Rating: 
Summary: Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy Shine In This Classic
Review: "Cheaper by the Dozen" is a tasteful and nostalgic classic film about the famous Gilbreath Family of industrial engineers who pioneered the field of time management. The setting is 1910-1920, when society and music were both more civil and tasteful. Just as in its equally classic cousin, "Life With Father," timeless tunes like "When You Wore A Tullip And I Wore A Big Red Rose," "Sweet Genevieve" and "Just A Song At Twilight" are highlighted. But most enjoyable is the acting of two Hollywood legends: the elegant and classy Myrna Loy and the vitriolic, pompous but loveable Clifton Webb. As the patriarch of the Gilbreath clan, Webb is his incomparably witty, acerbic self. Film fans should note that Hollywood tried to lure Webb back to Hollywood in the early talkie period (he had done some silents in the 1910s and 1920s) but he chose to remain the toast of the New York stage where he was America's greatest ballroom dancer twenty years before anyone ever heard of Fred Astaire. Webb returned to Hollywood in the early 1940s with his Academy Award nominated role of Waldo Lydecker in the classic "Laura." Webb was nominated again in his very next film for his superb portrayal of Elliot Templeton in "The Razor's Edge." His third talkie earned him a third consecutive Academy Award nomination-this time for Best Actor---in the hillarious comedy "Sitting Pretty," which introduced Webb's timeless Mr. Belvadere character. Webb was an American treasure of stage, ballroom, and screen. Among other things, Webb made ballroom dancing (along with his equally talented partner, Bonnie Glass)the rage of the World War I era, was a operatic prodigy, introduced the white dinner jacket, and introduced classic Tin Pan Alley tunes like "I'll Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan" twenty years before Sinatra sang them. "Cheaper By The Dozen" serves as a great work of family entertainment that also illuminates an appreciable fraction of Webb's extraordinary talents. A great film!
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I remembered it...
Review: ...though not a bad movie.
Like many of the other reviewers, I had seen this as a child and I had even read the book written by two of the children. Parts of it are very good, particularly the performance of my great favorite, Clifton Webb as Frank Gilbreth, efficiency expert and father of a dozen children.
Where it suffers are those parts that make it an "old movie", chiefly, the voice over narration of Jeanne Crain as the oldest daughter recollecting and introducing each episode. I wish they hadn't opted for that contrivance, because it's so much better when a script can just flow from scene to scene. That's where "Life with Father" starring William Powell is more successful, because even though it's rather episodic too, it comes off less so because there is no narrator.
After having seen the movie again last night after many years, I got into a conversation with my family about the mother's having gone on to become a major figure in motion studies and industial psychology. Well, when I got home, I did an internet search for her, Lillian Gilbreth, and found a wealth of information on her achievements, both before the husband's death and afterwards. This unexpected discovery made me disappointed further in the film, as there is an obvious bias towards the father's work and the mother is only mentioned as a helper. In point of fact, Lillian Gilbreth was a Ph.D (her husband had not attended college) and had a fifty year career AFTER his death during which she invented labor-saving devices like the step-on garbage can. How ironic that the Hollywood movie could not depict how extraordinary the mother really was--another indicator of a time when women's achievements were downplayed.
Be that as it may, audiences can still enjoy the movie as one of those "large family with a large heart" entries which ultimately maxxed out with "Sound of Music" or perhaps more appropriately, "Yours, Mine, and Ours". Good performances by the child actors, Myrna Loy as Mother, and again Clifton Webb doing a very out-of-character turn as a loving husband and family man. Very little of his signature Mr. Belvedere in this production, and even some hint of his first career as a song and dance man.
Rating:
Summary: PERFECT!!
Review: All I can say about this true classic is...MYRNA LOY, what more can you say. She's truly a delight in this film. Take the six Brady kids and add six more and you have a movie that will stand up against time. Thank God for films like this, they don't make em' like this anymore. This classic and the sequal, {also great}
will be in my dvd collection.
Rating:
Summary: A Bargain At Any Price
Review: Cheaper By The Dozen is a wonderful recreation of American family life during the early days of the twentieth century. Based on the best-selling biography of the same name, the narrative follows the adventures of the Gilbreth family headed up by father and mother Frank and Lillian (Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy), pioneers in the field of industrial engineering. Between the two of them, they raised 12 children, including oldest daugher, Ann, (Jeanne Crain) who narrates the story. Cheaper is Great entertainment for the whole family. This "fictionalized" real story is a lot of fun, in the same way Life With Father is. Webb has one of the best roles of his career as the exacting efficiency expert. Myrna Loy glows with maternal warmth, and Jeanne Crain is lovely as always, struggling to grow up under the iron-fisted rule of a father born in the nineteenth century. My only complaint with the DVD is the color is uneven in places, which is unfortunate. This was a big budget production in its day and a lot of the wonderful Technicolor photography has been reduced to pinks and faded greens and blues. Overall, however, viewing this DVD is a pleasant experience.
