Synopsis
Efficiency expert Clifton Webb is the pater familias of 12 children. He runs his family ratherlike an industry, and is simultaneously loving, stern, eccentric, pompous and goofy. He moves hisbrood from Rhode Island to New Jersey, and we follow the family as they adapt to their newsurroundings, and the new surroundings adapt to them. The film is about as family-friendly asyou could possibly imagine, and is so determinedly warm-hearted it pursues the audience withthe implacab…e goal of giving everybody a huge hug. The humour has not dated particularly well,however. Viewed today, the film comes across as irritatingly cornball, soppy and dull.
Audio
Here we go again with another attempt to convert mono into stereo. Fortunately, the originalmono track is provided. The 2.0 track is none-too-impressive, with everything, from dialogue tomusic, being warped into surround whether the effect makes any sense of not. At least the reareffects aren’t as loud as they are on some other similarly mastered tracks.
Video
The opening moments are very grainy and dirty, but the print is a lot cleaner and sharperthereafter. There is some flicker, as well as some softness of the picture. The colours aren’t themost attractive, with rather harsh contrasts bleaching faces. These last difficulties might well liewith the source material, however.
Special Features
Not much here: trailers for the feature, its remake and its sequel (Belles on theirToes), and a newsreel segment of the film receiving some award from the Catholic Churchfor being good family fare.
Closing Thoughts
Not that I generally hold too much truck with remakes, but this is hardly a classic whosepurity must be preserved at all costs.
Special Features List
- Newsreel Clip
- Theatrical Trailers
