La fiancée de Papa

I loved the parent trap. I think that it is an excellent family movie. Too bad that we can't get back to good family movies such as this one. The only thing is that I couldn't figure out who I liked best Susan or Sharon.

This is one of the best Disney movies ever made. It is funny, warm, and it is something everybody can enjoy. To watch this in the twenty first century is a wonderful trip back in time. This movie is very 60's, but that does not make it out of date, the tricks and gags are timeless. I loved this movie when I saw it for the first time many years ago. Therefore, when the new 1998 remake came out, I had to see that too. The new one is also sweet and warm, but the original version is the best. If you see this version first and then all or some of the new afterwards (as I tried, for fun, one was on TV and I have the other on DVD), the new one reveals itself as being superficial and a bit cheasy compared to the original.

What can I say, it's got the Disney magic to it, and a pretty good idea. If you like Disney films, you'll love this. It's a true "classic" to be quoted, and can be enjoyed by all ages. Just stay clear of the 1998 remake. 3.5/5 stars--

JOHN ULMER

"Family" movies usually make me cringe. Saccharine plots, cloying kiddie actors, goopy dialogue...no, thank you! But "The Parent Trap" succeeds admirably as both children-friendly fare and reasonably witty, sophisticated comedy.

The high-class production values don't hurt, and neither does the superb cast, right down to the character roles. The ever-dependable Una Merkel is a gem as the smart-talking maid, having lost none of her streetwise timing since her brassy blonde days in the 1930's. Charlie Ruggles is extraordinarily lovable as the grandfather, and Cathleen Nesbitt plays wonderfully against type as the domineering grandmother. Leo G. Carroll once again benefits a film simply by his appearance, and even Nancy "Miss Hathaway" Kulp is on board as a butch camp counselor (quite a stretch).

Of course, at the heart of it all, is the bravura performance of Hayley Mills as twins Susan and Sharon. She's never revoltingly sweet--there's a winning streak of spice in her personality that separates her from all other child stars. Plus, her kicky pre-Beatles British accent and snub-nosed beauty lend her a more worldly air than her contemporaries.

The ravishing Maureen O'Hara, in one of her last major roles as the twins' mother, Maggie, begins the film as a nondescript cipher, but her glamorous metamorphosis in the latter half of the film shows just how funny and sexy she can be. Mitch, the twins' father, is played by the ruggedly handsome Brian Keith, who generates the right mixture of roughneck toughness and paternal warmth.

And the criminally-overlooked Joanna Barnes plays Vicki, the predatory golddigger looking to sink her claws into Mitch. Vicki's verbal duels with Maggie and the twins are surprisingly catty for a children's film, and delivered with perfect villainy.

The very 1961 flourishes are priceless: the hopelessly tone-deaf Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello "singing" the theme song; the "formal" dance, with the girls all decked out in crinolines and laces; Susan plastering her bungalow wall with pictures of her favorite pin up boys (Rick Nelson!); and, my personal favorites, Sharon and Susan showing each other their parents' photos: hyper-posed, glamorous Hollywood 8x10 glossies!

The plot actually plays like a highly sanitized Rock Hudson/Doris Day bedroom farce, except that Susan and Sharon direct the course of action. You know what the ending will be even before you watch the movie, but it doesn't really matter. This is a delicious bon-bon of a flick, as irresistible to adults as to their children.

I love the movie, always have. But then, why wouldn't I? Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara, and Hayley Mills? Excellent cast. My parents took me to see this movie when I was a kid -- [I was born in 1955] so I wasn't too old and I totally loved it. I own the VHS and will probably have to buy the DVD, if I can find it.

Joanna Barnes is the woman you love to hate -- god wasn't she just wicked and terrible in this movie? You just hate her!!! Calling Hayley - pet, in that exaggerated way. UGH!

Brian Keith, god I just loved this man! Loved him in Family Affair too! Always such a good actor. [Some other favorites; Those Calloways, The Pleasure Seekers, Nevada Smith, and especially, With Six you get Eggroll.] Maureen O'Hara, what a wonderful actress. I loved her in this movie, but then love her in any and everything she's done really [some other favorites are; McLintock! and Spencer's Mountain].

Cute, cute movie.