Cheaper by the Dozen

Last updated
Cheaper by the Dozen
CheaperByTheDozen.jpg
First edition cover (Thomas Y. Crowell Co.)
AuthorFrank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
LanguageEnglish
Genre Autobiography
Publisher Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
Publication date
1948
Media typePrint
Pages237
ISBN 0-06-076313-2
Followed by Belles on Their Toes (1950 book; 1952 film)  

Cheaper by the Dozen is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestselling book was later adapted into a feature film by Twentieth Century Fox in 1950 and followed up by the sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1950), which was adapted as a 1952 film.

Contents

Plot

The book tells the story of time and motion study and efficiency experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and their children as they reside in Montclair, New Jersey, for many years. Lillian Gilbreth was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living". [1]

The best-selling biographical novel was composed by two of the children, who wrote about their childhoods. Gilbreth's home doubled as a sort of real-world laboratory that tested her and her husband Frank's ideas about education and efficiency. [1] The book is more of a series of stories, many of which are humorous, with little overarching narrative.

The title comes from one of Frank Sr.'s favorite jokes: it often happened that when he and his family were out driving and stopped at a red light, a pedestrian would ask, "Hey, Mister! How come you got so many kids?" Gilbreth would pretend to ponder the question carefully, and then, just as the light turned green, would say, "Well, they come cheaper by the dozen, you know", and drive off.

At several points in the book, a total number of children is spoken of as being 12. In real life, although the Gilbreths had 12 children who survived infanthood, only up to 11 were living at the time of the stories. In fact, when Mary died of diphtheria at age five, seven of her siblings were not yet born, so there never were 12 children alive at the same time. The only chapter that mentions Mary by name is the one that tells the stories of the children's births; otherwise, she is not mentioned and her absence is not explained. It was not until the sequel, Belles on Their Toes , was published in 1950 that Mary's death is mentioned in a footnote. In the rest of the book, only the 11 children who lived to adulthood are mentioned by name. [2] From oldest to youngest, they are Anne, Ernestine (Ern), Martha (Mart), Frank Jr., Bill, Lillian (Lill), Fred, Dan, John (Jack), Bob, and Jane.

The stories in the book are organized topically. They skip around in time, and the details of the timing are not always made clear. For example, Bill is mentioned as having been six years old at the time of the story in which he honks the car horn while his father is under the hood trying to fix the engine. This would have been around 1919, before the three youngest children were born, though this detail is not mentioned.

The book ends with the sudden death of Frank Sr, which occurred in 1924. At that time, the oldest child (Anne) was 20 years old and the youngest (Jane) was nearly two years old.

Adaptations

Cheaper by the Dozen was made into a 1950 motion picture, starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy as Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. The film was produced by 20th Century Fox.

Cheaper by the Dozen was adapted as a stage play in 1992 by Christopher Sergel. It played at Grey Lite Theatre in 1992, directed by Lori David. [3]

Cheaper by the Dozen has been adapted as a musical, dramatized by Christopher Sergel with a score by David Rogers and Mark Bucci. [4]

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), starring comedians Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, have little relationship with the book other than the title and the focus on a family with 12 children. On the cover of Kate's book (Kate is the female lead character in the movies), the title is shown to be Cheaper by the Dozen, and the author's maiden name appears as Gilbreth (the name of the real family in the book upon which the 1950 film was based). During a game of Apple Schmear, Nora tells Hank that her "Great Grandma Gilbreth" invented the game. Furthermore, Lorraine and Tom argue about how much time she should be allotted in front of the mirror in the mornings. He allots her a few extra minutes, connecting back to the time efficiency specialist that the father, Frank Gilbreth, was in the 1950 film.

On August 6, 2019, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen was in development and would premiere on the company's streaming service, Disney+. [5] Gail Lerner was selected to direct the film with a script co-written by Kenya Barris and Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry. [6] Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff landed starring roles in the film, [7] [8] which was released on March 18, 2022. [9]

Contemporary appraisals

Re-reading the book in 2003, Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Jonathan Yardley wrote in The Washington Post : "[I]t is a joy to report that Cheaper by the Dozen still reads remarkably well. ... The prose ... is unadorned and matter of fact, and its organizational structure is a bit difficult to detect, but what matters most is that it is a touching family portrait that also happens to be very, very funny." [10]

The book won the French International Humor Award and has been translated into a dozen languages. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillian Moller Gilbreth</span> American psychologist and industrial engineer

Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist. She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by two of their children tell the story of their family life and describe how time-and-motion studies were applied to the organization and daily activities of their large family. Both books were later made into feature films.

