The well meaning Minna Gombell takes the place of father here, making daughter Jean Rogers upset by the things that she says to her boyfriend's, while father William Frawley (in a rare leading role) is much more sensible and always knows the right thing to say. Even when Gombell tries to steer clear off of subjects that make the boyfriends run out, she still ends up ruining everything so father has to step in to play Mr fix it.
It's obvious to me that this was a possible entry to a series that never came to be. The family also consists of amateur magician son Jay Ward and piano playing daughter Cora Sue Collins (who plays the same song over and over again), and is very similar in many ways to the Jones family films also released by 20th Century Fox during this time.
This is a very funny sitcom style film with Frawley celebrating the fact that he's just been made town supervisor, and gossip in the town getting around before he has the chance to tell anybody. Of the kids, Ward is the most amusing, his magic antics quite clever, able to make plates on the dining table move as if they are a mouth talking. The egg in the hat trick is also very funny. Gombell underplays the role of the grasping mother which is fortunate because otherwise she would have come off as obnoxious and nasty. Rogers' character of the oldest daughter is actually pretty dull. At under an hour however, this is certainly quite watchable and made me want a bit more of this wacky family.
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