Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation

MOVIE REVIEW OF Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) NOT RATED

Cast
Director:	henry koster	Runtime: 1 hrs 56 min ( 116 min)
roger hobbs	.....	james stewart
peggy hobbs	.....	maureen o' hara
joe carmody	.....	fabian
katey hobbs	.....	laun peters
janie grant	.....	lili gentle
byron grant	.....	john saxon
martin turner	.....	john mcGiver
emily turner	.....	marie wilson
reggie mcHugh	.....	reginald gardiner
marika carter	.....	valerie varda
susan carver	.....	natalie trundy
stan carver	.....	josh peine
danny hobbs	.....	michael burns
brenda	.....	minerva urecal
mr. kagle	.....	richard collier
girl #1 in dormatory	.....	sherry alberoni
girl #2 in dormatory	.....	true ellison
boy	.....	darm duke
pizza maker	.....	ernie gutterrez
driver in bird walk scene	.....	bill hickman
bartender	.....	colin kenny
freddie	.....	tom lowell
carl	.....	stephen mines
peter carver	.....	peter oliphant
phil	.....	michael sean
secretary	.....	maida severn
dick	.....	dennis whitcomb

WHAT I KNOW

Roger Hobbs (James Stewart) is your average family man. He goes to the office each day, has a house, a car, a wife and a few kids and all that. Arriving at work one day, though, after returning from his family vacation, he calls his secretary (Maida Severn) into his office to take some dictation. He then proceeds to relate the aformentioned vacation (a.k.a. the movie) in the form of a letter to Mrs. Hobbs (Maureen O' Hara).

The family vacation was meant to be a getaway for Mr. Hobbs and his wife, but quite quickly turns into a zoo-type affair with the kids, husbands, and their children. To make matters worse, the beach house they are borrowing from friends looks about 200 years old, and behaves even older!

As they settle in, some things go wrong (i.e. the water pump won't work), some things go right (i.e. Katie (Laun Peters) meets a boy), but everything goes haywire!

Mr. Hobbs meets his neighbor Marika (Valerie Varda), the typical beach blanket blonde, who in turn finds one of Mr. Hobbs's sons-in-law, Byron (John Saxon) quite a catch.

The intention was to reunite the family and to enjoy each others' company for a month. Tension is apparent, however, and it only escalates as they are all forced together in the run-down beach house.

While Byron is occupied with Marika, Mr. Hobbs's other son-in-law Stan (Josh Peine) is out of a job, but a phone call gives the opportunity for that to change. His soon-to-be boss, Mr. Turner (John McGiver), wants to stop by the beach house with his wife (Marie Wilson), so impressions must be made…and boy are they made!

Relationships are challenged, tested, and strengthened. But the family holds together for a happy turnout. The question is…will Mr. Hobbs ever go on a vacation with his family again?!

WHAT I THINK

This is one of my favorite movies; one of those that I bought with the intention of watching it over and over at my leisure…and actually doing so.

It's not one of those movies that is funny because you can relate to the characters and the situations and the dilemmas. It's funny because you are saying to yourself, I'm glad that's him and not me, but thinking, I did come awfully close to that when…

Jimmy Stewart is typical Jimmy Stewart, one of the most reliable actors I know. Whether playing a serious role (e.g. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), or a comedic one such as Mr. Hobbs…, or halfway between (e.g. It's a Wonderful Life; Harvey), it's always Jimmy Stewart under there. (In his case, this is not a bad thing.)

Not far from the spotlight are the co-stars, too. Maureen O' Hara pairs wonderfully with Stewart as his wife, Peggy. She is sensible, trying desperately to make the best of ugly situations, yet all along empathizing with Mr. Hobbs, realizing how hard life is for him.

The kids - at home and away - couldn't be more on-target. Roger's son, Danny (Michael Burns), isn't interested in much other than his cowboys and indians on TV (or so it seems), and his teenage daughter, Katey has new braces and is boy-shy. If that isn't timeless, with perhaps slight deviations in specifics, I don't know what is.

The other daughters, Janie (Lili Gentle) and Susan (Natalie Trundy) are both married (Susan with children) and have problems of their own.

But wait…enter Mr. Turner, prospective employer of Stan, and his wife Emily. Never was such an eccentric couple discovered. Mr. Hobbs tries his best to impress Martin Turner, but is often just left speechless. Emily Turner, despite her claim of not being a drinker, exhibits rather risqué behaviour in the company of Mr. Hobbs after having her little nightcap with her husband. (Well, risqué for 1962.)

