The Parent Trap 1961
A lot of the old live action Disney films go on sale at the digital movie retailers so I researched a few. The Parent Trap seems to be one of the better ones, but instead of buying, I figured I may as well watch it on Disney+ first. The movie doesn't start well, with some really lame title animation and song. I wasn't expecting anything sophisticated, but I think I was surprised at just how funny some parts of the movie really were. I was also impressed with how well Disney was able to have two versions of Hayley Mills on screen at the same time, avoiding the old split screen TV gimmick where there would be a vertical line separating two different shots. Hayley Mills does a great job in the movie along with some good writing and characters. They seem to avoid the easiest narrative path except how quickly the parents end up getting back together in the final minutes of the movie after constantly arguing and Maureen O'Hara giving Brian Keith a black eye. O'Hara looks great, but her character seems to have some wild swings and Brian Keith never seems that interested in her until those last couple of minutes. Despite that and the lame music and sometimes getting a little too cute, the movie is fun and holds up nicely.
Written: 23 Aug 2024