Houseboat (1958)

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Director: Melville Shavelson

Writers: Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose

Stars: Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Mimi Gibson, Paul Petersen, Charles Herbert, Eduardo Ciannelli, Martha Hyer, Harry Guardino



A government official (Cary Grant) tries to reconnect with his children (Mimi Gibson, Paul Petersen, and Charles Herbert) after the death of his wife. 



The daughter of a symphony conductor (Sophia Loren) goes on the run to escape her overbearing father (Eduardo Ciannelli) and takes a job as nanny to the children.

 


Romantic comedy ensues.

 


If there is any reason to watch this film, it is the chemistry between Grant and Loren, who had been in a real-life relationship not long before filming began. 



The situation, however, is highly contrived and the scriptwriters (Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose) are all too willing to cast all logic aside for the sake of some rather slight gags.

 


Characters do not behave in a consistent fashion, their personalities changing as the script requires so that the story can hit every predictable plot point on the way to its happy ending.



























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