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Widowed lawyer Cary Grant hires Sophia Loren to take care of his three kids and moves them all onto a houseboat. He believes Sophia to be a maid but, in fact, she's the daughter of a famous Italian conductor. Comedy and romance ensues. Cary does well with a character that's not really likable at first. He has great chemistry with Sophia, who pretty much owns the picture. She's sexy, funny, and charming. The three kids are played by Paul Peterson (of Donna Reed Show fame), Charles Herbert (13 Ghosts, among others), and Mimi Gibson (this is probably her best role). They're all good, particularly Herbert. Love his scenes with Sophia. Harry Guardino is a treat as the guy who sells Cary the houseboat after destroying their other house. Cary's then-wife Betsy Drake was originally set to star. Their marriage was on the rocks at the time, and he was having an affair with Sophia, so she wound up with the part. It worked out best for us as it would have been a far different movie with Drake, who had a pretty bland screen presence. It's a pleasant, enjoyable mix of romantic and family comedy. Nothing unpredictable or deep but good fun.

Cary Grant's devotees-and they are legion--will come to his defense even under the most trying of circumstances (I'm the same way with actors and actresses I admire). Grant's performances are often lovingly called "droll" and "relaxed" while I see them as unimaginative and one-dimensional. He's not at home on-screen so much as he inhabits the space he's in, and I unavoidably begin imagining different actors in his roles (consider Rod Taylor opposite Audrey Hepburn in "Charade"!). "Houseboat" is no exception, but it's a good movie. Grant is overanxious, as usual--and pushy or needling with the kids involved--but he's well-placed as a love-interest opposite Sophia Loren (whom he was dating just prior to the filming but not during). At first glance, "Houseboat" looks like the worst type of sitcom: stern father gets saddled with his estranged children, later hiring a governess who is really a runaway from high society. Grant plays the dad with consternation and suspicion (according to the script, of course, though Grant is typically like this). He goads his kids into being more than what he sees on the surface--and when his son finally pushes back, it seems an exceptionally realistic reaction. As for Sophia, who basks in her movie-star close-ups: she takes a cartoonish character (which is written like a cynical refugee from "Roman Holiday") and gives the lady a big heart. Her bonding with the children (and with Grant) is a treat and, while I wasn't convinced it would all work out happily, I was reasonably entertained. **1/2 from ****

For those who still have the hopeless romantic side to them still kindling, and for those who are not totally cynical about predictable outcomes, Houseboat is decent fun. Cary Grant repeating his romantic comedy work for the umpteenth time, works well with the ravishing and radiant Sophia Loren. Given they were thirty years apart, Grant and Loren were in a pretty heavy romance off screen at this time. Their chemistry is evident and it shows well here. Harry Gaurdino has a good and humorous supporting role. It cracks me up when movies of the 50's portrayed Italian women as fiery and impulsive. It's done that way a bit here as well with Loren, except the script offers her character a bit more warmth and depth. Hollywood stereotypes of Italians have improved until "The Sopranos" came along forty years later. Houseboat is just a cute movie that is worth watching to fill in time. And if you are a fan of either star, it will be that much better.

'Houseboat' is a throwback to the kind of sweet, happy comedies Cary Grant did in the late '40s-early 50s, and it foreshadows the domestic comedies James Stewart and Henry Fonda would do in the sixties. Granted, there is more romance (and with Sophia Loren as the objection of affection, Cary has it all OVER Jimmy and Hank!) but ultimately, it scores as a terrific family movie, as Loren, playing an inept but adorable housekeeper/nanny, wins the affection of widower Grant's kids, and awakens in him a more complete love than he was experiencing with his society girlfriend (played effectively by the beautiful Martha Hyer).

Living in a rundown houseboat to save on expenses, Grant and his family's lives had become a boring routine, until the arrival of Hurricane Loren, with her Italian philosophy, her singing, and her unmistakable femininity and sex appeal (which introduces oldest son Paul Peterson to the joys of puberty, and to daughter Mimi Gibson and younger son Charles Herbert a mother-figure they both needed). Grant is at first oblivious to her charms, but she is hard to ignore for long! The question then becomes, when will Cary 'wake up', and realize everything he needs is right on the houseboat?

Filmed after Grant and Loren's whirlwind affair during the filming of 'The Pride and the Passion', the film was a bittersweet experience for both stars, particularly shooting the wedding scene, as Grant still desperately wanted to marry Loren, but she had already decided to remain with longtime love Carlo Ponti. Viewers aware of the 'behind-the-scenes' story will appreciate the performances of the two leads even more!

After you watch 'Houseboat', catch the flipside of this story in Grant's later 'Father Goose', as a drunken reprobate with a boat who must deal with governess Leslie Caron and her charges! The two films make a fascinating double-feature, and showcases Cary Grant's amazing versatility!

