Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
1962  NR  COMEDY  1h 56min
CAST— James Stewart, Maureen O’Hara, Fabian, John Saxon, Marie Wilson, Reginald Gardiner
MUSIC— Henri Mancini  DIRECTOR— Henry Koster  BASED ON— Mr. Hobbs’ Vacation (novel), by Edward Streeter

     Average family man Roger Hobbs decides to take his family to a beach house for a month long vacation. Big mistake. Soon everything starts to go haywire and Hobbs is powerless to stop it; the water pump breaks down, the cook quits, the children rebel, etc., all with predictable results. The film is kept afloat by Stewart’s natural charm and naiveté, but otherwise there’s nothing special here. The best scenes include the future employers of Hobbs’ son-in-law, the Turners. Their lack of grace and character tend to brighten things up a bit. Many of the same comic situations were stolen for Summer Rental (1985), but if you were to choose between the two, you might be better off with Stewart instead of Candy.
OUR RATING— ** ½