Melville Shavelson's Academy Award-nominated "Houseboat" involves the common trope of "vivacious-but-goofy woman turns serious man's life upside down" (also seen in "Bringing Up Baby", "What's Up, Doc?" and "Something Wild"). But how can you not love seeing Sophia Loren onscreen? Cary Grant's State Department employee is the archetypal man from the 1950s: straightforward, always wearing a suit and tie, and expecting everyone around him to be as no-nonsense as he is. The '60s were a reaction to this attitude.*Admittedly, a lot of the movie shows its age. Many of the family interactions are too cute for my taste. The movie's real joy is seeing Sophia Loren in some of those revealing outfits (well, as revealing as was allowed in 1958). It's not any sort of great movie, but enjoyable enough for its length.Watch for Murray Hamilton (Mr. Robinson in "The Graduate" and the mayor in "Jaws") and Kathleen Freeman (the nun in "The Blues Brothers") in early roles.*Tuli Kupferberg of The Fugs was of the opinion that there was always reason for optimism, because, as he put it, no one who lived through the '50s would've predicted the '60s.

This is not so much a review of the film as it's more a clarification. Grant and Loren were NOT in a hot and heavy affair when this picture was made. Their affair was more or less over before this film was started. They had previously co-starred in "The Pride And The Passion" with Frank Sinatra. Cary Grant was in love with Sophia Loren (who wouldn't be) when that film began. By the time, 'Passion' was completed, Loren was no longer interested in Grant. Cary Grant was contractually obligated to do "Houseboat" with Miss Loren. He agreed to, with the chance he could still win over his co-star. As a previous reviewer mentioned, Miss Loren was determined to NOT be the next Mrs. Grant. This, of course, makes their romance scenes all the more tense and interesting. Good acting? Who knows?

Sorry, but HOUSEBOAT has all the charm of a sugary half-hour sit-com stretched out to feature length. Wholesome and sexy-looking SOPHIA LOREN in real life was a total turn-on for CARY GRANT (he wanted to marry her) who probably insisted that she be his co-star in this little romp. But the result is a predictable romantic comedy with an annoying song (sung by Sophia) that is just as cliché-ridden as the script. Too bad these two co-starred in another little disaster called THE PRIDE AND THE PASSION--sounds like a description of their on again/off again stormy love affair in real life.Once the scene shifts to the houseboat, the atmosphere is claustrophobic rather than cheery and you keep wondering how long it's going to take for Grant and Loren to realize they'd be happy together.Grant was maturing nicely by the late '50s, but I wish he'd been paired with more mature actresses beyond their twenties, since Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren seem much too young for him. It would have been nice to see him make a film with someone like Olivia de Havilland--who, like Ingrid Bergman and Deborah Kerr, would have made a more suitable romantic partner on screen during the '50s.The kids remain non-entities, the humor is forced, the situations are just silly--and yet, there are some who find this harmless fluff to be highly enjoyable. I didn't.Summing up: Passes the time but only Grant's most loyal fans will want to see it more than once.

I agree with "WRONG WIFE" post. A train hits their new home-in-tow and instead of a collision the viewer just sees some (fake) lumber thrown onto their car. The other stupid stunt is that Cary Grant is dressed in a dapper white tuxedo and walks along the gangway to the houseboat for the first time. It breaks under his weight. He sinks, but the shot is above the water so we just see his silly "woops I am sinking" expression. We don't see him sink into the water. In the very next scene he is completely clean and dry-wearing the same white tux. The houseboat itself is equally artificial. It looks a mess at first. But with a little paint, and some Hollywood magic dust, all of a sudden it appears to be a typical, cozy, middle class home. Equally puzzling is the scene where the houseboat drifts off at high tide and anchors onto the edge of an island. The guy they bought the houseboat from cruises up to it in his speedboat. Cary Grant is stranded, late for work. The guy shrugs and tells Grant that he will need to wait till high tide to get the houseboat towed back, before he can get to his job. Why didn't the guy just give him a ride to shore on his speedboat? I also agree the kids were annoying and shallow and not worthy of Sophia's attention.