Maida Severn

Professor Robert Leaf is deeply suspicious of the emphasis placed on science within his university, so he tries to suffuse a love of art and music within his two children. Needless to say, he and his wife Vina are slightly horrified to discover that their young son Erasmus is a mathematical genius with a noticeable disinterest in music or art. Thinking only about using Erasmus' gift for his own benefit, his older friend Kenneth immediately comes up with a plan to make a killing at the racetrack. Working out a deal with his less-than-altruistic buddy, Erasmus agrees to help pick racehorses if Kenneth helps him meet his idol, Brigitte Bardot.

Harried Mr. Hobbs (James Stewart) is tired out by his hectic life in the city. His wife, Peggy, finally manages to convince him to take the family on a seaside vacation where they can all be together for once. This, of course, is only the beginning of Mr. Hobbs' life getting much, much more harried than he had ever imagined. With their four children, the husbands of their two eldest daughters and their two grandchildren in tow, the Hobbs family arrives at their rented ocean cottage to find that it's a dark, ramshackle place with a byzantine water pump as dangerous as any mouse trap. That's just the start of the problems. Disaster and discord begin to ensue. Can Mr. Hobbs hold his family together long enough to survive this vacation?

Professor Robert Leaf is deeply suspicious of the emphasis placed on science within his university, so he tries to suffuse a love of art and music within his two children. Needless to say, he and his wife Vina are slightly horrified to discover that their young son Erasmus is a mathematical genius with a noticeable disinterest in music or art. Thinking only about using Erasmus' gift for his own benefit, his older friend Kenneth immediately comes up with a plan to make a killing at the racetrack. Working out a deal with his less-than-altruistic buddy, Erasmus agrees to help pick racehorses if Kenneth helps him meet his idol, Brigitte Bardot.

Douglas Sirk's memorable remake of the Fannie Hurst story, with incandescent Lana Turner.