Seen either way, 'Houseboat' is a delight!

A romantic comedy short on logic but long on suave chemistry from 1958. A woman passes leaving her passel of 3 children w/their estranged father played by Cary Grant. Enter the luminous Sophia Loren, the daughter of a well regarded Italian music conductor who's on the outs w/her father so she flees his strict confines to meet up Grant & offer her services to be his maid & au pair to his unruly trio of brats when they move into the moored titular houseboat. That she falls for Grant while his wife's sister has made her feelings known makes for an interesting set of misconceptions & situations. What is essentially a remake of Grant's Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House mixed w/Sabrina has romance being the main sauce to this amorous pasta which makes this meal go down smoothly w/o the caloric guilt. Enjoy!

I've known of this film for years and finally decided to watch it, expecting the usual corny/glitzy rom-com. I was pleasantly surprised, and enthralled. Formulaic? Yes. Predictable? Certainly. Sentimental? Without doubt. But the story has a tenderness and charm that draws you in. Divorced-father-reconnects-with-kids a well-worn theme, but the script and acting here carry you along. The children are all good in their parts (despite the naysayers here) and of course Grant and Loren shine. The movie appeals to all the sadly outdated bourgeois values of postwar America, i.e. the era in which I grew up. And the cinematography and wide-screen aspect is wonderful. I feel a bit sad for the progressive Bolshies who find the movie offensive (check the one star reviews).

Melville Shavelson's Academy Award-nominated "Houseboat" involves the common trope of "vivacious-but-goofy woman turns serious man's life upside down" (also seen in "Bringing Up Baby", "What's Up, Doc?" and "Something Wild"). But how can you not love seeing Sophia Loren onscreen? Cary Grant's State Department employee is the archetypal man from the 1950s: straightforward, always wearing a suit and tie, and expecting everyone around him to be as no-nonsense as he is. The '60s were a reaction to this attitude.*

Admittedly, a lot of the movie shows its age. Many of the family interactions are too cute for my taste. The movie's real joy is seeing Sophia Loren in some of those revealing outfits (well, as revealing as was allowed in 1958). It's not any sort of great movie, but enjoyable enough for its length.

Watch for Murray Hamilton (Mr. Robinson in "The Graduate" and the mayor in "Jaws") and Kathleen Freeman (the nun in "The Blues Brothers") in early roles.

*Tuli Kupferberg of The Fugs was of the opinion that there was always reason for optimism, because, as he put it, no one who lived through the '50s would've predicted the '60s.

How can anyone resist a woman like Sophia Loren? That's a good question - especially if you pair her with someone like Cary Grant ... of course there is an age gap again (remember that next time you ridicule some of the newer movies especially the romantic ones, that have a similar "issue"), but that doesn't really matter.

It also doesn't really matter that you can predict where this is going. It's more about the journey there. And while the child acting may seem unnatural at certain moments (over the top or whatever you want to call it), the kids are so sweet you probably won't mind. This has a classic movie pace to it, if there is such a thing. But it really moves slow and you can hopefully enjoy and relish that.

Well made movie, that of course shows its age at times - especially when it comes to back projections, though a lot of shots seem to be shot on location and/or with the real actors (instead of doubles, like in a car driving scene). But if you focus on things like that, it means you are not engaged in the story. So hopefully it won't come to that point. Just sit back and enjoy a family movie with charismatic leads

This marked the first time Mom and I watched a movie that paired Cary Grant with Sophia Loren. I myself knew they had an affair during the previous film they made and that Ms. Loren was about to marry someone else during this one but that's the last thing I thought about while watching this one. Grant plays the father of three pre-teen kids whose mother he was separated from when she died from an accident. Ms. Loren initially works as their maid though she initially has no skills. While there was some funny lines and scenes, there was also plenty of drama. In summary, Houseboat was good, if not great, as entertainment for both of us.

Houseboat (1958)

It's crazy to write a review of a movie this old, with two legends, as if I have anything new to say. But that's exactly why it's worth my while. I watched it as a "Cary Grant movie" which is a category like a "Greta Garbo movie." And he's good, though there are no real sparks on screen between him and Sofia Loren, a substitute for Grant's wife of the moment, who wrote the original script. I think it ends up just a match of two screen beauties. The 1958 public liked it, at least.

It's weird how old Loren looks here—she's playing a 22 year old (she's 24 during the shoot), but her whole demeanor and hairstyle scream 30 or 40. Weird, because she's supposed to be a wild kid that her dad can't control. This matters because Grant plays an older man—an older father of three whose wife has died and who really needs a nanny. Loren's character becomes the nanny even though she's from a privileged family, mostly as an escape. Famously, Grant had been trying to woo Loren for months during their previous film, and he may or may not have gotten anywhere, but by this filming she made clear she wasn't interested, and even got married (to Carlo Ponti) while this one was being shot.

