Deine, meine, unsere (1968)

Deine, meine, unsere: Directed by Melville Shavelson. With Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson, Louise Troy. A widower with ten children falls for a widow with eight, and they must decide about forming a huge, unconventional family.

“OK, the movie is really quite dated. Perhaps this is why the movie sells for less than $9.99 on DVD. But in spite of its being dated, the movie is still very funny. Maybe itu0026#39;s funny because it is outdated. The movie was made a long, long time ago, in a day when u0026quot;comedyu0026quot; took priority over u0026quot;politically correctu0026quot;. With Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll, Jr writing the script, it couldnu0026#39;t be anything but a sure fire winner. The two also provided their talents on I LOVE LUCY. (Madelyn Davis was known as Madelyn PUGH during the I LOVE LUCY era).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLucille Ball, in this movie, has really taken a big risk in stepping out of her domain where she truly reigned as the queen of comedy. Her brilliance as a comedian has always been in her ability to act like the perfect scatterbrain, driving a totally frustrated straight man well past his breaking point with her totally insane schemes. On TV, this straight man was played by Desi Arnaz and later, by Gale Gordon.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn this movie, Lucille Ball shone brighter than ever, showing an ability to go from u0026quot;scatterbrainu0026quot; to u0026quot;serious to the point of tearsu0026quot; and back, so effortlessly. And there was no u0026quot;straight manu0026quot; to bounce her brand of comedy off of.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTom Bosely was hilarious as the family doctor, with his deadpan approach. Seeing him later as Howard Cunningham in HAPPY DAYS, I wonder if he was really acting or was he simply being himself? He certainly has that dry wit down to an art.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOh, and then, there is that issue of age. Lucille Ball was 57 and Henry Fonda was around 61 when the movie was made. This issue is obviously irrelevant. The movie was a hit when it was released in 1968. And it obviously beats that remake in 2005, hands down, in spite of the age of leading roles in the remake.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLucille Ball and Henry Fonda rule!”