The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Cheaper by the Dozen
Comedy · Drama · Family · 1950
"Cheaper by the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.
Movie details
Cheaper by the Dozen
“He's the New Father of His Country!”
1950 Comedy · Drama · Family 1h 25m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.0 / 10
6K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
25 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
"Cheaper by the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Cheaper by the Dozen?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Cheaper by the Dozen
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Walter Lang
Written by
Lamar Trotti
Clifton Webb
Frank Gilbreth
Jeanne Crain
Ann Gilbreth
Myrna Loy
Lillian Gilbreth
Betty Lynn
Deborah Lancaster
Edgar Buchanan
Dr. Burton
Barbara Bates
Ernestine Gilbreth
Mildred Natwick
Mrs. Mebane
Court is in session
Put Cheaper by the Dozen on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.