The Parent Trap
Tags: cute, entertaining, prank

Plot synopsis:
In 1986, American Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and Briton Elizabeth James (Natasha Richardson) meet and get married during an ocean cruise on the RMS Queen Elizabeth II. After the birth of their twin daughters—Annie and Hallie (Lindsay Lohan)—Nick and Elizabeth get a divorce. The divorcing couple agrees that each parent will raise one of the twins without telling her about her sister, and thereafter lose contact with one another. Nick raises Hallie in Napa Valley and becomes a wealthy wine grower, while Elizabeth raises Annie in London and becomes a famous and successful wedding gown designer.
In 1998, Nick and Elizabeth coincidentally enroll their daughters at the same all-girls summer camp in Maine called Camp Walden. Hallie and Annie first meet at the end of a fencing match, when they remove their masks and see that they look exactly alike. A comical hostility between the two girls leads to a brief prank war that ends when the camp director and her assistant fall into one of Hallie's traps, leading the director to send the girls to the "Isolation Cabin," separating the two girls from the rest of the campers.
Living together in the Isolation Cabin, Hallie and Annie discover they were born on the same day, and each has half of a torn wedding photograph of their parents. Realizing with delight they are twins, the girls hatch a plan to meet their previously unknown parents and ultimately reunite them once they decide to reveal their true selves. Each girl trains the other to impersonate her, Hallie cutting Annie's hair and piercing her ears, with the intent to switch places at the end of summer camp.
When camp is over, the twins put their plan into action. Hallie, pretending to be Annie, goes to London to meet her mother, her maternal grandfather, Charles, and the James family's butler, Martin (Simon Kunz). Annie, pretending to be Hallie, goes to Napa to meet her father, her dad's housekeeper, Chessy (Lisa Ann Walter), their dog Sammy, and Nick's young, opportunistic fiancée, Meredith Blake (Elaine Hendrix), who is only interested in Nick's money. Distressed by Meredith's deviousness, Annie telephones Hallie and persuades her to bring Elizabeth to California to break up the engagement. However, Charles catches Hallie on the phone, and in California, Chessy figures out that Annie has been there the whole time instead of Hallie. Soon, everyone discovers the girls' identities, except for Nick and Meredith, who all remain unaware of the switch until their newfound family members surprise them.
To bring Nick and Elizabeth together, Hallie, Annie, Chessy, Martin, and Charles conspire to have them meet at a hotel in San Francisco by arranging for Nick to meet Meredith's parents and by not telling Elizabeth about Meredith. Nervous about meeting Nick, Elizabeth asks Martin to accompany Hallie and her to San Francisco. After a few comical mix-ups in the hotel, Nick and Elizabeth eventually see each other in an unexpected way. Nick finally learns about the switch, and the girls host a candlelit dinner for their parents, served by Chessy and Martin, on a yacht decorated to recreate their first meeting that was on Queen Elizabeth II. At dinner, Elizabeth mentions that Nick did not follow her after she left him, and Nick responds that he was not sure if Elizabeth wanted him to. They make plans for the girls to spend holidays together, but decide against resuming their relationship.
Dismayed, Hallie and Annie force their parents to take them on a camping trip—the annual outing Nick and Hallie take before school starts—while keeping quiet about which twin is which. Elizabeth coaxes Meredith into camping with Nick and the girls in her place, while she stays behind at the Parker residence. During the trip, the girls play various tricks on Meredith. It all boils over after the two execute their final prank of sending a sleeping Meredith and her airbed out on the lake by their camp. Meredith becomes enraged and gives Nick an ultimatum: her or his daughters. Nick chooses the girls over Meredith and breaks off the engagement. Although Annie and Hallie are both punished for their shenanigans, they accept it, as they are rid of Meredith for good. After they go inside and to their room, Nick remarks to Elizabeth, "I got to remember to thank them one day".
As Chessy has been away with Martin, on a two day picnic, Nick shows Elizabeth his wine collection, which includes the wine they drank at their wedding. Elizabeth is touched at first, but has a change of heart and returns to London with Annie, afraid of what could happen between Nick and herself. However, when Annie and Elizabeth get home, they find Hallie and Nick waiting for them, having flown there on the Concorde. They explain that they had realized they didn't want to lose Annie and Elizabeth again, and Nick finally chased after Elizabeth like he should've done the first time she left. Elizabeth is fearful of remarrying, but she yields to Nick's unwavering confidence, and Hallie and Annie look on happily as their parents embrace. A montage of pictures (similar to stop motion) during the credits show Nick and Elizabeth getting remarried aboard the QE2, with the girls as bridesmaids and Charles, Martin and Chessy all in attendance, Martin and Chessy becoming engaged that same night.

