I'll Take Sweden (1965) a Father-Daughter Comedy with Bob Hope

As movie stars of the '30s and '40s aged, they sometimes starred as parents in popular family movie formulas in the '50s and '60s.

One of the common plots is of a father (a movie legend) and his wife or love interest (another well-known star) keeping his daughter (a newer popular star) from the machinations of a girl-hungry young man (often a popular singer).

I'll Take Sweden (1965) is Bob Hope's turn at this plot.

A widowed father (Hope) keeps his daughter (Tuesday Weld) away from the beatnik she loves (Frankie Avalon) by moving to Sweden. There they both meet new love interests. When the old boyfriend shows up, problems ensue.

I say they move out of the country, but "Sweden" looks an awful lot like California.

This plot, as I say, is a staple of the late '50s and '60s. Sandra Dee appears in many of them. She's paired with movie legend Jimmy Stewart in Take Her, She's Mine (1963). The father wants to keep his daughter out of trouble and away from boys, so when she goes to Paris he goes fairly out of his mind with worry.

Dee plays opposite Rex Harrison in The Reluctant Debutante (1958) who brings her to London where she meets an American drummer, John Saxon, much to Harrison's chagrin.

In Come September (1961), Dee is already in Italy when Bobby Darrin wants to serenade her. Rock Hudson  plays a father figure who blocks Darrin at every turn.


In a subplot of Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) (in which Sandra Dee does not appear), Henry Fonda plays a father who must keep his stepdaughter from seeing some disrespectful guy.

Usually the mother or mother figure is fairly superfluous, but gets great wardrobe and makeup, creating a mini fashion show.

These are predictable but fun plots. Enjoy!