Six filles cherchent un mari

I love this movie. First, the music is so great. Full orchestration of many old tunes from the 1920s, particularly "You Wore a Tulip" and "Linger Awhile". One disappointment is that the sound did not come out so well on DVD - kind of scratchy and distorted at times....yet NOT this way in the VHS format. How can anyone dislike this crazy and loving family? Next, there are the many great vintage cars in various scenes that an historic automobile enthusiast would appreciate. Of course, there are some really, really attractive people in this movie too. Feast your eyes on the likes of Jeffrey Hunter and Jeanne Crain. Anway......want to see a fun family picture? Well, this is it. I should mention that you should see the the original 1950-version of "Cheaper by the Dozen" first (an equally great picture)....so that you have some background on the Gilbreth family. The final scene is a killer - watch as Myrna Loy closes her eyes and remembers the past......and grab a tissue for that one. Good Sappy Flick!!

Vastly inferior follow up to the delightful "Cheaper by the Dozen". It hurts me to put down any film starring the great Myrna Loy, but before you dive into this expecting the same qualities contained in the original you ought to be warned.

Part of the charm of the original was the attention paid to period details and the wonderful production values - missing this time around. The family originally lived in the house made famous in "Meet me in St. Louis", now the set looks like Mayberry. Interiors, originally rich with detail have taken on the 50's monochromatic look of an old "I Love Lucy" episode. Direction? The pacing, cinematography and line deliveries are found lacking.

Is it worth watching? Sure...it's not a bad way to pass an hour and a half - Just don't expect to see what you saw the first time around and you won't be disappointed.

Cheaper by the dozen was the first story involving the Gilbreth family and was headed by Frank Gilbreth, played by Clifton Webb. He died at the end of the first movie as he gave charge of the family to his wife, Lillian Gilbreth played by Myrna Loy. This film probably would have been a little more inspiring if it had centered on the strength of Mrs Gilbreth overcoming the odds of raising a dozen children and a dog during a time when woman were not as accepted in a "man's world of business." But this film was a comedy, so it centered on the teenage daughters and their love lives. Jeannie Crain plays Ann Gilbreth, the only daughter shown getting married but only after finally accepting the idea that children grow and leave home. This was a tightly knitted family and this was how they overcame many difficult times. The ending entails a fine salute to the man that would have loved to have seen his children all grown up as an aged old mother Gilbreth remembers the many memories that will never leave her heart. A job well done by Mrs Gilbreth.

I personally thought that Belles on Their Toes held up well as a sequel to Cheaper By The Dozen. Sequels rarely have the same magic of the movies they follow, so it is wise to not make too strong a comparison. Once the characters are accepted on their new terms, Belles on Their Toes is much easier to watch.

The entire movie is a flashback sequence to the events that took place after the prior movie ended. The focus is not on the eccentric Mr. Gilbreth and the humorous view of life in a large family. This time it is placed on the characters themselves. Their situations are less of a focus than their personalities. Myrna Loy is allowed to continue as a strong character, and she gets to show much more depth as Ann Gilbreth than she did in the first movie. The same is true for the oldest Gilbreth daughters, too. Jeanne Crain takes center stage for much of the movie. Debra Paget and Barbara Bates tilt the story toward the girls in the family.

What makes the biggest difference in the feel of the movie is the presence of Hoagy Carmichael and the talented Debra Paget. With Carmichael in the cast it was obligatory that he perform his music. Debra Paget performed a dance routine that would never have been allowed by the conservative Frank Gilbreth. The feel of the 50's replaced the 1920's charm of Cheaper By The Dozen.

Movies are geared toward target audiences. Sequels are created to capitalize on previous successes. Belles on Their Toes is fun to watch, but it cannot be held to the same standard as Cheaper By The Dozen. Accept it on its own and you will have an enjoyable hour and a half while you watch it.

BELLES ON THEIR TOES is another nostalgic look at a past that never was. At least that's the impression you get from watching MYRNA LOY worry about her brood of Gilbreth children after father Clifton Webb has passed on. As usual, Loy is likable enough as the strong-willed mother who has to guide her children through what passes for "hard times" but has the look of the '50s rather than the '20s.

This lack of detail makes the film much less enjoyable than CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN. There's also a lack of freshness about the performances of JEANNE CRAIN as the oldest daughter, BARBARA BATES, JEFFREY HUNTER, MARTIN MILNER and ROBERT ARTHUR. It all seems rather pat, standard stuff that passed for wholesomeness in the '50s, before the grim realism of the '60s films set in.

Mother is seen at the graduation ceremony of her girls, which makes room for a flashback to their turbulent "growing up" years that includes the girls being romanced by whatever Fox star hopefuls the casting agent could find. Of the men, JEFFREY HUNTER stands out as the most likely prospect for stardom and is paired nicely with JEANNE CRAIN.

Nostalgia is nice, but the charm wears thin when the film offers nothing new in the way of plot twists and you have to settle for more of the same material offered in the original--without Webb, who gave that film its chief distinction.