Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation

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Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
Mr. Hobbs Take a Vacation cinema poster.jpg
Original cinema poster
Directed byHenry Koster
Screenplay byNunnally Johnson
Based onMr. Hobbs' Vacation
by Edward Streeter
Produced by
Jerry Wald
StarringJames Stewart
Maureen O'Hara
CinematographyWilliam C. Mellor
Edited byMarjorie Fowler
Music byHenry Mancini
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 15, 1962 (1962-06-15) (US)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,000,000[1]
Box office$4 million (US/Canada rentals)[2]

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation is a 1962 American comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara.[3] The film is based on the novel Mr. Hobbs' Vacation, by Edward Streeter[4] and features a popular singer of the time, Fabian.

Plot[]

Roger Hobbs is an overworked banker who reflects on his recent vacation. Originally, his wife Peggy and he were to travel overseas alone together, but Peggy instead arranges a seaside holiday, which includes their two grown daughters, teenaged daughter, teenaged son, family cook, sons-in-law, and grandchildren.

When Roger and Peggy reach their vacation destination, they find a dilapidated beach house with rotting steps. The shared telephone line and unreliable plumbing are running gags throughout the film.

Complications mount. Son Danny only wants to watch television. Youngest daughter Katey, embarrassed by a new set of dental braces, refuses to engage in any activities inside or outside the beach house, and the grandchildren do not want to have anything to do with Roger - their grandson is especially vocal about not liking his grandfather at all.

Furthermore, one of his sons-in-law, Stan, is unemployed, which is causing tension in that daughter's marriage. An older daughter is married to Byron, a professor who has unorthodox ideas about both disciplining children and the family dynamic, as his children maliciously break things.

Peggy is quite worried about these issues, but Roger points out that the children must all learn to deal with problems themselves, that Peggy and he need to stay at arm's length.

One by one, however, Roger quietly goes about trying to solve each problem. After the television breaks, he takes Danny on a boating trip, where they get lost in fog, but bond as father and son. He also manages to convince Katey to go to a local teen dance, where she insists on sitting on the sidelines with her mouth clenched shut. Roger bribes a handsome young man named Joe to pay attention to her; Joe genuinely falls for Katey and returns the money.

Son-in-law Stan has a shot at a good job, and their daughter asks Roger and Peggy to entertain the potential employer and his wife for a few days. The couple present as prim, proper, and sober; the only interest the man has is bird-watching, and Roger endures a jaunt with him, but they are not what they seem to be. Chaos ensues in a madcap scene involving a hot shower and a broken door lock.

In the end, everybody's personal crises are resolved and the family is actually sad to leave; the grandson is upset that he is leaving his grandfather.

They book the beach house for the next summer.

Cast[]

Production[]

Nunnally Johnson wrote the screenplay for Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation based on Edward Streeter's novel, Mr. Hobbs' Vacation. Streeter had previously written the novel Father of the Bride, which was filmed in 1950 and remade in 1991.[citation needed]

Johnson had just finished directing a series of films, and wanted to focus on writing. He agreed to do Hobbs because he liked the story "and I knew something about it."[5]

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation was filmed in California at Laguna Beach and Dana Point. The film was shot using CinemaScope wide-screen formatting, with color by DeLuxe. It marked the first time James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara starred together in a film. They co-starred again in the 1966 Western The Rare Breed. During the scene where Mr. Hobbs escorts his daughter Katey to a dance at the yacht club, Herb Alpert is the trumpet player in the band.[citation needed]

The movie was the first of two James Stewart made with Fabian.[6] "If anybody’s ever blessed, you have to be blessed to work with Jimmy Stewart," recalled Fabian. "He was the most congenial, helpful person I ever worked with."[7]

It was a rare comedy role for John Saxon.[8]

Reception[]

The film was relatively successful in the United States and Canada upon its release on June 15, 1962, earning $4 million with an estimated budget of $2 million, but found even greater success when released overseas.[citation needed]

James Stewart won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 12th Berlin International Film Festival for his performance,[9] and director Henry Koster was nominated for Best Director. Stewart was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy. The screenplay by Nunnally Johnson was nominated for Best Written Comedy by the Writers Guild of America. Stewart and Maureen O'Hara were also nominated for their performances by the Laurel Awards.[citation needed]

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation's success inspired a series of light-hearted family comedies written by Johnson. Two of these also starred Stewart and were directed by Koster: Take Her, She's Mine (1963) and Dear Brigitte (1965).[10]

This was the final feature film for actress Marie Wilson.

Critical reaction[]

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote in his review: "Right off the bat, it is suggested in this wacky domestic report that togetherness is strictly for the birds and that sensible parents, especially elders, should write it out of their books. The Mr. Hobbs of the title, played beguilingly by James Stewart, is very much of this opinion as far as his own brood is concerned."[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey (1988). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-810-84244-1.
  2. ^ "All-Time Top Grossers". Variety. January 8, 1964. p. 69.
  3. ^ "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Streeter, Edward (1954). Mr. Hobbs' Vacation. Harper & Brothers. OCLC 1391704.
  5. ^ Johnson, Nunnally (1969). Recollections of Nunnally Johnson oral history transcript. University of California Oral History Program. p 134
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (26 August 2019). "The Cinema of Fabian". Diabolique.
  7. ^ Jack Neary, "Interview with Fabian" Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine accessed 18 January 2014
  8. ^ Vagg, Stephen (July 29, 2020). "The Top Twelve Stages of Saxon". Filmink.
  9. ^ "Berlinale 1962: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  10. ^ Johnson, Nunnally (1969). Recollections of Nunnally Johnson oral history transcript. University of California Oral History Program. p 136
  11. ^ Crowther, Bosley (June 16, 1962). "Screen: 'Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2016.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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