Distributor:
Walt Disney | 1961 | 129 mins Certificate: G Director:
David Swift Cast: Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, Charles
Ruggles, Leo G. Carroll, Joanna Barnes Extras: Yes
Hayley
Mills’ second movie for Disney
was deservedly a huge hit on
it’s release in 1961 (and has
since spawned a whole host of
imitations, sequels and
remakes).
Based
on a novel by Erich Kastner (of
Emil and the Detectives Fame)
the Parent Trap sees Hayley
taking dual roles as Sharon
McKendrick and Susan Evers, twin
sisters unaware of each others
existence until a chance meeting
at a summer camp, their parents
having divorced when the girls
were babies. Sharon and Susan
decide the ideal situation would
be for their parents (the always
wonderful Maureen O’Hara and
craggy Brian Keith) to get back
together, only problem is their
father is planning to remarry
(to Joanna Barnes).
Enormous
fun, a really good family movie, Hayley Mills was a big star after the
success of her first Disney movie Pollyanna and is a real charmer; The
Parent Trap also features one of the first examples of blue screen
technology, here known as Travelling Matte Photography.
The
Parent Trap is certainly still as enjoyable watched today as it would
have been on its cinema release.
EXTRAS: A good set of extras make this
release a cut above; first up is an audio commentary from director David
Swift and Hayley Mills (audio commentaries on older movies are always
interesting, those involved always tend to be more honest, the benefit
of hindsight and all that);
The
Parent Trap: Caught In The Act is a warm 20 minute look back at the
making of the movie; Disney Studio Album is a vintage montage of what
Disney had on release in 1961; Seeing Double is a 10 minute feature on
the visual effects used in the movie; Two photo galleries (one on set
stills, the other production design), there is also a storyboard of the
camping sequence; Finally there is a selection looking at advertising
for the movie, from lobby cards, posters and various merchandise
(including an entire comic book, album sleeves etc).
