Maureen O'Hara and Delmer Daves Team Up for Spencer's Mountain and Battle of the Villa Fiorita

Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara.

In the twilight of his career, talented writer-director Delmer Daves teamed up with Maureen O’Hara for Spencer’s Mountain (1963) and The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1965). These two very different films surprisingly share a common theme: the relationship between children and their parents.

The more conventional of the two is Spencer’s Mountain, a family drama set in a rural community in the mountains of Wyoming. Henry Fonda stars as Clay Spencer, the hard-working patriarch who shares a modest home with his practical wife Olivia (Maureen O’Hara), their nine children, and his old-fashioned parents.

MacArthur amid the mountains.

When not laboring at the local quarry, Clay works on the “dream house” he’s been building for years. Finances are always a worry, though, and become more so when a college scholarship falls through for Clay-boy (James MacArthur), the eldest son. Wanting their son to have the education they never did, both parents struggle to figure out how to pay for Clay-boy’s tuition.

If elements of Spencer’s Mountain sound familiar, that’s because it was based on a book written by Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of The Waltons TV series. A key difference is that Maureen O’Hara’s mother is relegated to the background, while Michael Learned figured much more prominently in the TV series. The show also restored the book’s original setting of rural Virginia.

Back when TBS showed older films (and TCM was but a dream), Spencer's Mountain was shown on the latter station two or three times a year (or so it seemed). It’s a well-intentioned movie, but tries too hard to be a heart-warming family drama. When a fired-up Clay goes to see the college dean about Clay-boy’s scholarship, you just know that the dean will be impressed enough with Clay’s gumption to bend the rules a little. It’s that kind of movie.

Rossano Brazzi and Maureen O'Hara as hopeless lovers.

Maureen O’Hara has a much juicer role in The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, in which she plays a middle-aged British woman who falls madly in love with an Italian composer (Rossano Brazzi). The only problem is that she’s married and has two teenage children (who attend boarding schools). The lovers, Moira and Lorenzo, cannot stay apart from one another, so Moira decides to leave her husband. He is shocked, but does not stand in his wife’s way.

Elizabeth Dear as Debby.

However, Moira’s daughter Debby (Elizabeth Dear) and son Michael (Martin Stephens) are displeased with the situation and trek to Italy to “fetch” their mother back. While this may sound like the premise for a comedy, it is not. (Your big clue should be that it was based on a novel by Black Narcissus author Rumer Godden). Moira’s children eventually conspire with Lorenzo’s twelve-year-old daughter (Olivia Hussey) to break up their parents.

Director Daves, who also explored middle-aged love in A Summer Place, opens the film with an inventive sequence in which we “hear” Moira and Lorenzo thinking about how they met. However, the sequence where the kids travel to Italy plays out like a boring travelogue (reminiscent of Daves’ pedestrian Rome Adventure). Fortunately, Battle regains its footing when Debby and Michael meet Lorenzo for the first time.

Olivia Hussey as Donna.

There are no villains in The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, only people with good intentions who make bad decisions. Lorenzo’s initial instincts are good—he wants to send the children home. But that plan goes awry when Michael falls ill and Debby appeals to his paternal emotions. Lorenzo only makes matters worse when he decides to bring the “new family” together by inviting his daughter—whom he barely knows—to visit. It’s easy to paint the children as the bad guys, but their motives are sincere if brutally selfish.

The child actors steal the film from the adults, though Martin Stephens—so good in The Innocents and Village of the Damned—is somewhat wasted. In contrast, Olivia Hussey, in her first film role, and Elizabeth Dear convey both childhood innocence and deviousness in equal measure.

The Battle of the Villa Fiorita was Delmer Daves’ final film. Maureen O’Hara appeared sporadically in a handful of films over the next 35 years. She retired for good after appearing in the 2000 made-for-TV movie The Last Dance.

Jimmy Takes a Vacation, Clint Fights a Grizzly, and George Gobel Channels Henry Fonda

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962). In the best of his 1960s family comedies, James Stewart plays Roger Hobbs, a successful St. Louis banker who has spent too much time in the office. His plans for a quiet vacation are dashed when he learns that his wife Peggy (Maureen O'Hara) has invited the entire family for a a month on the California coast. The clan includes teenage children Katey and Danny, adult daughters Susie and Janie, their husbands, the grandchildren, and the grumpy family housekeeper. To make matters worse, when the Hobbs arrive at their beach house, they find a dump with rotted-out steps, no water pressure, and mounds of dust. Furthermore, except for Peggy, no one wants to be there.

Lauri Peters and Fabian.

Fortunately, this is one of those 1960s comedies where it's inevitable that everything will work out in the end. Thus, Roger spends the summer reconnecting with each of his children in unexpected ways. Veteran screenwriter Nunnally Johnson sneaks in a few offbeat touches, such as Roger referring to his grandson as "the little creep." Still, Mr. Hobbs is a formula picture and a very long one at that (clocking in at almost two hours). Its modest success can be attributed to its likable (and interesting) cast. The supporting players include: teen heartthrob Fabian; Lauri Peters, who was Tony-nominated as one of the Von Trapp children in the original production of The Sound of Music and later married Jon Voight; and Marie Wilson, who played the title role in Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis' film debut My Friend Irma.

