CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Laraine Elizabeth Turner Great, old-fashioned musical for the family. As we began watching this action-packed musical, we were a little confused at first. I love the plot, which is loosely based on the true story of the Biddle family of Philadelphia. I loved the fact that the story is about a Christian man who is rich and even eccentric! Played by Fred MacMurray, one of my favorites, he showcases a great singing talent. Leslie Anne Warren made her debut in this film and also shows her dancing, singing talent, as well as acting (and looks beautiful in her costumes). The scenery caught my eye, but at first, I thought there was too much singing and dancing. I think Robert Sherman, who wrote the beautiful songs for "Mary Poppins" could have composed some better, more catchy tunes. (Although "Detroit" had been on my mind a long time after the movie). Tommy Steele is absolutely adorable. (I loved when he was speaking to the camera and Fred MacMurray, Mr. Biddle, asks, "Who are you talking to?" Hilarious.John Davidson also looks great and showcases his singing, dancing and acting talents in his debut performance. What kept me watching during this long movie, at first, was the scenery and the alligator pets! I think this was a great film, but the songs, again, could have been better--to keep viewers better engaged. (Maybe not so many songs, also). The ending was a bit disappointing--maybe could have showed the alligators just one more time to add humor. But, all in all, a great family film. I applaud Walt Disney films!

davepitts This laughably bad musical gets 2 stars just because it's fun to watch in the "What were they thinking?" mode. It's impossibly long. On DVD, in the road show version, it is the death and burial of 172 minutes of your life. Every 5 minutes, another horrible song, usually in the bad music hall style of 60s variety shows. For the beau you get the #1 Macy's mannequin of 60s TV, John Davidson, here named ANGIE DUKE!! (Again, what were they thinking? Angie Duke, a name to be archived for a denim-thonged cutie on the Dukes of Hazzard?) For cheery butler, you get Tommy Steele, grinning insanely and kicking up his heels -- very much like the Lawrence Welk vocalists who smile, smile, smile, smile as they sing. Number after number, all done in an exaggerated, high-stepping, head-tossing style. As I watched it, I dreaded any line of dialogue that might result in another inane song. And by the way, what child wants to sit through this many charmless easy listenin' ditties just to see a few scenes with runaway alligators? In 172 minutes, there's almost no story. Fred MacMurray (pretty good, but he can't do much with a part that has him saying, "Blast!" in every scene) is a Philadelphia millionaire who raises alligators and conducts musical Bible lessons with local marine recruits. His daughter gets engaged to a young New Yorker with an equally boring family. That's pretty much it. A few mysteries: Why did they include the 2 sons(Eddie Hodges and Paul Peterson)? After an early scene where they scare off their sister's suitor (and, of course, perform a cheery, exaggerated song), they vanish. Why were voice doubles used for MacMurray and Greer Garson toward the end? I guess the DVD included a restored scene with a damaged soundtrack. The MacMurray double was notably "off." Good cast in a long, charmless, cheerless stinker.

pfeffermuse I purchased this as a gift for a friend, who had raved for the longest time about how enjoyable this film was. She was happy; I was bored.The good: Bright, bubbly, effervescent Disney cinema. Excellent set design, with colourful sets. Tommy Steele is engaging, although his use of breaking the fourth wall becomes tedious after a while -- Dick Van Dyke he's not. Fred MacMurray surprised me. I'd forgotten that he actually did have a musical background, and while even Dennis Day would never have to fear his singing talent, he did manage to breathe emotion into his songs. (Not an easy task, considering how insipid the lyrics were.)The bad: It's clear from the opening music that the intention of Walt Disney was to top Mary Poppins. Having set the bar that high to begin with, the film falters, sputters and stalls before it ever leaves the starting gate. The songs are forgettable. While the dancing is energetic, it's clear that the choreographer lifted the Chimney Sweep dance whole cloth from Mary Poppins, so few steps were changed.The ugly: This is a movie in search of a plot. Whereas Meet Me in St. Louis had a brilliant score and strong direction to make up for its lack of plot, The Happiest Millionaire just drags. It's rather hard to cheer for MacMurray's Mr. Biddle, who is apparently a non-conformist who marches to his own drum, when he seems so white bread and square. (For the role as it should have been played, see Clifton Webb's turn in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker.) There's also some down home Disney politicization occurring in the film. MacMurray's Mr. Biddle is very much in favour of America's joining England and France in World War I. While no one expects a Disney film to readily acknowledge the horrors of war, at a time when gas attacks and the brutality of trench warfare were known (the film was set in 1916), MacMurray's gung-ho attitude is off-putting. As this film was released in 1967, at a time when US involvement in Vietnam was starting to turn), it's pretty obvious that Uncle Walt was attempting some kind of pro-war message.The film is safe for children, and they'd likely find it enjoyable. However, you might want to show it in two parts. At nearly three hours, the padding is very visible.

bexhillz this is one of my most favourite movies,and i love the story and the songs and tommy Steele is my favourite actor and his role in this film is great, my most favourite song is by-um-pum-pum sung by Cordy's flat mate when she is at school and my favourite line from the movie is 'wll now, to have you alligators thaw out and you daughter forgive you all in the same bright day, thats fortuasity' even though the film was made even before i was born i still love it. and as the film is a musical, thats another reason why i like it as musicals are my most favourite genre of film. this film is worth watching for the whole family