“Cheaper by the Dozen” is a family comedy film based on the true story of the large Gilbreth family, as Frank and Lillian attempt to raise twelve children relying on their skills as efficiency experts, leading to all sorts of wacky situations. Director Walter Lang (“Mother Wore Tights” 1947) was firmly in charge at the helm of this picture, instilling good production values with the help of a superior script by Lamar Trotti. It was adapted from the 1948 novel of the same name by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and F. B. Gilbreth Jr.
Veteran actors Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy delivered polished performances as Frank and Lillian, dealing with the everyday management of their large brood. Co-stars include Jeanne Crain, Edgar Buchanan, Mildred Natwick, Barbara Bates, Norman Ollestad, Carol Nugent, Jimmy Hunt, Anthony Sydes, Walter Baldwin, Sarah Allgood, Evelyn Varden, Betty Lynn, and Craig Hil.
Jeanne Crain’s voice-over at the end of the movie informs us that the real-life Mrs. Lillian Moller Gilbreth went on to become an even more prominent efficiency expert than her husband. She was Time magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1948. “Cheaper by the Dozen” was popular at the box office for producer Lamar Trotti and 20th Century Fox. A sequel came out in 1952 called “Belles on Their Toes” with much of the original cast. Other sequels and remakes were released in 2003, 2005, and 2022.
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
cinema
My Review
“Cheaper by the Dozen” is a family comedy film based on the true story of the large Gilbreth family, as Frank and Lillian attempt to raise twelve children relying on their skills as efficiency experts, leading to all sorts of wacky situations. Director Walter Lang (“Mother Wore Tights” 1947) was firmly in charge at the helm of this picture, instilling good production values with the help of a superior script by Lamar Trotti. It was adapted from the 1948 novel of the same name by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and F. B. Gilbreth Jr.
Veteran actors Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy delivered polished performances as Frank and Lillian, dealing with the everyday management of their large brood. Co-stars include Jeanne Crain, Edgar Buchanan, Mildred Natwick, Barbara Bates, Norman Ollestad, Carol Nugent, Jimmy Hunt, Anthony Sydes, Walter Baldwin, Sarah Allgood, Evelyn Varden, Betty Lynn, and Craig Hil.
Jeanne Crain’s voice-over at the end of the movie informs us that the real-life Mrs. Lillian Moller Gilbreth went on to become an even more prominent efficiency expert than her husband. She was Time magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1948. “Cheaper by the Dozen” was popular at the box office for producer Lamar Trotti and 20th Century Fox. A sequel came out in 1952 called “Belles on Their Toes” with much of the original cast. Other sequels and remakes were released in 2003, 2005, and 2022.