The plot is fun but the film is a bit plasticky. It's not as funny or clever as the old screwball days. Or as fast. The three kids are fine but barely—no great acting here, and no great direction either. Oh yeah, the director—Melville Shavelson—is not making the most of his material. He's more of a screenwriter (he co-wrote this) and there are some great lines. The direction is routine, however, which is a shame, because some scenes are clunky and others play out as if the script would do all the work.

Even the cinematography is merely adequate, though the sets and setting are great so you might not notice. The idea of using a houseboat (a real one in Maryland) is a great money saving device, no doubt, and it gives everything an offbeat air.

So it's all enjoyable if nothing remarkable, more or less typical of this low point in Hollywood movie-making. The best here is Grant, who still throws his classic one-liners off as if they were his. Too bad they echo out of sync with the rest of the cast.

Pretty good Cary Grant film, but it still felt kind of weak. I'd much rather watch "Father Goose" than this film.

Young siblings David, Elizabeth, and Robert are trying to come to terms with their mother's death. They are forced to live with their estranged father Tom Winters (Cary Grant) in Washington, D.C. At a concert festival, Robert gets lost and befriended by Cinzia Zaccardi (Sophia Loren). She comes after fighting with her overbearing conductor father. The kids force Tom to hire her as their new maid. Their vacation starts badly when their house is run over by a train. They're given an old houseboat instead.

There're a lot of slapping for a romance movie and they're no small swipes. It's a little slower at first. With the arrival of Loren into the group, the movie picks up with more comedy. I'm not sure if Loren and Grant had other rom-coms. His straight-laced and her exotic presence make for a good on-screen pairing although their off-screen pairing may have been more dramatic. It's an interesting what-if in Hollywood casting.

Difficult to judge. Anything between 8 and 2. Plot is horrible, totally off the shelf. Not even convincing. Everything is a bad dream of a soap.

And then a (disfigured) Sophia Loren meets Cary Grant. And both drag the most lousy story out of the mud. A twenty-two-year-old falls in love with a fifty-year-old-lawyer? Never mind. Both Sophia Loren and Cary Grant know how to pull out of the mud, simply by popping up and start acting, however. Where both so much in need of money that they didn't dare beating the scriptwriters their script over the head?

Plus the maquillage of Sophia Loren. How can a single make-up dis-artist and hairdresser try to render a beautiful, beaming, woman into an average child minder of rather mediocre charme?

Though as I had stated: watch it for Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. Watch how two international artists and exceptional actors manage to turn around misery into giving their own roles distinction, and partly even depth?

Cary Grant, prominent diplomat and widower, is trying to get acquainted again with his three kids, Paul Petersen, Mimi Gibson, and Charles Herbert. He's also got a sister-in-law, Martha Hyer, crushing out on him big time.

But after the youngest kid, Herbert, wanders away after a concert, he meets Sophia Loren who is also running away from her conductor father, Eduardo Ciannelli. They are soul mates Herbert and Loren and before long she's moved in on the Grant family.

Which is forced by circumstance I won't reveal to live on a houseboat in the woods in Maryland. The Houseboat and its many problems lend itself to a whole lot of physical problems and one rather dramatic one, when one of the kids nearly drowns. Cary gets a lot of good mileage out of the comedy.

This was Cary and Sophia's second film together and it was one big improvement on the overblown Pride and the Passion. No doubt that the two of them were still involved from The Pride and the Passion lends a lot of truth in the scenes Grant and Loren play together.

Also look for a nice performance by Harry Guardino who's the one who is responsible for the group being on the Houseboat.

Houseboat is a nice family comedy and hasn't aged a bit from the Fifties when it was made.

Ordinarily, I kind of enjoy these tame old Sixties comedies, but watching Cary Grant in a role written for a B- or C-lister is always painful. As a romantic male lead, there's never been anybody better, but comic dad parts are best left to the Paul Dooleys of the world.

The kids are remarkably charm-free, the novelty of the houseboat is tiresome, and the plot is entirely predictable.

However, if Sophia Loren is your cup of tea, then by all means feast your eyes. She's at her luscious prime here. A better idea for all concerned might have been to dispense with the family angle, and have it be a romantic drama with Grant and Harry Guardino -- who does a lot with a little here -- vying for her charms.

Houseboat is directed by Melville Shavelson who also co-writes the screenplay with Jack Rose. It stars Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer, Paul Petersen, Charles Herbert, Harry Guardino and Mimi Gibson. A Vista Vision production in Technicolor, music is by George Duning and cinematography by Ray June.

