Houseboat (1958)

58% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(6,805 ratings)

Cary Grant scored still another box-office smash with his 1958 vehicle Houseboat. Grant plays a widowed father who packs himself and his spoiled kiddies off to a ramshackle houseboat. Enter Sophia Loren, who is attempting to break loose from her tyrannical father's (Eduardo Cianelli) iron grip. She… More Cary Grant scored still another box-office smash with his 1958 vehicle Houseboat. Grant plays a widowed father who packs himself and his spoiled kiddies off to a ramshackle houseboat. Enter Sophia Loren, who is attempting to break loose from her tyrannical father's (Eduardo Cianelli) iron grip. She hires on as Grant's housekeeper and his children's governess. Though Grant struggles valiantly to maintain a "hands off" policy, he and Loren are billing and cooing by fadeout time--but not before plenty of reversals, recriminations and sitcom-style mishaps. As a bonus, the kids end up behaving like little angels (not surprising, since Loren has threatened from time to time to turn them into genuine angels if they don't toe the line). According to most sources, the on-screen romance between Cary Grant and Sophia Loren in Houseboat spilled over into their private lives as well, though Sophia put an end to this dalliance when she married Italian movie mogul Carlo Ponti. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Melville Shavelson
Written By: Jack Rose, Melville Shavelson
Genres: Romance, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 19, 1958 Wide
On DVD: Nov 5, 2002

Critic Reviews

Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Warm romance classic has realistic kid behavior.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Innocent romantic comedy isn't one of Grant's best, but he and Loren make for interesting watching in close quarters.
Martin Scribbs, Low IQ Canadian
The leads share so little chemistry I had to double-check the credits to make sure they were in the same movie.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Typically overlong late 50s star comedy
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
This is a warm romantic comedy that is exceptionally perceptive and sensitive about the feelings of the children.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

This is a cute and fun little romantic movie with two great stars, and I enjoyed it.
Cindy I

Cute entertaining flick from Cary Grant. Not one of his best, but I could spend two hours watching Cary Grant take out his trash. This time around he's a divorced man taking in his three young kids after their mother dies in a car accident. He hasn't been much of a father up… More
Cute entertaining flick from Cary Grant. Not one of his best, but I could spend two hours watching Cary Grant take out his trash. This time around he's a divorced man taking in his three young kids after their mother dies in a car accident. He hasn't been much of a father up until now, so he's having to spend a little while getting the kids to like him again. When the youngest boy wanders off during a concert and is found by Sophia Loren, she takes him back to Grant's apartment and the kids beg him to hire her as their maid. Through a series of events, the family ends up living on a houseboat. In the meantime....well, you can guess what happens from here. Cary and Sophia scratch and claw at each other first, but then instead of fur, sparks fly. Grant is gorgeous, Sophia is gorgeous, and the whole film is a fun little romp suitable for the whole family. And unlike 90% of the romcoms, this one didn't make me nauseous. Good job.
moon r

love this film if only for the chemistry between it's top stars...electric!
xGary X

A pretty dumb romantic comedy that skirts a little too close to sitcom territory for comfort, but it's Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. And you can't argue with that.