The Henry Laurence Gantt Medal was established in 1929 by the American Management Association and the Management section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for "distinguished achievement in management and service to the community" in honour of Henry Laurence Gantt. By the year 1984 in total 45 medals had been awarded.

Therbligs are 18 kinds of elemental motions, used in the study of motion economy in the workplace. A workplace task is analyzed by recording each of the therblig units for a process, with the results used for optimization of manual labour by eliminating unneeded movements.

<i>Cheaper by the Dozen</i> (2003 film) 2003 film by Shawn Levy

Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American family comedy film directed by Shawn Levy. It is a remake of the 1950 film of the same name. Both films were inspired by the semi-autobiographical book Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and his sister Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. It stars Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, and Piper Perabo with supporting roles by Kevin G. Schmidt, Alyson Stoner, Jacob Smith, Forrest Landis, Liliana Mumy, Morgan York, Blake Woodruff, Brent and Shane Kinsman, Paula Marshall, and Alan Ruck. Outside of a couple passing mentions of the Gilbreth name, the film has little connection with the original source material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle Union</span> American actress (born 1972)

Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You. She rose to greater prominence the following year, after she landed her breakthrough role in the teen film Bring It On.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Bunker Gilbreth</span> American industrial engineer (1868–1924)

Frank Bunker Gilbreth was an American engineer, consultant, and author known as an early advocate of scientific management and a pioneer of time and motion study, and is perhaps best known as the father and central figure of Cheaper by the Dozen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Braff</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1975)

Zachary Israel Braff is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed J.D. on the NBC/ABC television series Scrubs (2001–2010), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005 as well as for three Golden Globe Awards from 2005 to 2007. He starred in The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), The Last Kiss (2006), The Ex (2006), and In Dubious Battle (2016). He has done voice-work for Chicken Little (2005), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and the Netflix series BoJack Horseman.

<i>Cheaper by the Dozen</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Walter Lang

Cheaper by the Dozen is a 1950 American comedy film based upon the autobiographical book Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film and book describe growing up in a family with twelve children, in Montclair, New Jersey. The title comes from one of Gilbreth's favorite jokes, which played out in the film, that when he and his family were out driving and stopped at a red light, a pedestrian would ask: "Hey, mister! How come you got so many kids?" Gilbreth would pretend to ponder the question carefully, and then, just as the light turned green, would say: "Well, they come cheaper by the dozen, you know", and drive off.

<i>Belles on Their Toes</i>

Belles on Their Toes is a 1950 autobiographical book written by the siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. It is the follow-up to their book Cheaper by the Dozen (1948), and covers the period after Frank Gilbreth, Sr. died. It was adapted as a film in 1952.

Zack Nipper is an artist from Omaha, Nebraska. He has designed several album covers by bands such as Bright Eyes, Criteria, Georgie James and Desaparecidos. Zack won "Best Recording Package" for his work on Bright Eyes' Cassadaga at the 2008 Grammy Awards, giving him, as well as Saddle Creek Records their first Grammy. In 2008, after his Grammy Award, several of Nipper's drawings for the album were displayed at the Joslyn Art Museum in "Zack Nipper: The Cassadaga Drawings" organized by then-senior curator of collections, John Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernestine Gilbreth Carey</span> American author

Ernestine Moller Gilbreth Carey was an American writer.

Thomas Y. Crowell Co. was a publishing company founded by Thomas Y. Crowell. The company began as a bookbindery founded by Benjamin Bradley in 1834. Crowell operated the business after Bradley's death in 1862 and eventually purchased the company from Bradley's widow in 1870.

The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching, and Installing Methods of Least Waste is a book written by Lillian Gilbreth which investigates the psychological aspects of scientific management, incorporating concepts of human relations and worker individuality into management principles. Published in 1914, it is a major early work in the field of industrial psychology and scientific management. A contemporary book review reflects early resistance to scientific management, stating the book "does not answer the really important questions about the effect of standardized work upon the worker".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr.</span> American journalist and author (1911–2001)

Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. was an American journalist and author. He co-authored, with his sister Ernestine, the autobiographical bestsellers Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes. Under his own name, he wrote multiple additional books, such as Time Out for Happiness and Ancestors of the Dozen, and a long-running newspaper column.

