Take Her, She's Mine (1963)

A father's attempts to protect his college-age daughter from trouble backfire and he finds himself in the middle of scandal after scandal.

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Phoebe Ephron (play), Henry Ephron (play)

Stars:

James Stewart, Sandra Dee, Audrey Meadows

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Stewart	...	Frank Michaelson
Sandra Dee	...	Mollie Michaelson
Audrey Meadows	...	Anne Michaelson
Robert Morley	...	Mr. Pope-Jones
Philippe Forquet	...	Henri Bonnet
John McGiver	...	Hector G. Ivor
Bob Denver	...	Alex (as Robert Denver)
Monica Moran	...	Linda Lehman
Cynthia Pepper	...	Adele
Jenny Maxwell	...	Sarah
Charla Doherty	...	Liz Michaelson
Maurice Marsac	...	M. Bonnet
Marcel Hillaire	...	Policeman
Irene Tsu	...	Miss Wu
Charles Robinson	...	Stanley

Storyline

Frank Michaelson, well respected President of the Pacific Pallisades Board of Education, is appearing in front of a Board hearing addressing the issue of the widespread public outcry asking for either his dismissal or resignation because of a series of salacious front page newspaper stories, complete with photographs, on his recent goings-on. In addressing these unsubstantiated charges, Frank attributes all the incidents on his eldest daughter, Mollie Michaelson, now just shy of her twentieth birthday, no longer being the sweet child he had always pictured her as, but now rather a desirable young woman. Frank and his wife Anne first noticed Mollie blossoming into such when she went away to college, first to Hawthorne, a girls' college in New England and then to a prestigious art school in Paris. In Frank noticing Mollie becoming a desirable woman and her leaving home happening at the same time, Frank admits that he had troubles letting go of Mollie and thus he did whatever he felt he ...

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Plot Keywords:

teenage rebellion | generation gap | based on play | college | contraction in title | 

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Taglines:

There comes a time in every father's life...when his baby becomes a "babe"...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

13 November 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ah! Si papa savait ça

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles International Airport - 1 World Way, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,435,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 94 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (DeLuxe) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All of Jim Nabors' dialog was dubbed over by another actor's voice.

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Goofs

Upon arrival in Paris, Mr Michaelson is referred to by the policeman who is assisting him with his taxi as "Mr Stewart" - twice in English and at least once in French. However, this is a running gag that the character looks like Jimmy Stewart.

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Quotes

Frank Michaelson: I was watching this movie on TCM, and during the scene at the sit in where Stewart's character is talking to Sandra Dee's character, you can clearly see James Stewart's character use the four letter S word. It was after he used the word MONKEY. " I won't put up with any of this monkey s... t. You can read his lips as he says it and TCM took the audio of that word out. I was stunned when I saw this. Not that TCM took out the audio of that one word, but the fact that it was there and read by ...

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Connections

Referenced in Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck (2013)

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Soundtracks

Chantez, Chantez
(uncredited)
Music by Irving Fields
Lyrics by Albert Gamse
Sung by Sandra Dee

User Reviews

Beneath the talents of the star.

During a three year stretch, James Stewart made three comedies--three films that just didn't seem to suit his talents all that well. The problem with MR. HOBBES TAKES A VACATION, DEAR BRIGETTE and TAKE HER SHE'S MINE is that they all try too hard to be kooky. There is no subtlety about them and Stewart essentially plays the same befuddled role three different times. While none of these films are terrible, compared to his other wonderful films, they just seem to come up very short.

TAKE HER SHE'S MINE begins with Stewart explaining to the local council about all the publicity he's recently received. So, in a long, long series of flashbacks, Stewart explains away potentially damaging news reports as just misunderstandings--all which incidentally occurred while he was following his daughter (Sandra Dee) at college because he was worried she would become a "loose woman". Again and again, he assumes she is much more of a libertine than she is, yet he ends up getting arrested on morals charges himself.

While the idea of a worrying father having trouble letting go of his daughter is a clever idea, the execution and style leaves so much to be desired. Instead of great insight into a father's worries or simply making a clever film, too ofter the film degenerates towards kookiness and cheap laughs. In many ways, this movie looks and feels much more like a sitcom minus the annoying laugh-track.

The bottom line is that Stewart was an amazing actor whose films are quite often brilliant and sublime. Sadly, not everything he made was gold and it's hard to imagine that just after making THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, he made these silly pieces of fluff. Watchable yet dopey.