Old Movies With Kids: The Parent Trap

I'm on a mission to make sure my kids watch more old movies. I've failed miserably thus far, so I'm getting serious and starting a new series here as we watch old movies together.

I put together a list of ten movies I thought the kids might like and we conducted a very official vote that involved closing eyes and raising hands and peeking and arguing and more hand-raising. Here's what we ended up with:

As you can see, The Parent Trap and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World tied for the top spot, but since I failed to start the movie in a timely manner and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is 3 HOURS LONG, The Parent Trap won.

I've written about The Parent Trap before since it is definitely one of my favorites. Corny and silly and Maureen O'Hara and just a good time. I still enjoy this movie as much as I did as a child. Yes, the fact that they separated their twins at birth and broke all contact with them has become somewhat more disturbing as I've had my own kids and can't really imagine being OK with such a situation. But I will look past that and enjoy this incredibly optimistic take on the aftermath of such a ridiculous family arrangement.

Here's what got me on this viewing: I am now around the same age that I imagine the parents are supposed to be in the movie, but they look so old. Do I look that old? Hopefully not. Did people in the 60's just look older? Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara were both around 40, but Brian Keith looks at least 50. Then there's Vicky. I would guess she's supposed to be around 25 and Joanna Barnes was 27 while filming the movie so not too far off, but she looks more like 35. Maybe it's just the hairstyle. But I'm assuming the reason they constantly talk about her young age is just to convince us that she's actually that young! And then Vicky's mom. She looks like she's 70 but I'm sure she's only supposed to be like 50.

Nonetheless, this made for a super fun family movie night! The characters are fun and surprisingly complex for a fairly silly family comedy. From a lame old mom's point of view, the kids in the movie are generally respectful to their parents and everyone is loving and caring, including the extended family/friend characters.  The relationship between the grandfather and the twins and Maggie is particularly sweet and a really nice addition to the story. The only time I felt the need to tell the kids to "not try this at home" was during the girls' pranks at the summer camp, which they, of course, thought was all pretty funny. And now for the kids' thoughts.

From the Kids

"Not very good." - 8 year old boy (who never likes anything and is not to be trusted)

"I liked it. Better than when I watched it before" - 10 year old girl

"I love it!! 100 good." - 5 year old girl

Kids' favorites moments:

When the cake falls on Miss Inch.

When the dad falls over the chair and in the lake.

"Let's Get Together"

The bear cubs licking Vicki's feet. (This caused a
huge fight over whether or not "honey bears" are a real thing. They're not.) 

 

What other classic films to my kids need to see? Tell me in the comments below!

Old Movies New to Streaming in February

Lately, my movie viewing choices are determined by my streaming services. It's easy--then I don't have to make decisions. Here are some new-to-streaming goodies to check out in Febraury.

Hulu:

• MCLINTOCK! (Producer’s Cut) - As previously discussed, it is currently streaming for free, but what's in this Producer's Cut? I'm going to find out.
  
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 60th Anniversary
  
• Terms of Endearment

 Amazon Prime:

• A Fistful of Dollars
• The Fly (1986)
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  

 HBO Max

• West Side Story (1961)

Great Classic Films You Can Stream Right Now for FREE

These days, if I can't stream something, is it really worth watching?? Ok well, the answer is yes because, sadly, there are hardly any Judy Garland movies streaming. Nonetheless, there are some great movies that are streaming for FREE right now on apps like Pluto, Plex, Roku, and Hoopla (which requires a sign up through your local library). Some of them have ads but it's a small price to pay for a great movie without having to get up off the couch and put on a Blu Ray.

Here's a list of some of my favorites. If you're looking for more options, check out JustWatch.com where you can search and see what's available for free or through subscription services.

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Gaslight - Roku

Guys & Dolls - Roku, Pluto

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - Roku, Pluto

Till the Clouds Roll By - Plex, Roku, Pluto - There's a painful lack of musicals streaming, so here's one if you need it.

Cactus Flower - Plex - I just love this wonderfully 60's movie. 

That Touch of Mink - Pluto - I love it. Doris Day, Cary Grant, sexual innuendo. Have you ever noticed that Doris Day tends to sing a weird dramatic song while she's considering whether or not to sleep with her leading man? She does.

Houseboat - Pluto - Truly one of my favorites!

McLintock! - Roku, Plex - I mean, McLintock. What can I say? It's a movie with an exclamation point in the title. Classic Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne shenanigans.

Rio Grande - Pluto - I'm not super into westerns, but ... Maureen O'Hara.

Indiscreet - Pluto

The Grass is Greener - Pluto - This may not be the most amazing movie but Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are always delightful together and it has its moments.

Roman Holiday - Pluto - A handful of great Audrey Hepburn movies coming up!

Charade - Roku, Plex

Breakfast at Tiffany's - Hoopla

Sabrina (1954 and 1995!) - Pluto

The African Queen - Pluto - It's been years since I've seen this one. Might have to give it a watch.

To Catch A Thief - Pluto

The House of Usher - Pluto - If you're in the mood for some corny Vincent Price horror movies, you're in luck...

The House on Haunted Hill - Roku, Pluto

The Last Man on Earth - Roku, Pluto

The Raven - Pluto

The Pit and the Pendulum - Pluto

The Tingler - Roku, Pluto, Plex

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And some non-movie honorable mentions. The Roku channel has lots of great old TV shows if you need to binge:

Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Alfred Hitchcock Hour

The Doris Day Show

The Carol Burnett Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Classic Potty Mouths

If you like watching classic film stars swear, I've found the show for you.

I was perusing the Roku channel to see what gems I could find and it did not disappoint. I happened across Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored and thought, how "uncensored" could these old-timers be? The answer is, they liked to swear.

But seriously, this was super fun to watch. It's not too often we get to see Gary Cooper, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and plenty of others breaking character and just being themselves.

It's definitely worth a watch and is free on the Roku Channel or the IMDb TV app.

I'm Baaaaaack

Ok, well the last time I posted anything here was in 2014. Honestly, I kind of forgot about this until Google told me I had some unclaimed ad money from this blog. Fabulous!

My posts before this were sporadic, but I'm determined to keep up with it this time. My love for old things hasn't changed!

So, what's been taking up my time the last 8 years? Mostly taking care of children. There are three of them. My oldest, Eliza, is 10. Did I name her after My Fair Lady. YES. Also, when we were dating my husband randomly told me he'd always liked the name Eliza and that's how I knew we were going to get married.

My son, Harrison, is 8. Is he named after Rex Harrison? YES. Is he named after Harrison Ford. YES. George Harrison? YES. Also, it's a family name. It's just the name that keeps on giving!

My second daughter, Amelia, is 5. She's not named after anything, we just thought it was cute.

What else has changed? I no longer have TCM and we stream everything. My old movie supply generally comes from the library. I mostly watch my kids watch Disney movies. Some of them are good. I have not done a great job of showing them classic films, but they do have an enduring love for Bye Bye Birdie and Elvis videos on Youtube. We've watched a handful of Judy Garland movies, most of which they are not super impressed with, but I will win them over yet!

Now that all the children are in school all day, I'm hoping I have time to write more. Perhaps this blog will start chronicling our adventures watching old movies as a family, or reacquainting myself with them on my own. Either way, I'm looking forward to getting back into it.