Belles on Their Toes

The books were fabulous and the movies are really well done! Based on the true story of the Gilbreth family, this film picks up as the recently widowed mother has to step in to her husband’s role of breadwinner, leaving the children to make do and manage as best they can - often with side-splitting results.Come tight budgets, changing fashions, suave wanna-be suitors, meddling aunts, or tea with the President, this family pulls together and puts out a great story of unity, love, and laughter through tough times. A classic.

Nowhere near as good as the first one, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN. Was quite a disappoint to me. The movie was boring.

The loose DVD

This movie, a sequel to 1950's  Cheaper By the Dozen , continues the real-life adventures of the Gilbreth family, detailing scientist Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth's struggles to raise a family alone after her husband's death. The film is a nice, warm, and entertaining family comedy, and features screen legends Myrna Loy and Jeanne Crain, songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, and Fox contract player Debra Paget, best known for her roles as a slave girl in  The Ten Commandments , and as Elvis Presley's love interest in  Love Me Tender , The King's film debut. For a non-musical, there is a lot of singing and dancing in this film, including a charming song-and-dance number with Paget and Carmichael. While Debra is not in the league of Ann Miller or Eleanor Powell, she has good tapping ability; like all Hollywood contract players, she had to learn to sing and dance when the role called for it, and acquitted herself well in the number.Extras are minimal on this DVD. Like most Fox DVDs, there are English stereo, English mono, and Spanish audio tracks, English and Spanish subtitles, and theatrical trailers for both this film and two versions of CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN; the aforementioned 1950 original (the trailer is in B&W, even though the film is in Technicolor) and the  2003 remake  with Steve Martin. (A sequel,  Cheaper by the Dozen 2 , was made in 2005). A comparison of the trailers is a strong indictment of Hollywood's decline; the kids are much more ill-mannered in 2003 than in 1950 or 1952. What a shame. Three and a half to four stars.

I was so pleased with this movie. I had only ever seen bit and pieces of it. Myrna Loy and Jeanne Craine were just as charming as in the first one. Very well done. Great price to. Great followup to a great movie.

Delightful sequel to Cheaper By The Dozen, Belles on Their Toes, follows the adventures of the Gilbreth family following the death of father Frank (Clifton Webb). Struggling to keep the family together, mother Lillian (Myrna Loy) continues the pioneering work in industrial engineering she started with her husband. Eldest daughter Ann (Jeanne Crain) has struggles of her own. Does she go off to college and pursue a life of her own, or stay home to help her mother with domestic matters, no small task since Ann is one of twelve children! The cast is very appealing and although they seem too good to be true at times, it's hard not to be drawn into this heartwarming comedy. Most of the cast from Cheaper repeats their roles in Belles, with the addition of a young Jeffrey Hunter and veteran character actor Edward Arnold. Also in the cast, a young Debra Paget (as third daugher Martha), and an unbilled Martin Milner as an "unsuitable" boyfriend for Ernestine (Barbara Bates). The Technicolor print for this film is superior to Cheaper By The Dozen, which is a plus. The color looks new and vibrant and it will add to the overall positive experience of viewing this film. As sequels go, Belles is pleasant and enjoyable family entertainment.

so funny

I love old movies

Although it is not currently indicated on the Amazon listing, the pictured DVD edition is in PAL format. If you are from North America you will not be able to play it without a special set-up.Having quite enjoyed the original "Cheaper By the Dozen" I was very interested to see this sequel. That being said, after going through the effort of tracking down a copy of this movie I was disappointed. "Belles on Their Toes" lacks much of the charm of the original, the plot meanders, and it has some rather bad singing numbers.If you are really curious about the sequel, then by all means watch it - but if you don't watch it, rest assured that you haven't missed much.

Bien qu'heureuse d'avoir pu retrouver ce film d'époque, je dois vous aviser de faire bien attention lorsqu'un dvd est annoncé "bilingual". Ici, nous sommes portés à en déduire "français/anglais", mais dans ce cas-ci, c'est "anglais/espagnol". Alors au francophone, attention ; ne vous faites pas prendre...

I have been waiting to see this movie again. They very rarely show it on Turner Clasic Movies! I was very happy to get it!Thank you Amazon

Great old classic. Based on real people! Laugh a lot!

Good oldies movie