in search of the castaways

the year: 1962

the genre: adventure


the cast: Maurice Chevalier (Jacques Paganel); Hayley Mills (Mary Grant); George Sanders (Thomas Ayerton)


the plot: The Grant children know their shipwrecked father must still be alive because they received his message in a bottle. With the help of Monsieur Paganel their searches take them from earthquake, fire, flood, to a cannibal tribe.



did you know: Hayley Mills made this film two years after her father, John Mills, starred in Swiss Family Robinson also made by Walt Disney about shipwrecked castaways.



listen for: "Why would a shark swallow a bottle?" "What was in his mind, I don't know. I only know what was in his stomach."



don't miss: Old Bill Gaye - he be smart!

the parent trap

the year: 1961

the genre: comedy



the cast: Hayley Mills (Susan Evers / Sharon McKendrick); Maureen O’Hara (Margaret “Maggie” McKendrick); Brian Keith (Mitch Evers); Charles Ruggles (Charles McKendrick); Leo G. Carroll (Reverand Moseby); Una Merkel (Verbena)



the plot: Thirteen year olds prim and proper Bostonian Sharon McKendrick and tomboyish Californian Susan Evers meet at summer camp. It's hate at first sight because besides the differing length of their hair, they look exactly the same. After the girls carry out one battle after another against each other, the camp administrators place the two in solitary confinement with each other. Since they’re stuck with each other, the girls finally get a chance to know each other and learn that they are indeed twins, separated when they were babies when their parents divorced. Wanting to get to know the parent they never met, Sharon and Susan decide to switch places. They figure that their parents would ultimately have to 'un-switch' them, and the girls hope when they do, they will fall in love all over again. In California their plan hits a snag when Mitch introduces his daughter to Vicky Robinson, who aspires to be the second Mrs. Mitchell Evers. Sharon and Susan have to figure out a way to get rid of Vicky and bring Maggie to California quickly so that their parents can reconcile and the foursome can be one big happy family.



count: how many time Verbina says “I don’t say a word.”



don’t miss: Miss Inch’s welcome to the girls at camp.


check out: Reverend Moseby. And Grandpa McKendrick. It’s a toss up for which I like more.




listen for: “That plus-faced child bride and her electric hips!”




also listen for: “I shan't tell my aunt about the ants nor the debutantes. Shall I?”



did you know: the screenplay originally called for only a few trick photography shots of Hayley Mills in scenes with herself - the bulk of the film was to be shot using a body double. But when Walt Disney saw how seamless the processed shots were, he ordered the script reconfigured to include more of the special effect.




extra bonus points: if you can name the two artists who sang the title song. Hint: they were on the lot shooting Babes in Toyland.

summer magic

the year: 1963

the genre: musical


the cast: Hayley Mills (Nancy Carey); Burl Ives (Ossium “Osh” Popham); Dorothy McGuire (Margaret Carey); Deborah Walley (Julia Carey); Una Merkel (Mariah Popham); Eddie Hodges (Gilly Carey); Peter Brown (Tom Hamilton)


the plot: Beulah, Maine postmaster Osh Popham helps widow Mrs. Carey and her three children move from Boston into a local, run-down, old house – and fixes it up for them. It's not entirely uninhabited, though; the owner, a Mr. Hamilton, is a mysterious character away in Europe, but Osh assures them he won't mind their living there, since he won't be coming home for a long time yet. The children and a cousin who comes to live with them have various adventures before an unexpected visitor shows up.


count: how many insects RSVP for the Ugly Bug Ball.


don’t miss: how Mrs. Popham likes her clouds.


check out: the portrait(s) of Mrs. Hamilton.


listen for: “Wonderful folks, even if they ain't got the rickets.”


also listen for: “Mariah, your pot's boilin' over.”


did you know: this movie was originally planned as a vehicle for Annette Funicello.

pollyanna

the year: 1960

the genre: drama


the cast: Jane Wyman (Aunt Polly Harrington); Hayley Mills (Pollyanna Whittier); Nancy Olson (Nancy Furman); Karl Malden (Reverend Ford); Adolphe Menjou (Mr. Pendergast); Agnes Moorehead (Mrs. Snow); Richard Egan (Dr. Edmond Chilton)


the plot: Even after having lived the hardscrabble life of a missionary's daughter all her life and seen the loss of both parents, young Pollyanna Whittier refuses to be depressed. Now, however, she must go to live with her cold, spinsterish aunt in a town inhibited by embittered, unfriendly souls. Can she use her glad game to win over everyone and transform the town?



count: the number of times Angelica rolls her eyes.



don’t miss: Mrs. Snow. She’s my favorite!



check out: the town bazaar. How fun would it be to get to go?



listen for: “Glad this, glad that. Do you have to be glad about everything? What's the matter with you, anyway?”



also listen for: “Well, let's just say there are about sixty-eleven things you could've said besides that!”



did you know: Director/screenwriter David Swift wanted to trim the overlong film by about 20 minutes and rearrange some scenes (most notably the acquisition of the doll in the town bazaar sequence) but Disney, who fell in love with the film by watching the dailies, would not allow it and Swift did not have final cut privileges.