Maureen O'Hara at Reel Classics, Page 4

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Maureen O'Hara

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"Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to."

A film which continues to survive modern remakes and has become a holiday classic, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) is not just a children's movie about a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus. It's also a film about a middle-aged, working mother who doesn't believe in anything, and that is perhaps the greater message. Also featuring Natalie Wood, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Gene Lockhart, William Frawley, and Thelma Ritter in her screen debut, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET earned three Oscars in 1947 and a nomination for Best Picture. Even if it's not Christmas time, go rent this one if you haven't seen it in a while.

One of my favorite family movies, Disney's THE PARENT TRAP (1961) featured O'Hara and Brian Keith as a divorced couple whose twin daughters (both played by Hayley Mills) meet at camp and switch places in an effort to get their parents back together again. Even if the approach to divorce is a little dated, this movie is still a lot of fun.

Video Clip:

See a clip from THE PARENT TRAP in which Sharon and Susan deliver an ultimatum to their parents: join us on a family campout, or we won't tell you who's who. (a .MOV file courtesy The Walt Disney Company).

(For help opening this file, visit the plug-ins page.)

O'Hara and Jimmy Stewart dancing up a storm in MR. HOBBS TAKES A VACATION (1962). The couple discovers that renting a house at the beach for the summer is not necessarily all sunshine and lollipops if the various family members can't get along. A typical '60s family feud vacation film.