Das Doppelte Lottchen ( 1950 ) - The Original Parent Trap

If you ever read the credits to Walt Disney's The Parent Trap ( 1961 )  you would have noticed that the film was based upon a book by the popular German author Erich Kastner entitled "Das Doppelte Lottchen" which was written in 1949. As famous as The Parent Trap was in the States, few children or adults can claim to have read the book....ourselves included. But last week, we did see the original German film that Disney based The Parent Trap on, and it is absolutely delightful. 

Like the Americanized version, Das Doppelte Lottchen tells the story of twin sisters who were separated at birth by their parents, with the father and the mother each taking one of the girls. The children meet up by accident at a summer camp and, once they realize they are sisters, they decide to switch places so that they can have the opportunity of meeting the parent they never knew. Of course, they know that their parents will notice the switch in due time but that is a part of their scheme, too, because their parents will then have to reunite to un-switch them. Clever gals! 

Erich Kastner wrote the screenplay to and narrated this entertaining adaptation of his novel, which was directed by Josef von Báky, a Hungarian filmmaker best known for directing Munchausen ( 1943 ). Lotte and Luise, the twins, are portrayed by two real-life twins, actresses Jutta and Isa Gunther, and while they are not quite as appealing or as natural as Hayley Mills doubled-up, their performances are very good....and quite different.  

Hayley's Susan and Sharon got easily frustrated with their parents ( especially their father's plans to remarry ), but Lotte and Luise take things with a calmer and sadder attitude, which seems a bit more true-to-life. This makes their parents' separation all the more heartbreaking because the two gals lack the independent spunk needed to offset their single-parent upbringing. Each one is especially close to the parent who raised them and, once they meet the father and mother they never knew, they come to love them, too. However, they have no scheme in mind for foiling their father's plan to remarry, which is an interesting change to note. In American films, children are often shown outwitting their parents, or cleverly manipulating them for their own benefit, because this appeals to younger audiences but, in Germany, one doesn't often find that kind of plot line in films. 

The twins' father, Papa Ludwig ( Peter Mosbacher ) is a youthful good-natured man with a passion for music. He is a composer and conductor of opera and resides with Louise and their housekeeper in a large apartment in Vienna, Austria. Their mother, portrayed by Antje Weisgerber, works at a newspaper office. She is less formal, enjoys nature, and lives in a smaller apartment with Lotte in Munich. The differences between the children's upbringing are not as great as the screenwriters made it out to be in the 1961 Disney version, and so they are able to pull off the "switch" with greater ease. In fact, the parents have no inkling that their daughter is not the same girl who they dropped off at summer camp. 

Das Doppelte Lottchen lacks the beautiful setting ( especially that fabulous California ranch that Mitch Brennan owned ) and the humor of Walt Disney's remake but more than makes up for it in heart. The affection that the parents show their children is wonderful to see and Erich Kastner's commentary throughout the film is enjoyable to listen to as well - rarely do authors narrate a film based on their own book! 

The Parent Trap ( 1961 )

All of us have favorite films that are a little extra special to us because we grew up with them. The Parent Trap, featuring Hayley Mills, is one of those films for my sister and I. It was a favorite to watch on Saturdays when we were wee ones and it is still a beloved Saturday film that conjures up good feelings and happy memories of childhood. 

Not surprisingly, The Parent Trap has been, and still is, a family favorite for many worldwide. It encapsulates everything that family entertainment should be, appealing to both parents and children. It features a wonderful cast, great music ( courtesy of Richard and Robert Sherman ), gorgeous sets ( thanks to Carroll Clark and Emile Kuri ), and a witty script. What more could you ask for?

Hayley Mills was one of the Disney Studio's prime assets and, after proving her worth in Pollyanna a year earlier, Walt Disney cast her in a double role for The Parent Trap ( 1961 ), playing twin sisters Susan and Sharon. If there is anything better than watching a Hayley Mills performance, it's watching two Hayley Mills performances! 

"The nerve of that girl, coming here with your face!"

The Parent Trap tells the simple tale of identical twin sisters who were separated at birth by their divorced parents and who accidentally meet up at a posh summer camp. When the girls discover they are sisters each rave about the parent who raised them and decide to get together to reunite father and mother "for now, for always". What is their brilliant scheme to accomplish this? Swap places. California-native Susan attempts a Boston accent while Bostonian Sharon gets her hair clipped and chews her nails so Dad won't have any suspicions about her. Strangely enough, both parents are so busy with ranch duties and charity work they don't realize the change in their daughters. It is Grandpa McKendrick ( Charlie Ruggles ) who first notices the difference in "Sharon" and faithful housekeeper Verbena ( Una Merkel ) who sees through "Susan". 