Widower Tom Winters (Grant) is reunited with his three estranged young children and finds they don't particularly think too highly of him. Struggling to pay them due care and attention and commit to his work, salvation may come in the guise of Cinzia Zaccardi (Loren), the daughter of a famous Italian conductor whose firm hand at parenting has led to Cinzia running away. Even though she has no discernible skills for the job, Tom hires Cinzia to be the maid to the Winters family, which once they wind up living on a rickety houseboat, has life affirming consequences for all of them.

Family drama, a romantic comedy, a 54 year old Cary Grant as the romantic lead opposite a 24 year old Sophia Loren as the prime love interest. Behind the scenes sparks as Grant yearns deeply to be Loren's better half, to which she responds by marrying Carlo Ponti, while Grant's then wife, Betsy Drake, gets passed over for the role given to Loren in a film based on an original script that she wrote herself! All that and the film leans heavily on three moppet characters. Had to be a miserable failure, surely?

Thankfully no. Houseboat is an utterly delightful picture, a throwback to time when Hollywood knew how to produce charming family friendly movies. Propelled by Grant, the man who could find chemistry with a door, the pic may not hold any surprise with its outcome, but the comedy is strong throughout and the family values inherent are rich with their story telling rewards. There's the odd musical interlude to tap your feet along with as well.

With Grant showing more comic ability with just facial expressions than many of today's comedy actors can provide in an hour of film, Houseboat is very much essential viewing for the Grant purists. True, Loren is hardly providing any acting gravitas here, but by the time she wanders into view looking absolutely knockout in a gold dress, nothing else really matters! Bonus, too, is the child actors, wonderfully directed by Shavelson, there's no irritants here, just honest and engaging reactions to scenes and scripting that stop the formula becoming stagnant, while Guardino shines bright as a commitment phobic Lothario.

Delightfully warm as a rom-com, but not ignorant to the trials and tribulations of a family coming to terms with a big change, Houseboat is always on safe entertainment waters. 7.5/10

Houseboat (1958) : Brief Review -

A warm-up before "Sound Of Music" with an Italian and American crossover. Watching this film after having already seen Sound of Music and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (a Hindi adaptation) gives me fewer moments to enjoy. Since I know almost every conflict from the film, as they are quite similar to Sound of Music, and yet I didn't really feel bored, that is an achievement in itself. Yes, there are flaws and a few dragging moments, but the known rom-com cliches have somewhat kept the boat afloat. The film is about a widower who brings his children back to his house after his wife's death. However, the children aren't very fond of him, and he finds motherhood difficult. There is an Italian girl who wants freedom from her father and the boring, sophisticated society, so she becomes a maid for these three children. She can't cook, she can't keep the house, but she brings them together, and, as expected, she falls in love with the father of the children. Here, their love story seemed strained. He was about to kiss her without love, I assume, and the next day he is talking romance with his wife's sister. Even a platonic affair couldn't have been this unstable. But what a glamorous flick it is. Sophia Loren irritates with her Italian and half-broken English accents, and she looks sort of chestnut in a few scenes, but otherwise, what a dame, sorry, a lady she made. Especially that golden dress, oh gee. I could feel Winter having two sexy ladies mad about him, and he just had to choose one. Cary Grant was already looking aged in the late 1950s, but somehow he managed to keep his old charm intact. Martha Hyer looks gorgeous and performs well with her limited room. The children and other cast members have done fine. Melville Shavelson's direction was good for its time, but it is just that we got Sound of Music within a decade, so Houseboat faded away soon from people's memories. Nevertheless, a timepass watch.

RATING - 6.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Sorry, but HOUSEBOAT has all the charm of a sugary half-hour sit-com stretched out to feature length.

Wholesome and sexy-looking SOPHIA LOREN in real life was a total turn-on for CARY GRANT (he wanted to marry her) who probably insisted that she be his co-star in this little romp. But the result is a predictable romantic comedy with an annoying song (sung by Sophia) that is just as cliché-ridden as the script. Too bad these two co-starred in another little disaster called THE PRIDE AND THE PASSION--sounds like a description of their on again/off again stormy love affair in real life.

Once the scene shifts to the houseboat, the atmosphere is claustrophobic rather than cheery and you keep wondering how long it's going to take for Grant and Loren to realize they'd be happy together.

Grant was maturing nicely by the late '50s, but I wish he'd been paired with more mature actresses beyond their twenties, since Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren seem much too young for him. It would have been nice to see him make a film with someone like Olivia de Havilland--who, like Ingrid Bergman and Deborah Kerr, would have made a more suitable romantic partner on screen during the '50s.

The kids remain non-entities, the humor is forced, the situations are just silly--and yet, there are some who find this harmless fluff to be highly enjoyable. I didn't.

Summing up: Passes the time but only Grant's most loyal fans will want to see it more than once.