Belles On Their Toes (1952)

Set in the 1920s. After the death of her husband, a female engineer (Myrna Loy) struggles to make a living to support her twelve children. Male chauvinism against women in the industry makes it difficult for her to get work. Based on the semi autobiographical book by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and directed by Henry Levin (WHERE THE BOYS ARE). The first book by the Gilbreth brother and sister CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN was made into a hit movie in 1950 so it was inevitable that the second book which continued the story of the Gilbreth family would get made into a film too. It's a bland wholesome family movie with the thinnest of plots. In the 1950 movie, the father was played by Clifton Webb and his acidity is sorely missed in this sequel. The second installment is inoffensive but not much else. If you're a fan of the first movie, your tolerance for this one might get you by. With Jeanne Crain, Jeffrey Hunter, Debra Paget, Edward Arnold, Barbara Bates, Martin Milner, Robert Arthur, Verna Felton and Hoagy Carmichael.