Of course, the co-star list for this '60s family film would not be complete without an appearance to make the teenage girls happy. Fabian (born Fabiano Anthony Forte) shows up as Joe, Mr. Hobbs's attempt to scoot Katey into the social scene. Although Fabian's role is well-written into the script, we all know a significant portion of the audience would have been lost without him. This is not so subtle as he and Katey take a break from the movie to sing a duet together at the pizza shop. See lyrics to Cream Puff below.

Finally, a couple of cross-movie references can be spotted if you're a Jimmy Stewart fan as I am…or an annual viewer of It's A Wonderful Life (who isn't?), as both are from that movie.

First, and not at all subtle, when the family arrives at the dilapidated house, Roger, headed up the staircase, grabs on to the bannister, and the top of the bottom pilaster comes off in his hand; as it does in the house he and Mary (Donna Reed) buy in It's A Wonderful Life.

Second, and not quite as obvious (i.e. you have to be very familiar with It's A Wonderful Life to catch this one…bravo if you do before reading this) is when Stan finds a potential job and is talking with Mr. Hobbs on the telephone. Mr. Hobbs encourages him to take the job. He tells Stan, Now you go on to Rochester, or wherever you have to go, and just don't give it another thought. Rochester is mentioned in It's A Wonderful Life when George (James Stewart) is on the phone with Sam (Frank Albertson), talking about the plastics factory Sam wants to build. Sam says he's going to build it in Rochester, to which George replies, Rochester? Why Rochester? Why not right here in Bedford Falls?

REMARKABLE DIALOGUE
Finally, a short list of quotes I think are worth repeating. You may recognize some if you've seen the movie, but these are my own picks, not ones that are particularly famous:

