Houseboat (1958)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Melville Shavelson

Writers:

Melville Shavelson (writer) and
Jack Rose (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

19 November 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

Plot:

Tom Winston, a widower, is trying to understand and raise three precocious children alone. He gets a little unexpected help from Cinzia...

Plot Keywords:

Widower | Maid | Love | Father Daughter Relationship | Cleaning Woman

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Tom Winters
Sophia Loren	...	Cinzia Zaccardi
Martha Hyer	...	Carolyn Gibson
Harry Guardino	...	Angelo Donatello
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Arturo Zaccardi
Murray Hamilton	...	Capt. Alan Wilson
Mimi Gibson	...	Elizabeth Winters
Paul Petersen	...	David Winters
Charles Herbert	...	Robert Winters
Madge Kennedy	...	Mrs. Farnsworth
John Litel	...	Mr. William Farnsworth
Werner Klemperer	...	Harold Messner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peggy Connelly	...	Elizabeth Wilson (scenes deleted)
Brooks Benedict	...	Pitchman (uncredited)
Ernst Brengt	...	French diplomat (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Country Club Dance Extra (uncredited)
Helen Brown	...	Woman in laundromat (uncredited)
Susan Cabot	...	Mrs. Eleanor Wilson (uncredited)
Larry Carr	...	(uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Country Club Waiter (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Country Club Dance Extra / Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Mary Forbes	...	British society woman (uncredited)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Laundromat gossip (uncredited)
Bill Hickman	...	Handsome man (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Country Club Dance Extra (uncredited)
Joe Lanza	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Florence MacAfee	...	Laundromat attendant (uncredited)
Joe McTurk	...	Pitchman (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Country Club Dance Extra / Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Pat Moran	...	Clown (uncredited)
Gilda Oliva	...	Pizza saleswoman (uncredited)
William Remick	...	Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Julian Rivero	...	Spanish diplomat (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Country Club Dance Extra (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Wally Walker	...	Pitchman (uncredited)
Marc Wilder	...	Specialty dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Melville Shavelson

Writing credits
Melville Shavelson		(writer) and
Jack Rose		(writer)
Betsy Drake		screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Jack Rose	....	producer

Original Music by
George Duning

Cinematography by
Ray June

Film Editing by
Frank Bracht

Art Direction by
John B. Goodman		(as John Goodman)
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Grace Gregory

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair styles supervisor
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael D. Moore	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound recordist
Hugo Grenzbach	....	sound recordist
Bill Wistrom	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer
W. Wallace Kelley	....	photographer: second unit (as Wallace Kelley)
Leonard J. South	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Richard Mueller	....	color consultant: Technicolor

Music Department
George Duning	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Hal C. Kern	....	production associate

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1965) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Paramount Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Fort Washington, Maryland, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Cary Grant initially accepted his role in Houseboat (1958) because he was dating Sophia Loren, whom he was madly in love with. After she married someone else, Grant, heartbroken, wanted to back out. He couldn't, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one.

Quotes:

Justice of the Peace: That's you Sir.
Tom: Who Sir? Me Sir?
Justice of the Peace: Yes Sir, you Sir.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bing! Bang! Bong!

Cozy romp with some surprising emotional resonance

At first glance, "Houseboat" looks like the worst type of sitcom: stern father gets saddled with his estranged children, later hiring a governess who is really a runaway from high society. Saccharin-prone viewers might bail early, but give it time. Cary Grant plays the dad with an amusing mixture of concern, consternation and suspicion; he enjoys a good time, but he goads his kids into being more than what he sees, and when his son pushes back it seems an exceptionally realistic reaction. As for Sophia Loren, basking in her movie-star close-ups, she takes a cartoonish character (which is written like a cynical refugee from "Roman Holiday") and gives the lady a big heart. Her bonding with the children (and with Grant) is a treat, and while I wasn't quite convinced it would all work out happily, I was genuinely entertained. A surprising jewel. *** from ****