The twin's plan to spend some quality time with their parents gets foiled when Sharon discovers that her dad is about to wed a catty young gold-digger named Vicki ( Joanna Barnes ). As "nicely put-together" as Vicki is, it's all just a front and she oozes venom in her speech. It takes a surprise visit from mother and a camping trip in the woods to send this cunning fiancée home packing. 

"Get me outta this stinkin' fresh air!"

This outdoor camping sequence, as well as the opening one, act as bookends to The Parent Trap and reinforce the California summer atmosphere of the film. Camping, hiking, horseback riding, and canoeing are the ideal recreational activities that most young girls fantasize about when they look forward to a summer vacation. 

The Parent Trap was based on Erich Kastner's 1949 best-selling novel "Das doppelte Lottchen" about twins who reunite at a Lake Bohren summer camp. It was brought to the silver screen twice before Disney purchased the rights to the novel.... first in Germany in 1950 as Das doppelte Lottchen, and then again in 1953 in the UK as Twice Upon a Time with Hugh Williams and Elizabeth Allen playing the parents ( and Emeric Pressburger directing ). 

Some critics claim that the Disney film is much too long and, while it's true that certain sequences are stretched, The Parent Trap is never tiresome. The comedy deftly hops between broad humor and subtle satire. Brian Keith is especially amusing in his interchanges with Sharon, whom he believes to be Susan. For instance, in one scene when Sharon inquires about her mother, Keith misunderstands the drift of the question and awkwardly attempts to relate to her the "facts of life". It's one of many scenes where'll you find your chuckle develop into a belly laugh. Walt Disney certainly deserves credit for recognizing Brian Keith's comedy and romantic lead potential. Prior to The Parent Trap, Keith was primarily a serious action/western actor. 

Maureen O'Hara was always adept at comedy but never was she more lovely than she is here playing Susan and Sharon's mother. She makes middle-aged maturity an enviable stage in life, and the romantic scenes between her and Keith are especially touching. Bill Thomas, who was the costume designer for the majority of Walt Disney's live-action films, decked O'Hara out in one beautiful ensemble after another. Even the cooking outfit she had on to make stew was eye-catching!

Supporting the principal players were a bevy of talented character actors including Charlie Ruggles, Leo G. Carroll ( as the priest who finds Keith's marriage situation "fraught with humor" ), Una Merkel, Cathleen Nesbitt, Nancy Kulp, and Linda Watkins. 

"It's none of my business....if he wants to make a ninny of himself with all those women. I don't say a word!"

Upon its release The Parent Trap was a smashing box-office success, raking in over $25 million in the U.S. alone. It received a number of fine reviews from critics as well, most of whom singled out Hayley Mills persuasive duel performance. Indeed, we'd rank Hayley as the best child actress of the 1960s. Not only did she convincingly portray two separate characters in this film but she also captured the "American spirit" and made you believe one girl was truly Californian and the other Bostonian, while Hayley herself was British! 

Carroll Clark and Emile Kuri - Setting the Scene for Walt Disney

This edition of our Behind the Screen - The Hidden Masters of the Golden Age of Filmmaking series was going to be a feature on one of my favorite art directors - Carroll Clark. But it is very difficult to praise the work of an art director without giving due praise to the set decorator who, through the use of furnishings, props and small personal objects make the sets “come alive”. And so, this post will pay tribute to Carroll Clark and Emile Kuri…the art director and set decorator or just about every live-action Walt Disney film made between 1955-1972. Wow, is that a lot of movies! Due to the limited amount of space on this blog... I’ll just be highlighting these Disney films and will cover more detail about Clark's work in the 1940s in a future post. 

Carroll Clark was born in Mountain View, California on February 6, 1894. He got his formal training in architecture but decided to pursue commercial design instead, which eventually led to his getting a position as art director for Pathe studios during the mid-1920s.

In 1930 Howard Hughes selected him to be art director on his high-flying war adventure Hell’s Angels and Clark began to get more assignments his way. However, it was when he joined RKO studios two years later that he accomplished his real triumphs of design ingenuity.

