Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

20th Century-Fox

Director: Walter Lang

Starring: Clifton Webb, Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain

At the very onset of what would become thew baby boomer generation was released a popular motion picture about a family booming with a large, busy household and it stringent yet loving parents. A colorful, light family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen was a nostalgic look at the early century culture while providing light humor about family life that proved near universally appealing for a post-war generation of Americans. Aside of the perceived absurdity of such a very large and uniquely structured family unit, the story was based on real people and actual events presented in such a way that delighted and entertained a great many audiences of its day.

Cheaper by the Dozen is a Technicolor semi-biographical family comedy about an efficiency centered father and how he manages his family of a dozen children. Respected productivity expert Frank Gilbreth (Clifton Webb) uses his business acumen to raise his twelve children with his wife Lilian (Myrna Loy). Looking to raise an effective and efficient family unit Frank takes a unique way at raising his children manifested in a series of events, including board room style family meetings, monitoring the family’s tonsillectomies, and his insistence to interview the children’s school staff. The film is narrated by eldest daughter Ann (Jeanne Crain) who periodically feuds with her father over his nature, but when Frank insists on chaperoning her at the school dance he surprisingly becomes the life of the party, growing father and daughter closer. Underlying the run of events is Frank’s desired invitation to speak at a series of prestigious business lectures which is finally extended to him, only to see him tragically pass shortly after his departure. In honor of their late father the children agree to take on more responsibilities around the home while Lillian carries the mantel of her husband.

 A delightful comedy with some amusing scenes Cheaper by the Dozen is an enjoyable little picture well shot in glorious Technicolor for the sake of wholesome family entertainment. Lacking any protagonist, underlying drama, or real plot, the series of events for this large family proves to be simple cinematic amusement with a series of set-ups and punchlines. A look back on early 20th century living with common harmless feuds between children and parents, the film’s appeal in found in nostalgia of growing up, the pain of eventual loss, and the lesson of perseverance. In a way it can ultimately be looked at as a coming of age comedy from the right angle. With a large cast the film focuses on a select few.

With its episodic construction and lack of plot the picture can feel a bit disjointed, but does not take away from the moments of enjoyability in this family comedy.

The film was based off the semi-autobiographical novel by two of Frank Gilbreth’s children, Frank Jr. and Ernestine Carey, focusing on their late father and the raising of his large family. The book is little more than a series of short stories about growing up in a house of twelve children and their father whose focus on time and motion efficiency using his children nearly as a laboratory for his ideas. The task of adapting it to a film was picking out stories and trying to assemble them into some sort of cohesive narrative restructured to be told by Ann, the eldest daughter, who did not write the book. 

Directed by Walter Lang, known for bringing to life a series of brightly colored Fox produced musicals, he helped provide the guidance in delivering the tale to Technicolor glory in a smooth and palatable package.  Brightly created with many scenes shot outdoors and even on location the loose story flows cleanly, with its colorful vibrancy without drawing much attention to its lavish nature as a period piece with elaborate costumes. The simplicity of the film is implemented in the best manner possible with aid of Lang’s creative choices.

With a title like Cheaper by the Dozen there features a large cast within the Gilbreth family, but the film primarily focuses on three characters, Frank as structured father, Lillian as the loving matriarch, and the eldest daughter Ann. 60-year-old and three-time Academy Award nominated actor Clifton Webb portrays the patriarch of strict discipline, but overlying love, creating an pleasing main character. Perhaps the hero of the picture is the wife Lillian played by Myrna Loy who has transferred from her days in the Thin Man movies to more motherly roles. Loy quietly proves to be the glue of the picture as a character that mixes the humor provided by Frank with the serious mature of raising a family and ultimately becoming the torchbearer of the family by film’s end. 24-year-old Jeanne Crain portrays teenager Ann. Even coming off of a mature picture like Pinky (1949) where she earned a nomination for Best Actress Crain finds herself playing a teenager in a silly comedy, manifesting the studio’s creative control over stars up to this point in the business.

Critics would generally praise Cheaper by the Dozen for its humor and fine production, only slightly criticizing for its lack of plot. Meanwhile, audiences made it the fourth highest grossing picture of 1950.

Only three months following the release of the film saw the publishing of a sequel novel “Belles on Their Toes.” Due to the success of Cheaper by the Dozen the sequel novel was adapted into a sequel motion picture released in 1952 to lesser fanfare, with Myrna Loy and Jeanne Crain reprising their roles. Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), a Steve Martin comedy co-starring Bonnie Hunt, other than by name and the concept of a family with twelve children had nothing to do with the 1950 film or its novel, simply proving how the name and rough idea was a source of comedic ideas for latter film executives and writers.

Today the film does not hold up as strong as other comedies of its time, but remains a decent motion picture. Comedies would soon be evolving in the coming years into more silly situational exaggerations with motion pictures studios vying for the attention of audiences who had access to free television programming. The rise of larger, more elaborate comedies in the 1950s and 60s make Cheaper by the Dozen look awfully tame, but its execution should be commended, for it remains a rather welcoming and charming comedy to view from this age in cinema.