Lucille Ball

Henry Fonda

Van Johnson

Louise Troy

Sidney Miller

Tom Bosley

Nancy Howard

Walter Brooke

Tim Matheson

Gil Rogers

Nancy Roth

Gary Goetzman

Morgan Brittany

Holly O'Brien

Michele Tobin

Maralee Foster

Tracy Nelson

Stephanie Oliver

Jennifer Leak

Kevin Burchett

Kimberly Beck

Mitch Vogel

Margot Jane

Eric Shea

Greg Atkins

Lynnell Atkins

Ben Murphy

Ysabel MacCloskey

Pauline Hague

Marjorie Eaton

Richard Angarola

Lilyan Chauvin

Robert P. Lieb

Jennifer Gan

Eve Bruce

Susan Carr

Paul Potash

Stuart Nisbet

Patty Elder

George Jue

Arthur Peterson

Mary Gregory

Larry Hankin

Lawrence Heller

Marti Litis

Harry Holcombe

Leon Alton

Billy Beck

George Boyce

Paul Bradley

Charles Cirillo

Marla Gibbs

Paul King

Joseph La Cava

Esther Ying Lee

Leoda Richards

Al Roberts

Jeffrey Sayre

Norman Stevans

Melville Shavelson

Madelyn Pugh

Fred Karlin

Charles F. Wheeler

Lynn Stalmaster

Stuart Gilmore

Robert F. Blumofe

Mort Lachman

Bob Carroll Jr.

Comedy

Yours, Mine and Ours

Walden Productions

Desilu Productions

United States of America

CinemaSerf

Engineering Officer "Frank" (Henry Fonda) loses his wife and after his tour of duty aboard the USS Enterprise is left with the ominous task of returning to San Francisco to look after his ten - yes, that's ten - children! Meantime, "Helen" (Lucille Ball) is in a similar predicament following the death of her husband - but she only has the eight offspring to raise. After a trolley clash in a supermarket, the two adults meet, court and after romance blossoms they decide to marry and raise all of their respective broods under one roof with four bathrooms! Initially, the concept of a film with eighteen kids offering everything from tantrums to hormones did not appeal to me at all. Fonda and Ball, however, really do make this work. It's a bit wordy at times and the humour has dated, but for the most part there is a genuine chemistry on display and many of their parenting problems - especially when they discover a new bundle of joy is en route - ring quite true. Director Melville Shavelson manages the more cacophonous elements of the story quite well - the pandemonium is there, but it is sparingly used allowing the sensations of exhaustion and exasperation to emerge, but not sufficiently to drown out what is actually quite an affectionate story. I'm not sure his aircraft carrier could ever have taken me far enough from this actual scenario, but watching on a big screen from a distance offers us an enjoyable romp through family life peppered with patience, patience and love. Give it a go and you might appreciate the versatility of Fonda as a half-decent comedy actor and Ball as, well, a star.