Van Nest Polglase, one of the most influential production designers of the American cinema, was working on sets for Merium C. Cooper’s epic thriller King Kong ( 1933 ) and hired Carroll Clark as an assistant on the project. The two worked well together and soon after were sharing credit ( and Academy Award nods ) for creating the imaginative and elegant art deco sets for the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films Flying Down to Rio, Roberta, Top Hat, and later Carefree.

Carroll Clark was kept busy throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, on films such as The Little Minister, Enchanted April, Hitler’s Children, Murder my Sweet, and The Enchanted Cottage. Clark made the "enchanted" cottage simple and cozy and inviting through his open-floor plan, and use of wide beams, diamond-paned windows, and stonework.

Now is a good time to introduce Emile Kuri, for around this year he was beginning to make his mark in Hollywood too. Emile Kuri was born in Mexico on June 14, 1907 to Lebanese parents. When Emile was only 12 years old, his father died, and needing to support his mother and siblings he found work at a furniture store in Hollywood. One day during lunch hour, while all the salespeople were away, a wealthy woman came into the store looking for articles to decorate a room in her house and Emile gladly made suggestions…even though his job was just to dust the furniture. She liked his taste and suggestions so much she asked if he could re-decorate her and her husband’s house. Her husband was Hal Roach.

Emile impressed Mr. Roach with his innate flair for decorating and soon found himself working as the set decorator on Roach’s comedy classic Topper ( 1938 ). His career as a set decorator had begun – and what an impression on film design he would make!

Throughout his career with Warner Brothers and Paramount studios during the 1940s and 50s he worked with such directors as William Wyler ( The Heiress ), Frank Capra ( It’s a Wonderful Life’s Bedford Falls was Emile’s creation ) George Stevens ( A Place in the Sun, Shane ) and Alfred Hitchcock ( Spellbound, Rope, Trouble with Harry ).

Carroll Clark was also working with Hitchcock during the 1940s ( Suspicion, Notorious ) and was busy creating beautiful sets for such classics as I Remember Mama ( 1948 ), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer ( 1947 ), and Mr. Blandings Buildings His Dream House ( 1948 ).

In 1953, Walt Disney hired Emile Kuri to give Walt Disney Studios’ office complex a face-lift. Plans for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were under way and once again Emile was in the right place at the right time. He became set decorator for the film, and his creative use of ironwork, velour, and ship parts earned him his second Academy Award and helped inspire a new Jules Verne Victorian fantasy style – Steampunk.

Carroll Clark arrived at Disney Studios not long after for his first assignment, Darby O’Gill and the Little People ( 1959 ) and thereafter the talented designing duo were working side by side for the next 15 years.

The sets and décor for Toby Tyler ( 1959 ), The Absent Minded Professor ( 1959 ), Pollyanna ( 1960 ), Babes in Toyland ( 1960 ), The Parent Trap ( 1961 ), Summer Magic ( 1963 ), Mary Poppins ( 1964 ), and That Darn Cat ( 1965 )were all their handiwork.

While an art director has the task of setting the scene, it is in the set decorator’s hands to furnish that setting with objects in keeping with the art director’s vision. "The most difficult thing," Kuri once told an interviewer, "is to make a set not look like a set, but like a home, as if the people just walked out."

Emile Kuri knew how to convey character through the use of objects in a set. This is especially evident in A Place in the Sun, It’s A Wonderful Life, and in Pollyanna and Mary Poppins. The Banks household at 17 Cherry Tree Lane is very old "banker"ish and yet quite modern... and quite feminine... just overall a happy place to live in.

But let’s not forget that the look of Cherry Tree Lane itself came from the mind of the art director, Carroll Clark, too.

In The Happiest Millionaire and Pollyanna, Emile Kuri made great use of light toned furniture and abundant greenery to add color and cheerfulness to the Victorian residences of two wealthy upper-class families.

During the mid 1960s the team worked on such classic live-action films as The Ugly Dachshund, The Monkey’s Uncle, Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, Blackbeard’s Ghost, The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit and The Love Bug.

The Love Bug was Carroll Clark’s final feature. He passed away on May 17th, 1968, after designing the sets to over 172 feature films in his career.

Emile Kuri continued to work at Walt Disney Studios up until his retirement in 1973. In addition to using his skill of set decorating for film, Emile Kuri worked on the sets of Disneyland as well, designing the interior to the Columbia sailing ship and the New Orleans Plaza Inn.