<i>Belles on Their Toes</i> (film) 1952 film by Henry Levin

Belles on Their Toes is a 1952 American family comedy film based on the autobiographical book Belles on Their Toes (1950) by siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film, which debuted in New York City on May 2, 1952, was directed by Henry Levin, and Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron wrote the screenplay. It is a sequel to the film Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), based on Gilbreth and Carey's eponymous 1948 book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen work triangle</span>

The areas of a kitchen work triangle is a concept used to determine efficient kitchen layouts that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional. The primary tasks in a home kitchen are carried out between the cook top, the sink and the refrigerator. These three points and the imaginary lines between them make up what kitchen experts call the work triangle. The idea is that when these three elements are close to one another, the kitchen will be easy and efficient to use, cutting down on wasted steps.

Cheaper by the Dozen is a biographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948.

Robert Moller Gilbreth was an American educator, businessman, and politician.

<i>Cheaper by the Dozen</i> (franchise) American film franchise

The Cheaper by the Dozen franchise consists of a series of films and stage adaptations, based on the real-life events of the Gilbreth family. Based on novels co-written by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, the series of movies include two biographical films and three loosely-remade family comedy films inspired by their story. The general plot centers around the lives of parents with a large number of children. Each depicts familial relationships, and working through the challenges that arise with an over-sized household.

<i>Cheaper by the Dozen</i> (2022 film) 2022 American film by Gail Lerner

Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2022 American family-comedy film directed by Gail Lerner from a screenplay written by Kenya Barris and Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry, with Shawn Levy serving as an executive producer. It is the third film adaptation of the 1948 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and his sister Ernestine Gilbreth Carey following the 1950 and 2003 films. The film stars Gabrielle Union, Zach Braff, Erika Christensen, and Timon Kyle Durratt with supporting roles by Christian Cote, Sebastian Cote, Christina Anthony, Caylee Blosenski, Journey Brown, Brittany Daniel, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Cynthia Daniel Hauser in her first acting role since 2002, Abby Elliott, Ron Funches, Leo Abelo Perry, Luke Prael, June Diane Raphael, Andre Robinson, Kylie Rogers, and Aryan Simhadri. It tells the story of a restaurant proprietor and his second wife as they raise the kids from the restaurateur's previous marriage, the second wife's family, and the children they later conceived as their respective exes are still involved in their children's life.

References

  1. 1 2 Carol, Kennedy (2007-01-01). Guide to the management gurus. Random House Business. ISBN   9781905211029. OCLC   655247876.
  2. ↑ Tamny, Elizabeth M. (1 January 2004). "Cheaper by Eleven?". Chicago Reader.
  3. ↑ "Cheaper by the Dozen". Dramatic Publishing. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  4. ↑ Frank b Gilbreth, Jr; Carey, Ernestine Gilbreth (1969). Cheaper by the Dozen (musical). Dramatic Publishing. ISBN   0871295601. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  5. ↑ ""Cheaper by the Dozen" and "Home Alone" Are Getting Disney Remakes". Teen Vogue. August 7, 2019.
  6. ↑ Woodyatt, Amy (7 August 2019). "Disney to remake 'Home Alone' for its streaming service". CNN.
  7. ↑ Vanacker, Rebecca (December 11, 2020). "Cheaper By The Dozen Reimagining By Blackish Creator Coming To Disney+ 2022". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 28, 2021). "Zach Braff Joins Gabrielle Union for 'Cheaper by the Dozen' Remake". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ Blackwelder, Carson (February 7, 2022). "Gabrielle Union, Zach Braff star in 'Cheaper By the Dozen' remake trailer". Good Morning America. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ Yardley, Jonathan (August 25, 2003). "Second Reading - Gold by a Couple: 'Cheaper by the Dozen'". The Washington Post.
  11. ↑ McLellan, Dennis (2006-11-07). "Ernestine Carey, 98; wrote a comical look at her big family in 'Cheaper by the Dozen'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2019-01-08.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.