This was a present little surprise, with Clifton Webb and Charles Bickford playing the fathers of two children (Anne Francis and William Lundigan, respectively), who plan to elope. When Webb discovers his daughter is missing, he runs around the neighborhood in his pajamas (but manages to wear a hat), is assaulted by dogs, and is picked up by the police as a prowler. He arrives home just in time to take a call from a nosy neighbor warning him that there is a prowler in the neighborhood.
This is Webb's film all the way with his personal brand of snark, with a few dull interludes featuring Francis and Lundigan. Webb and Bickford, along with their wives, Bickford's youngest kid (Tommy Rettig) and Francis' godfather (Reginald Gardner) all end up in Webb's car, in pursuit of the couple. Along the way, Webb steals Rettig's sandwich, throws Bickford's pipe out the car window, and, when Rettig acts up, yells "can someone control that little ba barbarian??" Webb and Bickford get to slap each other. Francis and Lundigan call off the wedding, then end up eloping again. Everyone ends up happy. In the fade-out, Webb tells Bickford all about Francis' engineering talents, then states she will probably have lots of children, because her favorite film is "Cheaper By The Dozen", which, probably not so coincidentally, is a Fox film just like this one, also starring Clifton Webb. There's nothing wrong with a little self promotion I guess.
This is Webb's film all the way with his personal brand of snark, with a few dull interludes featuring Francis and Lundigan. Webb and Bickford, along with their wives, Bickford's youngest kid (Tommy Rettig) and Francis' godfather (Reginald Gardner) all end up in Webb's car, in pursuit of the couple. Along the way, Webb steals Rettig's sandwich, throws Bickford's pipe out the car window, and, when Rettig acts up, yells "can someone control that little ba barbarian??" Webb and Bickford get to slap each other. Francis and Lundigan call off the wedding, then end up eloping again. Everyone ends up happy. In the fade-out, Webb tells Bickford all about Francis' engineering talents, then states she will probably have lots of children, because her favorite film is "Cheaper By The Dozen", which, probably not so coincidentally, is a Fox film just like this one, also starring Clifton Webb. There's nothing wrong with a little self promotion I guess.