Emile Kuri earned 8 Academy Awards nominations in his lifetime, but more importantly than the awards and accolades he received was the wonderful interiors that he created for all those Walt Disney films that have become so memorable and identifiable with the film itself and the characters. Of all the films that Emile Kuri and Carroll Clark worked on, I love The Parent Trap set the best...and so, I'll close here with a screenshot from that magnificent modern kitchen.

The 5 Movies on an Island Blogathon

In celebration of National Classic Movie Day, Rick of the Classic Film and TV Cafe, is hosting The 5 Movies on an Island Blogathon, in which bloggers select their five favorite films that they would want with them on a deserted island.....one equipped with no other modern convenience other than a working television set, DVD player, and electricity ( which, for most of us movie lovers, is the only convenience desired anyway ). With a pile of ripe coconuts and a comfy straw couch to sit upon, we should be content to watch these films day in and night out for a good year or so.....after which time basket weaving and bamboo whittling will have to suffice as hobbies. 

Diana and I ( Connie ) have both chosen to participate in this desert island fantasy and have selected 5 films each....we're assuming we got stranded on different islands. 

Connie's Picks 

The Rainy Weather Picture - Not even Gilligan's Island could boast of having perpetual sunshine. Sooner or later, the rains gotta fall and, on that day, I'd kick myself for not having a good mystery film in my collection to watch - and what better mystery than that old warhorse, The Bat ( 1959 )? This Vincent Price/Agnes Moorehead classic features every cliche in the genre and has a good dose of old-fashioned "horror" thrown in too. It's a family favorite and one that I've grown up with, so that's that. On days when I feel like watching a cheap sci-fi film, this will have to suffice. 

A Dose of Humor - Surviving on a desert island can be serious business, and methinks a good dose of humor will be needed on a weekly basis to tickle up the laughing glands. Bob Hope and Don Knotts are tops to me, and since I love The Reluctant Astronaut ( 1967 ), that's one movie I'd be hankering to see on the island. I've watched it countless times already and have not tired of it yet, so I think it's good for another fifty or so viewings. 

Jolly Old England - Palm trees and white sandy beaches are beautiful, but after awhile I'd be longing for the greenery ( and wet weather ) of England, so Murder Is Easy ( 1981 ) will be my dose of comfort to carry me through my anglophile spells. This isn't quite a "classic" but it's Agatha Christie and it boasts a great cast of talented actors including Helen Hayes, Olivia De Havilland, Leslie Anne-Down, and Bill Bixby. I have a lot of happy memories associated with this movie, and since I've seen it over fifteen times already, I know it has the stuffing to last for decades ( Oh dear! I hope I won't be stranded that long on this island.....)

You're Going to Be Here Awhile  - Just in case I will be on the island for longer than expected, four 90 minute films won't be able to last long. So I'm taking Gone with the Wind ( 1939 ). I never included this movie on my favorites list, but I must admit, that every time I watch it, I love it...so it must have just been an oversight all these years. In this case, I need it. It has enough plot to cover ten different movies with a bunch of different scenes to love. It has romance, too, which most of the other films I chose lack. 

The Pick-Me Up  - I couldn't survive on an island without at least one Walt Disney film...that's to carry me through on the days when I'm despondent. That Darn Cat is my favorite Disney film, but I have a feeling that the cat-chasing angle may get tiresome after awhile, so I'm going with my second favorite - The Parent Trap ( 1961 ). This one has a lot going on in it and a double dose of Hayley Mills to boot! The Parent Trap is another classic from my childhood and watching it always conjures up a happy California camping feeling. It has a few great Sherman Brothers songs, too, so that covers my lack of any musical. 

Diana's Picks

When my sister Connie asked me if I would be interested to write an article for the "5 Movies on an Island Blogathon", it didn't take me too long to decide which five films I would insist upon bringing along with me. I believe if I were left stranded on a faraway tropical island with a DVD player and a bowl of popcorn as my closest pals, then I would most certainly want to watch my most favorite films: 

"I Know Where I'm Going!" ( 1945 ) - Wendy Hiller plays a determined young Englishwoman dead set on traveling to a remote Scottish island to wed her wealthy fiance, but a gale disrupts the last leg of her journey, leaving her to patiently sit it out until the storm passes. 

Jack Cardiff's stunning black & white cinematography, the rugged scenery, and the romance which unexpectedly blossoms between Joan and Torquil, a dashing Naval officer ( Roger Livesey ) makes this one of my all-time favorites! 

