Product Details

• Actors: James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Fabian, Lauri Peters, Lili Gentle
• Directors: Henry Koster
• Writers: Edward Streeter, Nunnally Johnson
• Producers: Jerry Wald, Marvin A. Gluck
• Format: Widescreen, Color, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005
• Run Time: 116 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009X75WE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,561 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Mr Hobbs Takes a Vacation" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

James Stewart reunites with his Harvey director, Henry Koster, in this 1962 comedy, which is charming enough even though it doesn't seem quite up to the level of talent involved. (The screenwriter is the legendary Nunnally Johnson--writer and director of The Three Faces of Eve, among many other titles--and the music is by Henry Mancini.) But it is pleasant, summery entertainment with Stewart and his screen wife, Maureen O'Hara, taking their urban family to a crumbling, seaside house for a vacation. The film was calculated to pull in older fans with Stewart as well as draw in a younger crowd that would enjoy the fairly extensive beach scenes with pop-star Fabian. Stewart is deft with the easy jokes about bad plumbing and such, and golden in several nice moments where he gets to play an attentive dad to his kids. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

When James Stewart decides to take his family on vacation in California, he needs another vacation to recover. Co-stars Fabian.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Jimmy Stewart at his comedic best! January 2, 2004

By Merritt Andrews

Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am still amazed at the number of people who haven't seen this movie! Mr. Stewart even narrates, here and there, throughout the story, this wonderful tale of his summer vacation with his family at a rented beach house, along with the family maid. There is a running gag throughout the picture about the plumbing and the maid misunderstands the English language, and Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs try very hard to understand their adorable teen-age daughter (Lauri Peters) who falls in love with an adorable boy (played by none other than Fabian!), who shows up at the local dance and then there's a son who prefers to watch westerns on TV all day and night. There's a sexpot neighbor that lives in a nearby beach house who attempts to read War and Peace, and later the Hobb's daughters show up with the misbehaving grandchildren and want nothing to do with "Boompa", otherwise known as Mr.Hobbs! Don't miss the scene when Jimmy Stewart bird-watches with his son-in-in-law's boss and learns "the proper walk". The chemistry between Maureen O'Hara and James Stewart is so wonderful, it's no wonder they were so successful in several films together! She is so convincing as the jealous wife, especially when Jimmy innocently tries to help his son-in-law's boss's wife (Marie Wilson) while she is in the shower and runs into trouble........don't miss it, you'll laugh all the way through this marvelous movie. Let's hope Twentieth Century Fox soon gives us a widescreen DVD version with extras, like an interview with Maureen O'Hara & Lauri Peters!

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good medicine. August 30, 2002

By Margaret Bauer

Format:VHS Tape

I have seen this movie about ten times. Recently I recommended it to a friend who is going through a depression. It is guaranteed to bring one out of any doldrums. Why? Because it is soooo very
funny!

Scene after scene did in my funny bones. I laughed until my tummy ached. Marvelous are Stewart and O'Hara, but Marie Wilson(Remember "My Friend, Irma") and John McGiver are more than marvelous in their roles. They play a couple of 'supposed to be' tea totlers who are guests in the seaside, summer house rented by Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs played by Stewart and O'Hara. Wilson's steamy shower scene and McGiver's lessons in birdwatching are just about the funniest I have seen on screen in almost sixty years. I place this film with great comedies such as: "The Egg and I." and "As Good As It Gets" "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" IS as good as it ever gets.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a couple of old smoothies on the loose July 4, 2000

By hardly_b

Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really like this movie. Stewart is perfectly cast, and his voice-overs masterful in providing the ironic commentary on the events as they unfold. The scenes between O'Hara and Stewart are flawless ("What did you tell him I had? Dementia Praecox?") -- you don't get to see sophisticated, funny, and warmly affectionate parents in movies lately, and watching them together is a pleasure. Not only are they real pros, but they are obviously having fun together. I just wish that we could have seem more of them as couple, and a lot less of the teenagers.

If you liked the movie you might enjoy the book, too. The tone is similar, but lots of details are different, and I found the humor a bit understated and the protagonist less likable than Stewart's character.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny movie. May 29, 2003

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

This is an enjoyable movie, with some very funny scenes and lines. One of my favorite lines takes place in the scene when Jimmy Stewart's shy daughter is at a dance, being the wallflower, and none of the boys ask her to dance. He asks Fabian to ask his daughter to dance (for a $5.00 fee). While they are dancing, Maureen O'Hara (his wife in the movie) asks "How did you find that boy?" and Jimmy Stewart answers "I yelled out 'Joe' to a group of boys. There is always at least one Joe in a group!"

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars They sure don't make 'em like this anymore. September 14, 2005

By phillindholm

Format:DVD

"Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation" is one of the most enjoyable family films ever made. When it was released back in 1962, it was a big hit. But if you are a sophisticate, don't write it off just yet. The plot is simple: Harried St. Louis banker Roger Hobbs (James Stewart) is looking forward to a quiet, romantic vacation with his wife Peggy (Maureen O'Hara) who, unknown to him, has instead opted for a family reunion in a rented Northern California beach house. Not only has she included her teenage daughter Katie and younger son Danny but her married daughters and their families as well. The beach house turns out to be a monstrosity which Hobbs describes as "Dragonwyck". When their daughter Susan and her husband Stan show up with their bratty kids, things quickly get worse. The family is complete when daughter Jane and her husband Byron arrive with their infant daughter. By now, both Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs are somewhat disenchanted with this "family reunion" as Susan and her husband fight until he walks out on them, while Jane's husband takes up with the local bathing suit-clad vamp Manika. Daughter Katie meanwhile, grows more sullen by the day, sulking because of her new braces and brother Danny simply glues himself to the television set. Add an unhappy Finnish maid and you really have a recipe for disaster. But thanks to the delightful performance by Stewart, the laughs come thick and fast. His dry wit enlivens the film and almost single-handedly keeps it alive. And I mean alive because in spite of a capable cast including Fabian, John McGiver and Marie Wilson, the film belongs to Stewart. He does wonders with his hapless father role and keeps the audience in his corner every second.... With the support of the eternally beautiful O'Hara (who's hardly anyones idea of a grandmother) and a memorable Henry Mancini score, "Mr. Hobbs" may depict a harrowing "vacation" but it's one the the viewer will thoroughly enjoy taking. The film has just been released on a beautiful widescreen DVD, with an original trailer and a few other extras. Bon Voyage! [phillindholm] Read more ›