Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation is a 1962 American comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara. The film is based on a novel by Edward Streeter and features popular singer Fabian.

Plot

Mr. Hobbs (James Stewart) is an overworked business man who seeks a quiet seaside vacation with his wife (Maureen O'Hara) and family, including his grown daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. What he finds is a dilapidated beach house, nosey neighbors, and everything Hobbs does creates further complications. His teenage son Danny (Michael Burns) only wants to watch television. His youngest daughter Katey (Lauri Peters), with a new set of braces, refuses to leave the beach house. One of his sons-in-law, Stan (Josh Peine), is unemployed and Hobbs must escort his potential employer (John McGiver) on a bird-watching jaunt. Hobb's oldest daughter is married to the aloof professor Byron (John Saxon), with unorthodox ideas about disciplining children and the family dynamic. Through it all, Hobbs finds time to take Danny on a boating trip, escort Katey to a dance and a read a few pages of War and Peace while sunning on the beach.

Production

Nunnally Johnson wrote the screenplay to Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation based on Edward Streeter's novel of the same name. Streeter had previously penned the novel Father of the Bride, which was filmed in 1950 and remade in 1991. Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation was filmed in California on Laguna Beach and at Dana Point. It marked the first time James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara starred together in a film. They would co-star again in the 1966 western The Rare Breed. During the scene where Mr. Hobbs escorts his daughter Katey to a dance at the yacht club, Herb Alpert is the trumpet player in the band.

Reception

The film was relatively successful in America upon its release on June 15, 1962, earning $4 million with an estimated budget of $2 million, but found even greater success when released overseas. James Stewart garnered the Berlin International Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his hilarious performance, and director Henry Koster was nominated for Best Director. Stewart was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy. The screenplay by Nunnally Johnson was nominated for Best Written Comedy by the Writers Guild of America. Stewart and Maureen O'Hara were also nominated for their performances by the Laurel Awards. Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation's success inspired a series of light-hearted comedies starring James Stewart including Take Her, She's Mine (1963) and Dear Brigitte (1965), taking him away from the western movies he had become a staple of. The film is still aired on cable channels, and has developed a cult following that helped the film be released on DVD.