Review: It would be the single highest grossing film the studio had released up to that time, and even some forty years later the baby-boomers who flocked to see it in 1961 regard it as one of their favorite movie experiences.But THE PARENT TRAP has a lot more going for it than mere nostalgia.
The cast is really, really good, featuring the ever-likable Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in leading roles and a host of great character actors (including Leo G.
The daughter and sister of noted English actors, Mills was no newcomer to the screen when THE PARENT TRAP went before the cameras--she had even picked up an Oscar for her earlier Disney film POLLYANNA.
And Haley Mills clearly demonstrates why she was regarded as the single most gifted child actor of her era: although she plays both Susan and Sharon with the same edge of mischievous fun, they do indeed come off as completely different personalities.Of course, digital technology has left the old split-screen technique in the dust, and today its easy to see the flaws in the technique that weren't so obvious at the time.
Even so, the appeal of the story, the cast, and most particularly Haley Mills make up for a lot, and this Disney double DVD comes complete with a host of bonuses (including a making-of documentary and an audio commentary track by director David Swift and Haley Mills) that fans will enjoy quite a bit.If you were a fan of the film then, you'll remain a fan of it now.
Hayley Mills does a spectacular job playing twins Sharon and Susan who are split up at birth and then reunited at summer camp.
This version is WAY better than the 1998 remake, for the remake is too silly and cheesy (at least for me!)  I always enjoy this movie, and feel good at the end because I have traveled back in time to my younger days.
It's great to have a film so blatantly say 'Divorce Really Sucks (the life out of families) And the Sixth Sense style surprises continue to show up throughout the film as the parents and those in the households on each side of the continent realize that the person they thought was one twin really was the other one.Sometimes when the revelation is revealed in a story, the interest level seems to flatten in the storyline, but not in this film.
I bought the book at the school book fair and reread it a dozen times.My older sister had seen Parent Trap in the theater and knew all of the parts that 1970s TV had edited out.In the 1980s I finally got to see the whole film uncut on the Disney cable channel and finally got to figure out "the little dolls signing the parent trap song" my sister spoke of (there was 15 minutes I'd never get back)....Dorky animated cupids aside, as a kid I loved the movie's cross country saga.
The camp cabin sabotage, the twins joining forces to prank dad's girlfriend.Although most kids will still enjoy the original movie's favorite kid moments of the punchbowl splashing into a chaperon, the timeless cake falling on Miss Inch's face, and Vicky's hissy fit, the movie's long pace might bore todays kids.Although some purists don't like the new remake of Parent Trap, I thought the remake kept the essence of the original story and updated it to match todays global travel, destigmatization of divorce, etc..
When they are in summer holidays and after several antics each other , discover the surprise which they are twin sisters and then they plot change characters with their different parents (Mauren O'Hara , Brian Keith) who are disjointed since the divorce and the girls have been separately raised .
The father is going to marry a young woman (Joanna Barnes) and the eleven-years-old girls scheme the parents reconciliation by making impossible life of the father's bride .The picture contains enjoyable comedy , humor , tongue-in-cheek and being pretty entertaining .
Susan Henning took on the role as Hayley Mills' body double for several of the twin shots in the film , as part of her contract, she signed away her rights to be credited .
They find out who each other's parents are and then they decide to con-cock a mischievous plan into swapping places and getting to know each other's parents before meeting again, trying to reunite their parents.The acting, scenery and settings, music score, unique moments and memorable scenes were put together very well and the entire film still holds up to today's standards.My first thoughts were that the film wasn't going to be great at all and that it wasn't going to beat the remake.
This is a cute and totally wonderful Disney-classic with amazing Hayley Mills ("Pollyanna") in the leading roles as twins.
It is a delight on all levels.Maureen O'Hara (at the height of her great beauty in this film) and the ruggedly handsome Brian Keith are perfectly cast in their roles as the twins divorced parents.
It makes me long for the good old days.For a fun family movie night don't waste your time on the remake with Lindsey Lohan.
They made gems like 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Old Yeller, Pollyanna, Mary Poppins and this little gem called The Parent Trap.Not only do we get Hayley Mills playing dual roles with perfection, we get a great script by David Swift (who also wrote the script for Pollyanna and directed both films) that draws us in right from the opening credits (despite a somewhat obnoxious theme song vocalized by Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello).
Remember, in 1961 there was no such thing as digital effects so this was a tremendous undertaking for it's time, not having been done to this extent before.You should know the story by now but briefly, it centers around two girls, Sharon and Susan, who end up in the same summer camp and discover that they are identical twins who were separated from each other when their parents divorced, each parent taking custody of one of the twin girls.
(The scene where Sharon plays a classical piano piece, switching quickly to chopsticks when her father finally notices that she's never been able to play before, is too, too funny, but unfortunately was usually cut out in versions that had to fit into 2 TV hours.) That contrast disappears in the second part, however, and each twin acts like the other, even when they're not trying to fool their parents.
