Cheaper By The Dozen (1950)

Set in the 1920s, an efficiency expert (Clifton Webb) and his wife (Myrna Loy) apply his work standards to raising their children ..... all twelve of them! Based on the autobiographical book by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and directed by Walter Lang (THE KING AND I). This popular wholesome family comedy could have just as well come from Disney as 20th Century Fox as it plays out like those 1960s Disney family movies with Fred MacMurray as the dad. By 21st century standards, Webb's character is ultra conservative, perhaps even reactionary. There's even an unnecessary dig at Planned Parenthood. But the film is amiable and Webb's acerbic delivery assures us that the movie won't slip into treacle. The movie was a big hit and spawned a sequel BELLES ON THEIR TOES two years later. With Jeanne Crain, Barbara Bates, Mildred Natwick, Sara Allgood, Edgar Buchanan, Betty Lynn and Evelyn Varden.