Yours, Mine and Ours

A widowed naval officer with ten children and a widow with eight decide to marry, and the household that results has eighteen. The comedy comes straight out of the arithmetic: who sleeps where, who counts as whose older brother, how the laundry gets done. Melville Shavelson took the story from the real Beardsley family, so the number is not an exaggeration. The difference in register between Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda is what makes it run, she harried, he calm, both exhausted. Its sharpest observation is that step-siblinghood is built through taking sides. It is surprisingly grounded for a sixties family comedy, and it still sweetens everything at the end. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood family comedy and Lucille Ball. Who it is not for: anyone wanting sharp humour, since this stays warm throughout.