The
Parent Trap
The Parent Trap is a
family fun movie that tells a story about two twins who are split shortly after
being born. Their parents Maggie and Mitch, played by Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith,
divorced shortly after their birth. They each took custody of one of the girls
and went their separate ways. The girls Sharon and Susan, played by Hayley
Mills, later met up at a summer camp. The two eventually become closer, realize
their shared identity, and create a master plan to reunite their parents.
What fascinated
me about this one hundred and twenty eight minute 1961 movie was how they were
actually able to put it together and get it on the big screen. There was so
much less technology then related to now. The fact that they were actually able
to split the screen and put two different shots into one just astonished me.
The technology these days is so much more than what is was then. It was heavier
then, it is lighter now. There was not as much color then, there is so much
more now. Special effects are so much more complex than they were in the 1960’s.
It’s just amazing to know the director, actors on the movie, and the rest of
the crew were able to put all of this together as well as they did.
There was
also a couple things that I noticed about certain actors and actresses in the
movie. Mitch’s girlfriend, Vicki, seemed much older than I would have expected
her to be. By some of the lines she said, it seemed to me that they were
looking for a lady of slightly younger age to be shown in her part. By her
looks, she just didn’t seem to fit the part in my opinion. Another thing was
there were some scenes where I noticed, and paused the movie to get a better
look, that the twins had slightly different hairstyles. Whether one’s hair was
longer or shorter, I could tell a difference every now and then. It made me
think maybe they really had two actresses that were nearly identical, but not
quite exact playing the parts.
On a
personal note, this movie really struck me in a way because my parents are divorced.
Even though my story is not identical to the one shown in this movie, my
sisters and I have taken intentional steps into keeping both of our parents in
the same picture and in our lives. Whether it be having them at a homecoming
pictures or at one of our sports events, it’s always, in my opinion, good to
have them at the same place at the same time.
I was
actually very happy that I watched the 1961 version of The Parent Trap. It was just so different from everything that you
see these days. It definitely made me think more about the challenges that
movie makers faced in the 1960’s. I would very much recommend this movie to
other people of my age who see watching it as an opportunity to compare and
contrast the advances of technology from then to now.
