately gives a different feeling than cheaper by the dozen . The film has a kind of identity crisis , he doesn't know whether it wants to be a musical, a comedy, a drama or simply a greeting to a bygone era . In the middle of the episodes of the family struggle, some strange musical numbers are interspersed. It was an inappropriate and unwelcome decision to add a musical element that just didn't work. Sometimes the additional music is just mentioned.
The film is also said to have a feminist aspect, a powerful or even surprising one. More cautiously, it is noted that the film at least approaches the problem of the dual role of mother and provider without seriously addressing the problem of the male-dominated professional world. The scene in which Lillian is denied entry to the engineering club is said to be groundbreaking . At the same time, however, it is criticized that Lillian did not shame them all and prevailed or at least got satisfaction from it and instead simply drove away angrily and destroyed their car. In addition, the film is giving away the women's rights issue with cinema advertising about efficient breakfast.
Myrna Loy is praised. While she was wasted or pushed into the background to a certain extent in Cheaper by the Dozen , she had the chance to shine in marriageable by the dozen and used it to the full, she was definitely the star of the film. Since the father was the cornerstone of the first film and is now missing, the second film must concentrate on the mother. Fortunately, in this case the mother is played by Myrna Loy.
Clifton Webb was very much missed at times. Since it wasn't possible to incorporate his character, it was a bad idea to do a sequel . Everything is so sweet and beautiful that the film desperately needs Mr. Webb's wort.
Web links
- The dozen nubile in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elizabeth M. Tamny: Cheaper by Eleven? In: Chicago Reader . Chicago January 1, 2004 ( chicagoreader.com [accessed March 31, 2016]).
- ↑ Marriage by the Dozen (1952) soundtrack. In: IMDb. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ Belles on Their Toes. In: American Film Institute website . Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ a b marriageable by the dozen. In: Zweiausendeins / Lexicon of international film. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d Jeff Ulmer: Belles on Their Toes (1952). In: digitally Obsessed! March 15, 2004, accessed March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c Belles on Their Toes (1952). In: Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ the Dozen marriageable in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ^ A b Leonard Maltin: Belles on Their Toes (1952) Overview. In: Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 31, 2016 ( scroll to Leonard Maltin Ratings & Review ).
- ^ A b c d J Osborne: The Critical Couch Potato Reviews the DVD "Belles on Their Toes". In: North Texas e-News. March 20, 2004, accessed March 31, 2016 .
- ^ A b c Glenn Erickson: Belles on Their Toes. In: DVD Talk. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c Belles on Their Toes (1952). In: At-a-Glance Film Reviews. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ Belles on Their Toes (1952). In: Monsterhunter. March 19, 2015, accessed March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ a b marriageable by the dozen. In: mediabiz Blickpunkt: Film. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ^ A b c d e Craig Butler: Belles on Their Toes (1952). In: AllMovie. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ^ Mark R. Hasan: DVD: Belles on Their Toes (1952). In: KQEK Films on DVD. 2004, accessed March 31, 2016 .
- ^ A b c d Scott Chitwood: Belles on Their Toes. In: Comingsoon.net. March 8, 2004, accessed March 31, 2016 .
- ^ HHT: More About the Gilbreths . In: The New York Times . May 3, 1952 ( online [accessed March 31, 2016]).