"The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" ( 1947 ) - A beautiful romance between the breathtaking Gene Tierney and gentlemanly Rex Harrison. A spunky young widow ( Gene Tierney) sets out to make a new life for herself and her daughter ( Natalie Wood ) and rents a charming cottage overlooking the sea, but her home comes with an uninvited cohabitant, the ghost of its late owner Captain Daniel Gregg.

It is a lovely story to spin daydreams around with a musical score that sends me drifting out to sea. I admire Lucia's courage and grace and there is this passionate tension she shares with Daniel I find so attractive. 

"The Parent Trap" ( 1961 ) - "For Now, For Always", this film will remain very special to me. Identical twin sisters, separated at birth, meet by chance at summer camp and arrange to have their divorced parents reunite. 

Growing up, I fell in love with scenic Camp Inch and it made me want to go to summer camp myself, but it was hard to find one as nice as Camp Inch! The location scenes are beautiful and it really captures the "happy Saturday morning" feeling I can't live without!

"It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World!" ( 1963 ) - A group of people set out to find a stash of stolen loot hidden under a "Big W" somewhere in Santa Rosita Park. Along the way, the number of people who get caught up in the excitement increases and so does the suspense... which all happens in one day! 

A lot of heart and talent went into making this superb comedy. It features a fabulous cast of comedians and cameos and the smart, witty dialogue keeps me laughing long after I watch it. The stunts are incredible, the theme song is catchy, and it always makes me happy! 

"The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" ( 1965 ) - Luther Heggs, a newspaper typesetter, dreams of becoming a famous reporter and gets his big opportunity when he is assigned to write a feature surrounding a crime that occurred in the town's past. 

I love Don Knotts and "Mr. Chicken" is spooky, but not horror-film scary, so it's perfect to watch on a Friday night and at Halloween..which I'll still be celebrating on my island. Great character actors and a well-written script, it embodies all the charms of small town America and funny one-liners I like to repeat all year 'round! "Atta boy, Luther!"

TV/Movie Set: The Parent Trap Ranch

It's that time of year again....when summer begins to peak its head around the corner then our brains start to buzz with new ideas. One of them you're seeing right now : a new series featuring the houses, apartments, cabins and cottages from our favorite movies and television shows. We're not to going to limit it to just our favorites though, we'd love to hear your suggestions on houses we should feature in the new future. 

Actually, this idea isn't all that new. Diana and I have been huge fans of architecture ever since we were kindergarten age, when we use to draw out plans for our dream house, vacation cabin, tree-house or that ideal ice cream stand. Today, we're still sketching house plans whenever an idea crops up ( usually in the middle of the night ) or, more frequently, when we see a perfect house on screen. Instead of hoarding all these designs to ourselves, we just decided to share them! O you lucky people you. 

Over the weekend we were watching The Parent Trap ( 1961 ) and so we picked it to be our very first house in the series. And what a house it is. 

In order to put the place in perspective, it's always best to see a floor plan. Here's my sloppy sketch of the place along with a few mistakes thrown in. If anyone knows where we can get a hold of the original set design plans, let us know! 

Before we get started on the picture tour, I'd like to give special mention to Julia who runs the very entertaining blog Hooked on Houses. She took most of these fab screenshots and - since we're lazy - we snitched them ( don't shake your head just yet, her website stated that people are more than welcome to borrow her images ). Anyway, she has a great selection of TV/Movie houses in her own series, with some classics scattered among the lot, but I think she stopped posting and so we're taking up where she left off...only with Silver Scenes you'll see strictly classic film sets and nothing else. 

Let's get together now and start the tour:  

THE EXTERIOR

Walt Disney's The Parent Trap tells the story of twin sisters, separated at birth, who meet accidentally at summer camp and decide to switch places in order to meet the parent they've never seen before and reunite them both. 

The lovable Hayley Mills plays duel roles in the part of Sharon/Susan, with Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith playing their divorced parents, Maggie and Mitch. 

The film opens up with the girls at Camp Inch where they first discover that they are the spitting image of each other. Later this summer we'll post images of the cabin that they share, as well as the Boston house that Sharon lives in, but for now we want to focus strictly on the ranch that Susan's dad, Mitch, owns. 

THE ENTRANCE FOYER

Mitch's house is decorated in this beautiful old Spanish missionary style with lots of interior stonework, heavy wood furniture, ornate carvings, and stained glass windows. The entrance door features beautiful decorative wood engravings, especially on the front side. 