• Mr. Hobbs : Speaking to you now, from beyond the grave, let me say to you frankly that I'd rather stay on as a go-pher than to be trapped with my family for a whole month in the same house…PARAGRAPH! I also agree heartily with all modern authorities that there is no more sacred obligation in life than a lasting communication between parents and children, but from now on I'm going to see if I can't manage mine by long-distance and the longer the better.
  Secretary : Paragraph?
  Mr. Hobbs : NO PARAGRAPH! It's not that I don't love them, you understand. It's just that the day finally arrives when a man simply hasn't got the strength to handle all the jams his children get themselves into!
• Mr. Hobbs : I've never loved Katie as much in my life as I have since she enrolled in that school and 900 miles away.
• Mr. Hobbs : A bulb this weak…you can't even call it a light. It's a dark! You turn that thing on in the middle of the day and the whole room goes black.
• Mr. Hobbs : Anyone wants to take a bath around here tonight, they can go jump in the Pacific Ocean.
• Mr. Hobbs : Honey, would you feel better if I went out and gave that butterfly valve a twist now?
• Mr. Hobbs : I've never sworn at a cook in my life.
  Peggy : Well she said that you did when you came downstairs this morning.
  Mr. Hobbs : This morning? When I came down…I never even spoke to her. I asked the kids how they'd like a little sun on the beach and they…an-an-an-…[they look at each other, realizing the misunderstanding]
• [Peter is smashing knick-knacks around the parlor. Mr. Hobbs tells him to stop]
  Susan : It's alright, darling. Boom-pa didn't mean it.
  Mr. Hobbs : Yes, Boom-pa did mean it, too. He meant every damn word of it. Now someone's got to straighten this kid out when he gets outta line.
  Susan : If you don't mind, Dad, I hate to say this…it is your house and all that…but we don't believe in saying 'no' to the children. According to all modern psychologists, saying 'no' just leads to neurosis.
  Mr. Hobbs : Well it can also lead to bankruptcy, too, if he breaks up enough stuff!
• Mr. Hobbs : You'd think that lousy surf would lay off for two or three minutes, wouldn't 'cha?
• [Katie starts dancing with an odd-looking shy boy]
  Boy : You're…you're too tall for me. [Walks off.]
• Mr. Hobbs : Joe, what's your father like?
  Joe : Dad? He's okay, I guess.
  Mr. Hobbs : All the time?
  Joe : Well, most of the time. Now and then he's a little kooky, of course.
  Mr. Hobbs : Why don't you go in there and tell her that.
• Peggy : I can't find them. Didn't you get his last name?
  Mr. Hobbs : Nope.
  Peggy : Well, where did you pick him up?
  Mr. Hobbs : You saw me. I just called the name 'Joe' to a group of boys…and there's always one 'Joe' in a group.
• Woman in Boat : Ohhh--he's going to hit us!--Don't you hit us!
• Mr. Hobbs : How far off the point do ya' wanna go?
  Danny : Just so land's not in the way.
• [Discussing the eclipse]
  Danny : You know, there won't be another one 'til 1999.
  Mr. Hobbs : Waddya say we watch that one together, too?
  Danny : Do ya' think we can?
  Mr. Hobbs : Well we can try.
• Mr. Hobbs : [VO] The Coast Guard informed Mrs. Hobbs that the only hope now was that the boat had drifted far enough out to sea to be picked up by a passing tramp or tanker.
• Mr. Hobbs : That ship straightened me out. You see, that ship was northbound. I just corrected the course and…we're alright now. [VO] The captain of a southbound tanker recorded having sighted a small boat shortly after noon on Thursday…He said it was headed for the open sea.
• Danny : Dad?
  Mr. Hobbs : Yes?
  Danny : Would'ja like to look at TV with me sometime?
  Mr. Hobbs : Well, that's a good idea, son. Thanks.
• Susan : Dad?
  Mr. Hobbs : Yep?
  Susan : Mom says would you take a look at the pump?
  Mr. Hobbs : Nope.
• Peggy :[sarcastically] Oh 'Man,' what are you waiting for? Get their bags upstairs.
  Mr. Hobbs :[VO] To his few remaining friends, Mr. Hobbs had been known for some time affectionately as 'redcap.' He was not aware at the time that Mr. Turner was an eccentric who carried concrete in his suitcase.
• Susan : How about some tennis tomorrow morning?
  Emily : Same thing with tennis. I used to play a little bit, but Martin never cared for it, so…I gave it up.
  Martin : That's the way it is with everything with us. If Emily doesn't care for it, then I don't either…and vice versa.
  Peggy : Well, what I think we ought to do is just stretch out there on the beach and do absolutely nothing.
  Emily : Unfortunately…
  Martin : I'm afraid that's out of the question. You see, Emily has very sensitive skin. If she's out in the sun more than a minute or two, she breaks out in big blisters.
  Emily : It's probably 'cause my body's so white…every square inch of it.
  Mr. Hobbs : Well, how 'bout you, Mr. Turner?
  Martin : Oh, no. I've got splotches all over. Big brown ones. But I never take my clothes off.
• Mr. Hobbs : I've gotta be up fresh for those straddle-legged coat-hangers.
• Byron : Didn't you like [Moby Dick]?
  Marika : Well, it's alright, I guess, but…who wants to read a book about a fish?
  Byron : About a fish!!
• Mr. Hobbs : What're those up in the tree there?
  Martin : Barnswallows.
  Mr. Hobbs : How can you tell?
  Martin : Easy to spot. Barnswallows are the only ones with white spots under their tails.
  Mr. Hobbs : But they're sitting down!
• Martin : Ever see a Red-Eyed Vireo?
  Mr. Hobbs : No.
  Martin : Halfway up that tree.
  Mr. Hobbs : Well what do ya' know about that?
  Martin : First one I've seen this year.
  Mr. Hobbs : What's that little fella next to it?
  Martin : [annoyed] Barnswallow.
• Martin : You've never done much walking, have you?
  Mr. Hobbs : Only since I was about two years old.
• [Emily screams from the bathroom]
  Mr. Hobbs : What the hell's she doing in the sink?
• Martin : What's the matter? Did you lock yourself in?
  Mr. Hobbs : The knob came off.
  Martin : Who's there?
  Mr. Hobbs : If the knob's not on the door, look on the floor. It may have dropped off.
  Martin : Are both of you in there?
  Mr. Hobbs : Would'ja look on the floor, please?
  Martin : Where's the knob?
  Mr. Hobbs : Will you please look on the floor?
• Martin : Mrs. Hobbs, I'm going to punch your husband in the nose.
• Danny : I thought that creep of yours was coming to say goodbye.
  Katie : Oh, turn blue.
  Danny : And look like you?
• Byron : Aren't you likely to get a hernia carring a load like that?
  Mr. Hobbs : I am.
Cream Puff

♪♫Cream puff Short cake Sweet stuff Jelly roll Gum drop Milkshake Curl up and be my baby doll♪♫ ♪♫Woe is me my solution isn't solvin' Maybe the answer can't be found Looks like I'm gonna have to keep revolvin' Just goin' round and round 'Cause I simply can't let go It's a terrible confession I'm like a Jonah and the Whale Can't hold on if you'll pardon the expression I've got a tiger by the tail I've got a tiger by the tail♪♫ ♪♫Cream puff Short cake Sweet stuff Jelly roll Gum drop Milkshake Curl up and be my baby doll♪♫

~ Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini Take me back to where I was reading ⇑

RATING

Here is my personal rating of this movie. This rating is out of ten meows.
¹⁰ /₁₀

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