Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

JohnHowardReid A Jerry Wald Production for Company of Artists/20th Century-Fox. Copyright 25 May 1962 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Paramount: 15 June 1962. U.S. release: July 1962. U.K. release: 22 July 1962. 10,350 feet. 115 minutes.SYNOPSIS: In "Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation", Stewart was playing his own age as banker Roger Hobbs but looking much more spruce than he had for some time. He was felicitously teamed with the redoubtable Maureen O'Hara, playing his wife Peggy who mounts a family reunion at a holiday cottage instead of the quiet vacation he'd been hoping for... Farcical situations (are) helped by the presence of teenagers' favorite, Fabian. The film had surprisingly wide appeal. — Allen Eyles in his excellent biographic book, "James Stewart".NOTES: Commenced shooting: 21 November 1961. Locations: Carillo Beach, Zuma Beach. Novelist Edward Streeter's most popular novel was "Father of the Bride" (1949).COMMENT: The idea packs plenty of promise, but only a third of that potential is actually realized on the screen, partly because some of the jests are stretched out way beyond their chuckle-some capacity, but mostly because Henry Koster's direction is so heavy-handed. Ask this guy to boil a two-minute egg and he'll bake it in an oven for a couple of hours.Nonetheless, the players try hard (perhaps too hard). Some of our favorites can be spotted in support slots. But one of the "stars" of the film is undoubtedly the wonderfully ruinous beach-house itself, "like something out of Edgar Allan Poe," as James Stewart's character tartly comments.In all, reasonably entertaining, but it could have been better!

pisellimatt I am reading reviews of Mr Hobbs takes a vacation and can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading .. "boring script?" ... "miscasted" .. I firmly believe anyone who doesn't like this movie was not born in the 60's or never took a vacation with his family .. This is a simple story of a simple time .. sorry no sex violence .. Jimmy Stewart doesn't turn into a Zombie ... it's just a pure and simple movie filmed during a pure and simple time .. and yet some of the issues are still here today: family troubles, growing up with braces, identifying and communicating with a Grandfather ..I smile ear to ear when I see this BECAUSE it doesn't have sex or violence .. it merely transports me to a simpler time when my Mom and Dad poured us all into the back of the station wagon .. me complaining the whole time .. and yet when it was over I was so sad to leave and have memories I still cherish ..So sad they don't make these type of movies anymore... it simply wouldn't sell ...

earlytalkie As of this writing, "Hobbs" is approaching it's fiftieth anniversary. I saw this for the first time in the summer of 1962 as a nine-year old and loved it then. I love it to this day. The film plays somewhat like a widescreen color sitcom made for the theater. It is episodic in nature, but hen so is "Auntie Mame", another favorite of mine. There are laugh-out-loud moments and quiet, heartwarming moments mixed in equal measure to produce a family film that is very satisfying to watch. The cast is uniformly good with special mention to John Macgiver and Marie Wilson as the hilarious Turners, and Minerva Urecal as the Hobbs' dragon-like housekeeper. James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara spark some real chemistry here, and the production is easy on the eyes with some lovely location shooting, and wrapped up in a classic Henry Mancini score that will leave you humming the title song.

Chase_Witherspoon Mild account of Stewart, O'Hara an daughters taking a long overdue vacation to a seaside community where they mix (at times uneasily) with locals and entertain visitors in a vast holiday house on the beach. Domestic problems come and go, teenager Lauri Peters takes up with Fabian and his adolescent attempt at a beard, while John McGiver and wife Marie Wilson play a bland couple who spend a chaotic few nights with the Hobbs' with disastrous results.It's passive family fare, the most action you'll see being Stewart and his young son becoming lost in fog while enjoying a defining father-son bonding experience in a sailboat and a pre-dawn bird-spotting adventure. Generally good cast features Natalie Trundy playing one of the Hobbs daughters, while John Saxon has a small supporting role as one of the spouses.The film finishes where it began with Stewart back in the boardroom, but with closer relationships with his children as a result of the experience. Might be a bit dated for the contemporary family, it's very tame, inoffensive viewing ideal for the kids on a wet afternoon.