It's obvious that crabby professor James Stewart would rather his son Billy Mumy be a ballet dancer than a mathematician, but if he really cared about his son's reputation, he wouldn't have named him Erasmus. Then there's his daughter Pandora (usually referred to by a flowery nickname I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy), making me surprised that his wife Glynis Johns hasn't taken the kids and left him. The way that he bellows at everyone in this Disney like comedy (Stewart standing in for Fred MacMurray) makes him instantly dislikeable, and it's unbelievable that a lecture on the evils of science in his college class would get laughs from the students.
The presence of Johns and Ed Wynn adds to the Disney like feeling of this film, and that instantly dated this as these types of family comedies do not truthfully represent the eras they are set in. Fabian is there to try to get in the teen audience, and pretty much any young actor could have done what he's given to do. The houseboat set (docked on the San Francisco waterfront) is colorful, but nobody's going to see a movie to get decorating ideas.
Stewart is insufferable in this, outshined by the supporting cast which also includes Jesse White, Percy Helton and the delightful Alice Pearce. Bridgette Bardot has a cameo, tying her in to Mumy's unbelievable crush on her. 20th Century Fox obviously wanted an opportunity to reuse the giant computer from "Desk Set" (then going on 8 years old), and it is amusing to watch Mumy outsmart it. Crooks use him for sinister purposes in a ridiculous plot twist. Director Henry Koster and Stewart fail in their efforts to appear hip, making this a complete disappointment in nearly every way.
The presence of Johns and Ed Wynn adds to the Disney like feeling of this film, and that instantly dated this as these types of family comedies do not truthfully represent the eras they are set in. Fabian is there to try to get in the teen audience, and pretty much any young actor could have done what he's given to do. The houseboat set (docked on the San Francisco waterfront) is colorful, but nobody's going to see a movie to get decorating ideas.
Stewart is insufferable in this, outshined by the supporting cast which also includes Jesse White, Percy Helton and the delightful Alice Pearce. Bridgette Bardot has a cameo, tying her in to Mumy's unbelievable crush on her. 20th Century Fox obviously wanted an opportunity to reuse the giant computer from "Desk Set" (then going on 8 years old), and it is amusing to watch Mumy outsmart it. Crooks use him for sinister purposes in a ridiculous plot twist. Director Henry Koster and Stewart fail in their efforts to appear hip, making this a complete disappointment in nearly every way.