Belles on Their Toes (1952)

The "Cheaper by the Dozen" crew is back, sans Clifton Webb. Lillian is struggling to make ends meet without her husband's income, while Anne, Martha, and even Ernestine find romance.

Director:

Henry Levin

Writers:

Phoebe Ephron (screenplay), Henry Ephron (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeanne Crain, Myrna Loy, Debra Paget

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jeanne Crain	...	Ann Gilbreth
Myrna Loy	...	Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth
Debra Paget	...	Martha Gilbreth
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Dr. Bob Grayson
Edward Arnold	...	Sam Harper
Hoagy Carmichael	...	Thomas George Bracken
Barbara Bates	...	Ernestine Gilbreth
Robert Arthur	...	Frank Gilbreth, Jr.
Verna Felton	...	Cousin Leora

Storyline

The "Cheaper by the Dozen" crew is back, sans Clifton Webb. Lillian is struggling to make ends meet without her husband's income, while Anne, Martha, and even Ernestine find romance.

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Plot Keywords:

female engineer | working single mother | widow | told in flashback | social dance | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bellezas por casar

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During one of the high school dance scenes, a Kelly green dress with tulle and white flower accents can be spotted on the dance floor. This dress appears to be the same dress worn in Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)'s Deborah Lancaster (played by Betty Lynn, best known as Barney Fife's girlfriend, Thelma-Lou, on The Andy Griffith Show (1960)).

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Quotes

Sam Harper: [hearing muffled explosion] What on earth was that?
Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth: The childern have a chemistry set in the cellar.
Sam Harper: Smells like alcohol.
Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth: Mr. Harper, alcohol is a chemical.

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Crazy Credits

A young man's hand closes the last page of the Cheaper by the Dozen novel and transitions the book to the cover of Belles on Their Toes in which the credits are printed inside the novel.

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Connections

References 7th Heaven (1927)

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Soundtracks

Doin' the Raccoon
Music by J. Fred Coots
Danced by couples Jeanne Crain and Robert Easton, Barbara Bates and Clay Randolph, and Debra Paget and Benny Bartlett at the school dance

User Reviews

Not As Fun As The First Film But Acceptable

Cheaper by the dozen was the first story involving the Gilbreth family and was headed by Frank Gilbreth, played by Clifton Webb. He died at the end of the first movie as he gave charge of the family to his wife, Lillian Gilbreth played by Myrna Loy. This film probably would have been a little more inspiring if it had centered on the strength of Mrs Gilbreth overcoming the odds of raising a dozen children and a dog during a time when woman were not as accepted in a "man's world of business." But this film was a comedy, so it centered on the teenage daughters and their love lives. Jeannie Crain plays Ann Gilbreth, the only daughter shown getting married but only after finally accepting the idea that children grow and leave home. This was a tightly knitted family and this was how they overcame many difficult times. The ending entails a fine salute to the man that would have loved to have seen his children all grown up as an aged old mother Gilbreth remembers the many memories that will never leave her heart. A job well done by Mrs Gilbreth.