Rating:
Summary: A Bargain At Any Price
Review: Cheaper By The Dozen is a wonderful recreation of American family life during the early days of the twentieth century. Based on the best-selling biography of the same name, the narrative follows the adventures of the Gilbreth family headed up by father and mother Frank and Lillian (Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy), pioneers in the field of industrial engineering. Between the two of them, they raised 12 children, including oldest daugher, Ann, (Jeanne Crain) who narrates the story. Cheaper is Great entertainment for the whole family. This "fictionalized" real story is a lot of fun, in the same way Life With Father is. Webb has one of the best roles of his career as the exacting efficiency expert. Myrna Loy glows with maternal warmth, and Jeanne Crain is lovely as always, struggling to grow up under the iron-fisted rule of a father born in the nineteenth century. My only complaint with the DVD is the color is uneven in places, which is unfortunate. This was a big budget production in its day and a lot of the wonderful Technicolor photography has been reduced to pinks and faded greens and blues. Overall, however, viewing this DVD is a pleasant experience.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good!
Review: Even though I've only seen this film twice,(and that was 4 years ago)I can still remember how we laughed very hard at the funny parts. One of my favotites was Bill's nervous laugh, "did you see the birdie daddy? It was a good joke on you, dad!" and Mr. Gilbreth's clenched teeth reply, "there is a time for birdie's and a time for spanking's!"
This movie is very hilarious. You'll love it! I would suggest getting the movie "Belles on their toes" along with this one, because if not you'll be wishing you had. The two belong in a pair!
Rating:
Summary: 2000's version is an unfunny joke by comparison
Review: Hillary Duff, Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Ashton Kutcher, and all the other "stars" of the crapfest that is the new version should cower in shame. To paraphrase Dr. Evil, they were insolent, and probably should be liquidated.
This version, which is actually based on the book, and actually tells a good story, is a classic. It is told anecdotally, as the book is, and while it obviously contains less than the book, I like it better. I grew up watching this movie, so it's deeply embedded in my mind. This is truly a charming family movie, and a family movie in the truest sense of the word. Not just a kids' movie, as most "family" movies are. I think even very "sophisticated" film aficionados can appreciate the story, the charm, the characters, and the enduring themes of this one.
If you actually enjoyed the new version of "Cheaper," hang your head in shame and do not buy this movie--you don't deserve to own it or see it. It is not even in the same universe of films. If you own the new one, perhaps you have a shot at redemption. Shred the DVD, go out and buy 20 more copies of it, just to destroy them too. Then say 1000 hail mary's and don the sackcloth and ashes, and publicly mourn for at least 40 days and 40 nights. Then come talk to me and maybe MAYBE you'll be worthy to watch the classic version.
Rating: 
Summary: Cheaper by the Dozen - A Classic
Review: I agree with Sharon. The movie, Cheaper by the Dozen, along with the sequel, Belles on their Toes, are excellent movies - classics! They should be made available (in either DVD or VHS format) in a boxed set. I know I would buy it and from the reviews on this web page, others would too.
Rating:
Summary: Cheaper by The Dozen Is Finally Coming Out On DVD
Review: I couldn't belive it when I head that Cheaper By The Dozen was coming to DVD. And Also THe Rare Sequel Belles On THeir Toes. I pre-ordered both of them yesterday. I have always loved both of the films and they are finally coming out on DVD. Cheaper By The Dozen Is About The Gilbreth Family who have 12 kids (how unbeliveable) and their adventures. Clifton Webb was excellent as the father. In the sequel Belles On Their toes Clifton Webb is an angel who looks down on his family when they are having all of their problems. Cheaper By The Dozen also stars 2 of the greatest actoresses ever Myrna Loy, and Jeanne Crain. For years these 2 films have been out of print and hard to find. And finally 20th Century Fox is putting them out on DVD. I highly suggest these movies to anyone who wants to get some good clean family entertainment for their kids.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie.
Review: I have seen this movie many times. It is a good wholesome movie of the way a family used to be in the early years. It has humor. I like the way the father handles the situations that come up in this movie. I highly recommend it.
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