The Night of the Grizzly (1966). Until viewing this film recently, I could have sworn it was about a frontier family fending off a night-long grizzly bear attack. Well, The Night of the Grizzly does feature a frontier family and there's a grizzly--but the plot similarities end there. Instead, we get Clint Walker as Big Jim Cole, who has just moved his family to the town of Hope after inheriting Grandpappy's 640-acre farm ("the richest section of land in the whole territory"). To Big Jim's dismay, he discovers the house needs major repairs and that Grandpappy owed $175 on a $500 loan. The Cole family's problems don't end there: mean Jed Curry (Keenan Wynn) wants the property and Big Jim's livestock are being killed by a 1500-pound grizzly named Satan ("he just kills for the wicked fun of it").

Gypsy--after the skunk encounter.

With exteriors shot in scenic San Bernardino National Forest, The Night of the Grizzly aims to be a family film along the lines of Old Yeller. There are amusing scenes (six-year-old Gypsy eating by herself after being sprayed by a skunk) to go along with the grizzly encounters. Unfortunately, there are too few of the latter--for a movie with a ferocious bear in the title, there are not enough scenes with the "savage, senseless killer." All that remains is a perfunctory frontier family saga that wastes nice turns by Leo Gordon and Jack Elam. Gordon plays an ex-convict that hates Big Jim, but has a soft spot for Jim's son Charlie (Kevin Brodie). Elam portrays another of his grizzled town layabouts who develops a sweet friendship with little Gypsy (Victoria Paige Meyerink).

George Gobel and Mitzi Gaynor.

The Birds and the Bees (1956). After a lengthy expedition in the Congo, George Hamilton II--the heir to the Hamilton Hotdogs empire--boards an ocean liner to return home to Connecticut. Buried in his books and preoccupied with his pet snake Emma, George is oblivious to all the young, fortune-hunting women pursuing him--that is, until he trips (literally) over Jean Harris. The naive George falls hard for Jean--not realizing that she and her father are con artists after his money.

Niven as a card sharp.

Wait a minute, you say! Didn't I just describe the plot to Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve? You're right, of course, The Birds and the Bees is a semi-musical remake of the Sturges classic with Mitzi Gaynor as Jean, George Gobel as George, and David Niven as Jean's father. While Sturges purists may argue with the casting, Mitzi Gaynor (who has never looked lovelier) gives one of her best performances as the con artist who falls in love with her target. Personally, it took me awhile to warm up to George Gobel's doe-eyed protagonist, but his innate low-key charm eventually won me over. Still, one's opinion on this remake will likely hinge on whether you accept Gobel in the Henry Fonda role.

One of television's first big stars in the 1950s, George Gobel had little success on the big screen. However, he continued to be a mainstay on television, whether showing up as a Tonight Show guest or appearing as a regular for several years on The Hollywood Squares.

1960s Twin Bill: "The Rare Breed" and "Blackbeard's Ghost"

James Stewart.

The Rare Breed

With the exception of The Flight of the Phoenix, James Stewart didn't get a lot of worthy roles in the 1960s. He was in his mid-fifties when the decade began, so instead of his typical romantic leads and loner heroes, he played a lot of patriarchs in lukewarm fare like Dear Brigitte, Shenandoah, and Take Her, She's Mine (I admit having a soft spot for Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation). Stewart also continued to appear frequently in Westerns, where his now-graying hair only added to his tough exterior. One of his better horse operas of the period was The Rare Breed, a modest effort bolstered by a strong cast and an offbeat premise.

Maureen O'Hara.

Maureen O'Hara stars as a (typically) spunky, yet refined, English woman who's intent on realizing her deceased husband's dream of cross-breeding longhorn steers with Herefords. When she sells a prized Hereford bull named Vindicator, Stewart's crusty ranch hand agrees to deliver the bull to its new owner. Along the way, O'Hara, Stewart, and Juliet Mills (as O'Hara's daughter) spar with a pair of crooks, who--along with Stewart's character--plan to steal the bull. The plot changes direction at the mid-point when the trio arrive at the ranch of a Scottish rancher (played by an almost unrecognizable Brian Keith), who takes a romantic interest in O'Hara.

Yes, that's Brian Keith!

The film's first half is a lazy hodgepodge that shifts back and forth from a lighthearted Western (with big barroom brawls) to a more serious film (where people are killed in cold blood). Still, The Rare Breed settles down in its second half, becoming more of a character study, with Stewart's loner--having lost O'Hara's trust and affections--finally finding meaning in his life.

The three veteran leads are solid, with Keith having a grand time with his Scottish brogue. Yet, Juliet Mills (Nanny and the Professor) comes off best as a young woman with true grit. (It's fun to see O'Hara, Keith, and Mills together, since the first two starred with Juliet's sister, Hayley, in The Parent Trap.)