I must have seen the movie six times before I realized Hayley Mills was playing both girls.
Hayley Mills is outstanding in the dual roles of the twins who try to reunite their divorced parents.
Pleasant whiff of an idea (twin teen girls--separated by their divorcing parents shortly after birth--find each other at summer camp and plan to reunite their folks) gets a big boost not only from the colorful players but by gorgeous photography and production (check out that home in California!).
Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara are perfect as Mills' parents, the supporting cast is a wonderful collection of screwballs, and the finale (though it takes a while in coming) is very uplifting.
Pretty short-haired Hayley Mills (as Susan Evers) and pretty long-haired Hayley Mills (as Sharon McKendrick) meet at camp and discover they are twins who were separated at birth by divorcing parents Brian Keith (as Mitch) and Maureen O'Hara (as Maggie).
'The Parent Trap' is a Disney film about a set of twins who have never met each other because their parents are divorced, but they meet at camp.
She's pretty much the same hellaciously feisty and fighting Irish witch that married John Wayne in "The Quiet Man" and who often only argued and fought with the poor guy.However, when she has her sane, loving moments with ex-hubby Brian Kieth, she lights up the screen and "The Parent Trap" blossoms.Bu of course, the film belongs to delightful little Haley Mills, who didn't stir any romantic feelings in me until three years later in Disney's "The Moon Spinners" which was her first romantic adolescent role when she fell for dashing young adventurer Peter McHenry and visa versa.In "The Parent Trap," Haley pulls of the minor miracle of playing to herself (delightfully) as twin sisters separated at age one, with each of them going to one divorced parent.
Two identical looking girls (both played by Hayley Mills) meet at a summer camp and they discover that they are twins.
It may confuse children, especially children of divorced parents.The film begins with a bizarre premise: Hayley Mills plays identical twins who don't know of each other's existence until a chance encounter at a summer camp throws them together.
What horrible thing could have gone wrong in their marriage that caused them to cut off all contact with each other and to separate their daughters from each other and from their opposite parents?In one summer camp scene, the girl who lives with her father reveals to her about-to-be-discovered sister that she has a photograph of their mutual mother.
The darling Hayley Mills plays twin sisters in the original The Parent Trap!
Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith get divorced when the girls are babies, and in a bizarre custody settlement, the twins are split up between the parents.
Hayley Mills plays twins who, unknown to their divorced parents, meet at a summer camp.
"The Parent Trap," is the third film in Hayley Mills' young career, and her second with Walt Disney.
Beyond the strange situation of parents divorcing and separating their twin daughters shortly after birth, this film has an endearing story and a script to match it.
The roles of her parents are played very well by Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith, as Maggie McKendrick and Mitch Evers.
What I thought of the acting was that Hayley Mills definitely aced playing the roles of the twins (whose names I mentioned earlier in my review), as well as the beautiful Hollywood actress Maureen O'Hara playing the role of Maggie McKendrick twenty years after her most acclaimed role, Angharad Morgan in the hit John Ford film "How Green Was My Valley".
In my opinion, Mills played the role of the twins much better than Lindsay Lohan did in the new version of The Parent Trap.
And that is exactly what Susan and Sharon (both played by Hayley Mills) plans to do - Parent Trap!
This fun story tells about teenage twin girls Sharon and Susan, who met for the first time at summer camp.
Hayley Mills did a great job portraying both Sharon and Susan; I enjoyed watching the parts where they first found out they were long lost twins and how they adopted each others personalities when they decided to switch places to visit each other's parents.
Maureen O'Hara is a great mom & it is difficult to every think of a film she was in that she wasn't good.Not only is this movie good entertainment, but the story is done at a leisurely pace which allows for most possible comic effect & also for most touching emotional strings as this film has a heart of gold to go with the comedy.In support, lets not forget Nancy Kulp (Miss Jane on the Beverly Hillbillies) & Leo G Carroll (TV's Topper & in Man From UNCLE) who provide some of the mass talent in this particular Disney film..
The Parent Trap, with Hayley Mills is one of the best movies Disney ever made.
Hayley Mills returns to the screen once again in Disney's 1961 live action movie "The Parent Trap," which is a movie about...twins!
Whatever, I absolutely adored her and THE PARENT TRAP was probably my favorite Hayley film where she played twins separated as babies by their divorced parents who meet at summer camp, figure out what their parents did, and plot to get them back together.
while i will say this movie is certainly family friendly,i didn't really like it all that much.i felt it was too long and slow.i think it could have been 30 minutes shorter without missing anything important.the acting is good,but i found the characters bland and uninteresting.Hayley Mills is is a decent enough actress,and it must be hard for one actor to play twins convincingly,which Mills does.but the movie is a bit too mellow for my tastes.I did like Maureen O'Hara as the mother.she stood out from the rest.Brian Keith was also good as the father.this is definitely a movie the whole family can watch.i did think it was a bit mellow,but to be fair there were a few fun scenes,and some catchy songs.my vote for The Parent trap is a 5/10.
