Cheaper by the Dozen | |
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Directed by | Walter Lang |
Screenplay by | Lamar Trotti |
Based on | Cheaper by the Dozen 1948 novel by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. |
Produced by | Lamar Trotti |
Starring | Clifton Webb Jeanne Crain Myrna Loy Betty Lynn Edgar Buchanan Barbara Bates Mildred Natwick Sara Allgood |
Narrated by | Jeanne Crain |
Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
Edited by | James Watson Webb Jr. |
Music by | Cyril J. Mockridge |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | 20th Century Fox |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.7 million [1] |
Box office | $4.3-4.425 million (U.S. and Canada rentals) [2] [3] |
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.
The story of the Gilbreth family is continued in the book Belles on Their Toes , which was adapted as a film in 1952, with some of the original cast.
The film follows time and motion study and efficiency expert Frank Bunker Gilbreth Sr. and his wife, psychologist Lillian Moller Gilbreth, as they raise 12 children in 1920's Providence, Rhode Island and Montclair, New Jersey. Throughout the film, Frank employs unorthodox teaching methods on his children and the children clash with their parents.
Frank takes every opportunity to study motion and increase efficiency, including filming his children's tonsillectomies to see if there are ways to streamline the operation. He escorts his daughter to her prom as a chaperone but ends up chatting and dancing with her female friends.
Frank is sent on a lecture tour to Europe, expecting to visit Prague and London. He phones Lillian from the station but the line goes dead; he has had a heart attack. After Frank's sudden death, the family agree that Lillian will continue with her husband's work, beginning with giving his lectures in Europe; this enables the family to remain in their house, rather than move to their grandmother's in California. With a widowed working mother and one income, the children will have to assume much greater responsibilities.
The birth order in which Cheaper by the Dozen portrays some of the children is not the same order in which the real Gilbreth children were born. For example, Robert (who was born in 1920) is shown as being born in 1922, as the last child after Jane (who was born in 1922). This is reversed in the movie's sequel.
In real life, Mary, who was the second child, died in 1912, aged 5. However, in the film Cheaper by the Dozen, Mary is placed as the third child after Ernestine, and has few or no lines. [4]
Both Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were important figures in real life. The voice-over at the end of the film informs the audience that Lillian went on to become the world's leading efficiency expert and Woman of the Year in 1948, a title bestowed by the Twentieth Century Club of Buffalo. [5]
Reviews from critics were mostly positive. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "it all adds up to entertainment of a broad, brash and innocent sort." [6] Variety called it "a lot of fun" with "a lot of humor, and just enough clutching at the heart to please any audience." [7] Harrison's Reports called it "delightfully amusing" with comedy "that keeps one chuckling throughout and at times reaches hilarious proportions." [8] "Pleasant light entertainment", reported The Monthly Film Bulletin . [9] John McCarten of The New Yorker was less enthused, writing that "since nothing much happens in the way of conflict, there just isn't any drama, and the piece boils down to one of those typical fluffy comedies about home life in America." [10]
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."
Myrna Loy was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style.
Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck, known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, including Blithe Spirit, as well as appearances on Broadway in a number of successful musical revues. As a film actor, he was nominated for three Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actor for Laura (1944) and The Razor's Edge (1946), and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Sitting Pretty (1948).
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in Pinky (1949). She also starred in the films In the Meantime, Darling (1944), State Fair (1945), Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Centennial Summer (1946), Margie (1946), Apartment for Peggy (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), People Will Talk (1951), Man Without a Star (1955), Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), and The Joker Is Wild (1957).
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 elemental motions used in the study of workplace motion economy. 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. Eighteen therbligs have been defined.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American 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 passing mention of the Gilbreth name, the film has little connection with the original source material.
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.
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.
Ernestine Moller Gilbreth Carey was an American writer.
I Love You Again is an MGM comedy released in 1940. It was directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy, all three of whom were prominently involved in the Thin Man film series.
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.
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.
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.
Gilbreth, Inc. was the early management consulting and industrial engineering firm of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and his wife Lillian Moller Gilbreth. It was founded as Frank B. Gilbreth, Inc., consulting engineers, in 1911. Lillian renamed it Gilbreth, Inc. after Frank's death in 1924.
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.
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 film series includes 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.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2022 American 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 lives.