Cary Grant is Tom Winters, a man whose estranged wife has just died, and he finds himself having to look after their three children, who are not happy to be with him at all. He hires Cinzia Zaccardi (Sophia Loren) as their maid – despite her having no life skills at all, due to being brought up by a rich and indulgent father – and starts to fall for her when they have to live temporarily on a houseboat. But his former sister-in-law also has her sights set on Tom…who will he choose?
Although the plot reads almost as though this could be a drama, it is in fact a light-hearted romantic comedy. Grant and Loren, despite the 30 year age gap between them, were at the tail end of an off-screen romance; I don’t imagine that it was much fun behind the scenes on this film, but that doesn’t come through on-screen at all. The two stars actually have great chemistry, although Loren’s acting is not always entirely convincing (but the part requires her to look good, and she certainly achieves that!). Grant displays some tenderness here, and is not the screwball comedian that he is in other films, but he is very funny, with just one look or gesture saying so much.
The three children are refreshingly un-nauseating. That sounds cruel – I don’t find children nauseating, but some portrayals of children in Hollywood films can be exactly that. Here though, there are two sons who neither know nor want to get to know their father, and one daughter who is more willing, but still something of a stranger to him. The youngest boy, Robert (played by Charles Herbert) is particularly good. The difference in temperament and character between Tom and Cinzia is nicely played, with Cinzia being impulsive and dramatic, while Tom is more restrained and reserved.
It’s an entertaining film – not my favourite of either main star – but it made me smile, and I would recommend it, especially to fans of Cary Grant.
Year of release: 1958
Director: Melville Shavelson
Producer: Jack Rose
Writers: Betsy Blair, Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose
Main cast: Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer, Harry Guardino, Mimi Gibson, Paul Petersen, Charles Herbert
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