Six filles cherchent un mari

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.

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!!

It is graduation day for the youngest of the Gilbreth children and, sitting in the crowd, Lillian Gilbreth is moved by this to reflect back on times when things were not so rosy for her family and a reduced income. And so this film-long flashback begins although it didn't help my interest in the material to find that these "harder times" were a sort of Norman Rockwell version of poverty rather than what most people would consider "hard times" (they have a butler for goodness sake).

So it was no surprise to me to find that this film had no real interest in producing an actual character drama so much as churning out a cheerful melodrama with basic family morals and the Americana virtues of the 1950's writ large across every scene. I'm not sure if this world ever did exist but regardless I'm sure some viewers will find this nostalgia to be just about enough to justify watching the film for. God knows there is not much else to bother spending the time on. The humour is very basic and involved harmless pratfalls and good ol' wholesome joshing – shame there are so few laughs to be had in this.

The cast aren't much cop either. Webb shows up on a picture while Loy buzzes round full of worry, love and strength while the cast of children are more about quantity rather than quality. The odd turn from Hunter, Arnold, Carmichael and others provide some distraction but this is not a film where anyone is given the material to turn in a good performance. Overall then a fairly basic comedy melodrama that has a chocolate box nostalgia about it that some might find appealing but really has little else to recommend it for.

I saw it this morning and I liked it. It kept my interest. I never realized there was a sequel until today. I saw the original DVD and I should have gotten it when I saw it. Now I am on the hunt for both DVDs. I don't know what it is lately with the movie industry, but I find myself watching more and more of the classics and going to the movies or renting new DVDs less and less. I mean, why would I want to watch a movie about reptiles on an airplane? There is too much terror on the airlines as it is and now some moron has to put yet another fear into people's hearts when they need to fly? I feel if the movie industry keeps going in the direction they are going, there will be more film on the editing room floor than being shown.

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.