The Parent Trap (1961)
Originally published on social media on April 26th, 2022
Today I will be reviewing both this and the 1998 Parent Trap films! Both classics and it’s hard to name a favorite when they are both wonderful!
What I love about this version: the quirky 1960’s music, the costumes, the 1960s Walt Disney film coloring and set design, and so much more. The dad’s house in particular is also really cool! All of the actors were wonderful! The Grandpa (Charlie Ruggles) was sweet, Hayley Mills adds a nostalgic spunk to the role of Sharon/Susan, and Maureen O’Hara is lovely!
Here are fun facts provided by IMDB:
- In the shot where Mitch trips on the chair, he fell so hard that he cracked a rib, but kept right on with the scene like a true professional.
- Brian Keith (Mitch) said that he liked the movie so much that he saw it a least 4 times and actually forgot that he was in it.
- According to Hayley's book disaster struck while filming one of the isolation cabin scenes at the studio. She was required to jump on and off of the bed but before this scene was shot, Hayley had her first period. The shoot was stopped as her mom helped her remedy the problem. Hayley was very self conscious about filming with a foreign object inserted inside her for the first time.
- Susan Henning took on the role as Hayley Mills' body double for many of the twin shots in the movie. As part of her contract, she signed away her rights to be credited. At the wrap party, Walt Disney presented her with a small statue of Donald Duck, called "The Duckster", in recognition of the "best unseen performance on film."
-Susan Henning said in an interview that Hayley's mother tapped her on the shoulder and told her to come with her, thinking that Susan was Hayley. Susan got up and walked with Mrs. Mills as Hayley was laughing. They were all laughing when Mrs. Mills realized that she had the wrong girl.
- Only three of the main cast members- Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara and Joanna Barnes lived long enough to see the 1998 remake (with Barnes making a cameo in the film as Meredith Blake’s mom).
-As they leave to go camping, the pickup truck door is labelled "Golden Oak Ranch", the name of a Disney filming location.