Hayley mills who quickly rose to stardom and recognition for her superb choice of roles shined in this family dramedy after twin sisters separated at birth after their parents divorce who took one girl each at birth.
Looking at it now though, I wonder if Walt Disney might have been perpetuating a bad fantasy on a generation.This was Hayley Mills's second film and third with Disney and in The Parent Trap she takes her Pollyanna, doubles it, and brings it up to the beginning of the New Frontier.
It works out well for the one who goes with Maureen O'Hara, but the one with Brian Keith discovers that Brian's head is being turned by a mercenary Joanna Barnes on the prowl whose mother reminds her about California's beautiful community property laws.This means getting Maureen from Boston to California and revealing all in an attempt to put mom and dad back together again.Maureen O'Hara made her one and only film with Disney with The Parent Trap and in her memoirs she and Walt quarreled because her contract specified first billing.
Girls who look exactly like each other meet at a camp and take a ridiculously long time to figure out that they are twins.
Questionable Disney film with Hayley Mills playing 2 roles; twins whose existence was kept from the other due to an improbable and cold-hearted decision by their selfish, divorced parents played by a lovely Maureen O'Hara and a tubby Brian Keith who's notably lacking in warmth.
Kids of super-rich parents sure do have it tough.Yep. They sure do - Especially when mommie-dearest and daddie-dearest have been divorced for 13 years and at this point these 2 ever-loving little brats (out of their own selfish interest) take it upon themselves to seriously meddle into the personal affairs of these adults, going to the most extreme lengths imaginable to bring good, ol' mom and dad back together again.This film's story deals (in a fairly flaky fashion) with the antics of a pair of identical twins.
The young Hayley Mills who had just started her Disney movie blitz is at her best as the likable twins Susan and Sharon.
I saw original 1961 Parent Trap as a 12 year old pre-teen who fell in love with Hayley Mills.
She plays twins separated at birth who meet and camp and decide to switch places and meet the parent they've never seen, and try to get mom (Maureen O'Hara) and dad (Brian Keith) back together.
But The Parent Trap has solid comedic performances and a sweet, Disneyfied feel that makes me long for The Wonderful World of Disney on NBC Sunday nights.My suggestion is to buy a copy of the original and the remake (or look for a good, complete showing on Hallmark or Disney) before your little girl(s) get too old for them.And watch Keith, O'Hara, and Mills over and over until you're sick of the whole lot, and your daughters are just getting warmed up..
Like everyone else, I always just figured it was cute and heartwarming, then got to thinking...and I see at least one other reviewer agrees with me.This Disney family classic tells the story of two twins, Susan and Sharon, whose parents divorced shortly after their birth.
Then the scheming but appealing duo embarks upon a mission to reunite their divorced parents, despite the fact that the father is now engaged to another (rather nasty and not at all suitable) woman.First, Hayley Mills is of course an absolutely fabulous little actress here, playing the dual roles of the sisters, Sharon and Susan.
My own child did not grow up with divorced parents, but I would still have wanted to make it plain...this is Disney and makes a cute story, but dividing up your children like this, denying them knowledge of their sibling or noncustodial parent isn't remotely acceptable in real life.As far as the new 1998 version is concerned, this 1961 Hayley Mills one is a classic and perfectly fine just the way it is.
The twins (both played masterfully by Hayley Mills) accidentally meet up at summer camp 11 years or so later (each not knowing of the other's existence), and through a series of hilarious hijinks, realize that they are sisters and plot to get Mom and Dad back together again.
Featuring the sexy, ruggedly handsome Brian Keith and the flawlessly beautiful Maureen O'Hara, THE PARENT TRAP is a fun and funny family comedy about identical twins Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers (Hayley Mills, the '60s Disney sweetheart) who don't know each other exists until they meet at a summer mountain camp.
Hayley Mills plays identical twins Sharon and Susan long separated because of their parent's divorce.
There's two Hayley Mills for the price of one for the teens (fresh from "Pollyanna") and the still sexy Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith as their divorced parents for the adults.
What makes its odd is both girls look identical, know stories about the other's parent and find out they have been separated by divorce.This time played by Haley Mills, a gifted young address who made this into a box office success and launched her acting career.
Vicki exclaims, "Are you inferring that I'd marry your father for his money?" "If the shoe fits, wear it," responds Sharon.The Parent Trap, filmed in 1961, is about twin girls that meet each other at a summer camp.