From a production standpoint, the film's scenic landscapes are undermined by poor-looking rear screen shots and stunt doubles that barely resemble the stars.

Blackbeard's Ghost

Peter Ustinov and an atmospheric coastal setting make Blackbeard's Ghost one of Disney's better live action comedies of the late 1960s. Disney regular Dean Jones stars as Steve Walker, the new track coach for Godolphin College. Steve arrives in the quaint seaside town on the night of the Buccaneer Bazaar, a fund-raising effort for the elderly Daughters of the Buccaneers. The nice old ladies are in financial trouble, because a local gangster has bought their mortgage and wants full payment. His plan is to boot them out of their inn so he can replace it with a casino.

That night, Steve, who is staying at the inn, inadvertently calls forth Blackbeard's ghost when he recites a spell from a witch's book. Blackbeard (Ustinov) explains that he's been caught in "limbo," destined never to join his ghostly crew until--as Steve later discovers--the pirate performs a good deed. This will obviously be a challenge for the whiny, surprisingly sensitive, rum-drinking buccaneer.

Peter Ustinov and Dean Jones.

Though based on a children's novel by Ben Stahl, Blackbeard's Ghost recycles many familiar elements from earlier Disney films. In lieu of a wacky basketball game (The Absent-Minded Professor) or football game (Son of Flubber), we get a track meet where Blackbeard--who's invisible to everyone but Steve--helps Godolphin College's unimposing athletes earn an unlikely victory. Predictably, Steve's eventual love interest (played by the always likable Suzanne Pleshette) dates the gruff football coach who dislikes Steve. The gangsters are a thick-headed bunch except for their leader, the appropriately-named Silky Seymour (well played by Joby Baker, another Disney regular).

Suzanne Pleshette.

While it may all sound rather predictable, Blackbeard's Ghost gets a huge boost from Peter Ustinov, who transforms the bloody pirate into a reluctant and amusing hero. Ustinov even keeps in check his tendency to play some roles too broadly. Of course, a little blustering seems appropriate for a famous pirate. The end result is that, despite the film's derivative aspects, Ustinov makes Blackbeard's Ghost a diverting way to spend an evening.

Hayley Mills Times Two in "The Parent Trap"

Following the delightful Pollyanna (1960), Hayley Mills and writer-director David Swift teamed up again for The Parent Trap, Disney’s best live-action comedy. The gimmick of having Hayley play twins was achieved through then-innovative use of traveling mattes and split screens. It works amazingly well, but the film’s enduring appeal has nothing to do with its clever special effects. The Parent Trap retains its popularity because if its ability to function as a smart, romantic comedy (for adults) and an enjoyable children’s film (in which the teen protagonists outwit their elders).  

The story begins at Camp Inch with 13-years-olds Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick discovering they’re twins separated at an early age when their parents divorced. Determined to reunite their mother (Maureen O’Hara) and father (Brian Keith), the girls trade places. Their scheme encounters a major obstacle, however, when Sharon learns that Dad plans to marry a young, gold-digging socialite (Joanna Barnes). 

Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara.

It’s a simple framework that allows the winning performances and sharply written script to shine. Brian Keith unselfishly plays straight man while Hayley and Maureen O’Hara get most of the funny scenes. Still, they’re almost upstaged by supporting players Joanna Barnes and Leo G. Carroll, who each deliver some of the film’s best lines. After talking sweetly about Sharon in front of her father, Joanna Barnes’ character confides to her mother: “First change I make in that household is off she goes to a boarding school in Switzerland.” As a whimsical priest charmed by Maureen O’Hara’s ex-wife, Leo G. Carroll absentmindedly remarks to the new fiancée and her mother: “Delightful, charming woman…it’s amazing how he let her slip away from him.”

The film’s breezy nature and charm mask two major flaws in its premise. First, how could any parents be so cruel as to separate twin sisters—and never even tell them about one another? Secondly, it’s obvious that the parents are still very much in love, so why did they split up in the first place? Since any answers would be unsatisfactory, writer-director Swift wisely chooses to ignore them altogether. 

Joanna Barnes in the original.

The Disney studio produced a pleasant remake of The Parent Trap in 1998 with Lindsay Lohan as the twins (and Joanna Barnes as the mother of the fiancee she played in the original). In the 1980s, Hayley Mills reprised her roles as grown-up versions of Susan and Sharon in three made-for-cable sequels. Interestingly, Eric Kastner’s book was filmed previously as the seldom-shown British comedy Twice Upon a Time. 

Trivia fans, take note: The duet that Hayley sings with herself, “Let’s Get Together,” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 40 chart in 1961. Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands recorded the title song for The Parent Trap between takes on their movie Babes in Toyland. Finally, the uncredited Susan Henning-Schutte played the other twin in the scenes where it wasn’t necessary to show Hayley’s face.