THE LIVING ROOM

Once inside, this massive living room greets you. Just get a load of the fireplace on the far left side of the room. Two sets of french doors lead out to the courtyard while the steps take you to the upstairs bedrooms. 

We couldn't figure out where Hecky and Verbena live but it's probably in that separate section of the house just past the thru-way. You can see it in the top shot behind the white Thunderbird. If you were to take a right turn when you enter through the front door, you'd be in a short hallway that leads to the dining room. We pasted two screenshots together so a broader view could be seen. 

Mitch was wondering where his dinner was, when he was told that he will be eating out in the courtyard for a change. Nice as the courtyard is, it wasn't prepared for a dining table and so the gals got Hecky to move one in for them while they set up their "Let's Get Together" routine to entertain their parents. 

THE COURTYARD

If we grew up in this house I'd be throwing pennies down that old well every day making wishes on the future. Although with a life like Sharon had there really wouldn't be many wishes for a better future to make.... 

....unless you wanted a sister and a mother of course. And Maureen O'Hara makes one stunning mother! Here she is making her grand entrance to the courtyard and finds the set-up as amusing as Mitch does. We weren't able to figure out where that backdoor leads to, so we'll leave that up to your imagination. 

Let's take a look at the courtyard in these daytime shots before we move on to the upstairs bedroom. It looks like there is a little stone man with his legs crossed in the background. One thing this house certainly doesn't have a shortage of is flora and stonework.

The art directors who created the fantastic sets of The Parent Trap were Disney legend Carroll Clark ( stay tuned for a re-post about this talented man ) and Robert Clatworthy. Send Me No Flowers, Lover Come Back, That Touch of Mink, Psycho and Midnight Lace were just a few of the films that Robert Clatworthy was the art director on. 

Set decorators, Emile Kuri and Hal Gausman deserve as much credit for creating such a wonderful atmosphere with their decor. The second sheet of our floor plan features the upstairs rooms. Since most of the film took place in the lower level, we weren't able to take note of all of the bedrooms. Sharon and Susan shared a bed, so there must have been only one guest room but I would have loved to see Mitch's bedroom.

THE BEDROOMS

The entire Evers residence has this nice subtle light-tone color palette that carries over from the interior decor popular in the late 1950s. Parts of the house also foreshadow the style of the late 1960s, particularly the yellow glass windows in the living room. You just got to love those wide doors and hallways in this shot of Mitch's dressing room, and look at those horse watercolors. 

Walk through that doorway on the right and you'll end up right smack in the middle of Cleopatra's spa, complete with golden dolphin faucet handles. This bathroom connects with Sharon's bedroom, but oddly enough we see Maureen O'Hara using the bathroom instead. Her guest room did not have a one? Odd, for a ranch this size. But then again, that was probably just so the audience could enjoy that little scene where Mitch finds Maggie's bra hanging on the shower stall and thinks it belongs to Sharon. 

Maureen O'Hara was 41 years old when she made The Parent Trap, one year older than Brian Keith, but you'd never guess it from the way she looks. Maureen is one of the few actresses that really reached her prime ( as Miss Broooodie would say ) in her 40s. 

Here is Sharon looking inquiringly at her dad. This bedroom scheme reminds me of a great set from another Hayley Mills film, The Moon-Spinners ( 1964 ), with it's blue walls and thick white trim ( all stucco ). 

That's about all we get to see of the upstairs except for this brief scene of Verbena putting away the laundry. Anybody want to take a guess at what kind of room that back one could be? A dressing room? Guest room?

Anyway...now the piece de resistance...the kitchen! 

THE KITCHEN

This is one posh kitchen. The stonework is what really makes it stand out. That door in the back looks like it leads to the courtyard but actually it opens to a passageway ( carport? ) which enters into the courtyard. 

And see those great windows that look out to the wishing well? Well..they're not windows. They are just wooden frames. The summers in California are so warm, who needs windows? But in winter, I imagine they would put in the glass panes. 

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The Parent Trap features several beautiful sets, but the Evers ranch is the best of them all. To this day, the Disney Archives still receive requests for the blueprints to the house, with other asking for directions to the house so they could see it in person. In truth however, there never was an Evers ranch. 

The exterior of the house was just a shell. The exterior walls and roof were erected on the Golden Oak ranch, a large piece of property that Walt Disney owned in Placerita Canyon Road, in Santa Clarita Valley. The interior was all constructed on sound stages, which is hard to believe considering all the "sunlight" that streams in. 

Well, that about wraps up our first TV/Movie Set post. Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for more to come!