One wouldn’t normally equate Cary Grant with a family movie about adoption and the drama which lies therein, but perhaps that’s why Room for One More (also known as The Easy Way) lingers with viewers. Grant, playing one half of The Roses, never gets time alone as his house is filled with animals and kids and, as there are a lot of running gags throughout this 98-minute movie, the drama piles on while he navigates one setback after another alongside his wife at the time, Betsy Drake.
Room for One More is Grant at his most . . . domestic and browbeaten. Not a problem, though, because his character - a beleaguered and well-meaning George 'Poppy' Rose - gets by with his droll humor as his wife, Anna Perrott Rose (Drake, who this picture was developed for), drives their summer to be one full of surprise and many more living things . . . like more puppies, more kittens, and even more kids.
And Poppy can’t tell her no. The love and the will of a mother, after all, won’t be denied by any man . . . even if he is deeply tanned, looking all sorts of out of place in this heartwarming tale of foster care and the social issues facing the kids at the center of the storm. Room for One More might be a tad slow, but - even if you didn't grow up seeing the film over and over on television - the banter here between Grant and Drake is not to be missed.
You see, the Roses already have three kids, but Anna has a very large soft spot for kids born into unfortunate situations, so she adopts again and again. This is the territory of producer Henry Blanke’s dramedy and, as flat as it is thanks to its rather rudimentary re-working of the autobiography by Anna Perrott Rose, this comedy covers a lot of unexpected emotional territory as a family has to adapt in more ways than one in this life of adoption. It seems that not everyone is as open minded as they are.
Because each one of these new adoptions upends George’s happy home AND the community they are a part of. First, there’s the endlessly unhappy 13-year-old girl (Iris Mann) and then there’s the physically handicapped boy who has a knack for causing serious trouble (Clifford Tatum Jr). All of these new additions add anguish and humor to the home, but - as a New Year’s Eve dance approaches - the Roses find out that the community itself has their own prejudices that they must overcome.
Fun and full of life and love, Room for One More, while not a REEL CLASSIC in a typical sense, still manages to find solid footing with film buffs thanks to its genuine handling of REAL topics and, in a rather surprising turn of events, the emotional comedy is now considered a minor cult classic thanks to Grant’s interplay with the kids, the scene of him in swim trunks and nothing else, and its taboo topics of voyeurism and adoption which keep viewers engaged.
Room for One More, directed competently by Norman Taurog and adapted by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson, is now on blu-ray thanks to the efforts of the Warner Archive Collection. There's always room for another, right?! RIGHT.
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - January 26, 2021
Screen Formats: 1.37:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
When it comes to children, three is a crowd for city engineer Poppy Rose. But for his wife, Anna, three is just a beginning. She wants to add to their brood of three kids, a legion of cats, a scruffy stray dog and whatever else comes their way by having them become foster parents of one, then another, troubled youth. With his charm, offhand wit and impeccable timing always in play, screen icon Cary Grant shines as Poppy in this warmhearted, thoroughly engaging domestic comedy (Clive Hirschhorn, The Warner Bros. Story). Opposite him as Anna is Betsy Drake, turning her real-life marriage to Grant into real screen chemistry. Join them. After all, there is always Room for One More.
Video:
Framed in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, this release is a glorious monument to stirring black-and-white cinematography as the details in each of the rooms absolutely burst out of the edges of this transfer with depth and surprising detail. The locations in this film- with clean black lines and sparkling grays - is intoxicating. This is a grand transfer with a clarity that is appreciated and thanks to the work here it looks all the more gorgeous. Truly a wonderful handling of this transfer.
Audio:
The Mono DTS-HD Master Audio English is plenty good for this film. Dialogue is crisp and clean and the music swells appropriately.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- None
Special Features:
There is an attempt to give this release a bit of context thanks to the inclusion of a classic WB Looney Tune, Operation: Rabbit and a theatrical trailer.
- Operation: Rabbit
- Theatrical Trailer
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Overall Blu-ray Experience
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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 98 mins
Director: Norman Taurog
Writer: Jack Rose, Melville Shavelson
Cast: Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, Lurene Tuttle
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: Here's 1952's No. 1 maker of merriment!.
Memorable Movie Quote: "He's stitch-stark naked!"
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Bros.
Official Site:
Release Date: January 10, 1952
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 26, 2021.
Synopsis: When it comes to children, three's a crowd for city engineer Poppy Rose (Grant). But for his wife, Anna (Drake), three is just a beginning. She wants to add to their brood of three kids, a legion of cats, a scruffy stray dog and whatever else comes their way by having them become foster parents of one, then another, troubled youth.