"Cheaper by the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.
Acting
Clifton Webb's hilariously precise Frank Gilbreth steals every scene.
Costume
Authentic 1920s family fashion that screams 'we had a dress code for dinner.'
Writing
Witty family banter that actually feels like real siblings.
Director
Walter Lang
Clifton Webb
Frank Gilbreth
Jeanne Crain
Ann Gilbreth
Myrna Loy
Lillian Gilbreth
Betty Lynn
Deborah Lancaster
Edgar Buchanan
Dr. Burton
Barbara Bates
Ernestine Gilbreth
Mildred Natwick
Mrs. Mebane
Sara Allgood
Mrs. Monahan
Patti Brady
Martha Gilbreth (uncredited)
Jimmy Hunt
William Gilbreth (uncredited)
Carol Nugent
Lillie Gilbreth (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Gilbreth children were living industrial engineering pioneers; two consulted on the film. Clifton Webb was so committed he learned Morse code for the dinner table scene.
This 1950 adaptation deliberately softens the real Frank Gilbreth's harsher methods, creating a nostalgic portrait of 'scientific' parenthood that postwar audiences craved.
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