The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

In 1916 Philadelphia, an Irish immigrant (Tommy Steele) begins a new job as butler to the wealthy but eccentric Drexel-Biddle family. The father (Fred MacMurray), in particular, keeps pet alligators in the mansion and teaches boxing to his Bible study while pushing the White House to join the war in Europe. His motto is "I believe in God and the United States!". However, when his daughter (Lesley Ann Warren) becomes engaged to the scion (John Davidson) of one of the blue bloods (Geraldine Page) of New York society, that's when the trouble starts. Based on the non fiction book MY PHILADELPHIA FATHER by Cordelia Drexel Biddle and directed by Norman Tokar (THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG). This old fashioned Walt Disney musical was already hopelessly out of date when it opened in 1967. It opened as a prestigious Roadshow but when it flopped, the studio cut it by 28 minutes and sheared off another 26 minutes for its general run. It's still not very good but it plays better today because it now has a sort of quaint "antique" charm to it which was just corny in 1967. The songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman (MARY POPPINS) are a mediocre lot though there's a deliciously catty duet between Page and Gladys Cooper and the boisterous choreography (by Marc Breaux and DeeDee Wood) is nicely done. A glamorous Geraldine Page, in fact, manages to bring a reality to her doyenne that stands out in the artificiality among the other performances. In his American film debut, Steele's toothy smile and hyperactivity, which apparently caused the British to swoon, got the cold shoulder from American audiences. Bill Thomas' stunning costumes justifiably got an Oscar nomination. With Greer Garson, Hermione Baddeley, Paul Petersen, Eddie Hodges, Joyce Bulifant and Sean McClory.