Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Load of rubbish!!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Hayley Mills plays twins who, unknown to their divorced parents, meet at a summer camp. Products of single parent households, they switch places (surprise!) so as to meet the parent they never knew, and then conspire to reunite them.This is an undisputed Disney classic. And what makes it great, beyond just being a known classic, is how it appeals to a wide age range. There is something for the kids, but there are also some risqué jokes that may be better appreciated by adults. Some hanky-panky suggestions, for example.Sadly, I had actually seen the 1998 version first. I like that version, but I really wish I had watched them in order. There are also apparently a handful of sequels to the original, but I can't say I'm nearly as excited about them.

"The Parent Trap," is the third film in Hayley Mills' young career, and her second with Walt Disney. She made her film debut in 1959 with her father, John Mills, in a British mystery-thriller, "Tiger Bay." Disney then signed her to a five-year contract. Her American film debut was in 1960 in "Pollyanna." After its success, the making of "Parent Trap" in 1960 proved to be a test for Mills and the whole Disney studio. Most people will know the plot of this film. It's based on a German story by Erich Kastner. Mills is delightful in her dual role as twin sisters, Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick. Beyond the strange situation of parents divorcing and separating their twin daughters shortly after birth, this film has an endearing story and a script to match it. The roles of her parents are played very well by Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith, as Maggie McKendrick and Mitch Evers. Mitch is the source of much of the humor. A fine supporting cast adds to the luster of the film, and a good amount of the humor. Joanna Barnes is very funny as Vicky Robinson, Leo G. Carroll is hilarious as Rev. Dr. Mosby, and Charles Ruggles is warmly humorous as the maternal grandfather, Charles McKendrick. Of course, the twins (Hayley and Hayley) are perpetrators of many of the humorous situations. Mills went on to make several successful films with Disney and the major studios until 1976. Her film career fizzled at the age of 30 after she married a director 33 years her senior in 1971. Roy Boulting's management of her career led to some poor movies. So, at an age when many stars are ascending the ladder and just beginning their best years, Hayley Mills' film career was all but washed up. She and Boulting divorced in 1976, but she never recovered even a part of her star status in film. She made just a few films after that over the years. Those were interspersed with appearances in several TV series, and her return to the stage. She returned for a sequel to "The Parent Trap," a TV movie in 1989. Mills received no major acting awards or nominations beyond the mid-1960s. She was the last person to receive an honorary Academy Award Juvenile Oscar – in 1961 for "Pollyanna." She won a Golden Globe in 1960 for "Pollyanna" as most promising female newcomer; and she won the BAFTA award as most promising newcomer in 1959 for "Tiger Bay." She was nominated for Golden Globes in 1963 (for "The Parent Trap" of 1961) and 1964 (for "Summer Magic" of 1963). "The Parent Trap" is a popular film many decades after its making, and it will likely remain so well into the future, for three reasons. First is the timeless nature of the story. Second – Disney put it in settings that are still familiar well into the 21st century. And third, because of its technical achievements for which it remains one of the best film examples. This was one of the first films to use a single actor in two roles – as twins. A number of different techniques were used to shoot the twins. Disney special effects guru, Ub Iwerks, pioneered many technical advances in the film industry, beginning with the split screen technique in this film.It wasn't until years later that the public learned of a double who was used for the film. Susan Henning so closely resembled Hayley Mills that she played the opposite twin in all the scenes when only one was facing the camera. But, scenes in which both twins faced the camera, called for the split screen. These scenes were shot twice, with each girl switching roles. That meant complete costume and prop exchanges. In each shoot, the film is exposed only on the half in which Hayley is the character. Thus, when the film was processed, the two performers would be the same person – Hayley. There was much more detail to get this right and to match, and a 2002 bonus featurette with the movie goes into that. In it, Susan Henning-Schutte said she didn't mind being uncredited. She said she had a ball with Hayley and that it was a fun project for the whole cast and studio. Of course, no one knew all the details when this film came out in 1961, and audiences just figured it was the "magic" of Hollywood being able to shoot the same person as twins and putting it on the screen. For all that the public knew this film starred Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills. A modern Disney DVD release has two films – this one and "The Parent Trap II" of 1989. And, it comes with a separate disc that has bonus material. The short documentaries on the latter are well worth the time to watch. "Caught in the Act: The Making of the Parent Trap" tells how the film came about and was made. "Who's the Twin" delves into the challenges of filming the same person as twins. Another short is on the Sherman Brothers and the songs for the film. And, there's much more with interviews of stars and crew members, mixed with snippets of Walt Disney and production stills. It's a nice bonus for those who are interested in the art and craft of making movies.

The parent trap based on the book is about a girl named Susan becoming the rival of Sharon while at summer camp. What makes its odd is both girls look identical, know stories about the other's parent and find out they have been separated by divorce.This time played by Haley Mills, a gifted young address who made this into a box office success and launched her acting career. The fabulous Marean O'Hara and Brian Keith were a delight as the kooky parents to the twins playing off one another anytime they're on screen.The humor was refreshing as its in the arguments the couple has, the twins pranks or fight at camp and the side characters shenanigans making it a memorable experience. I never laughed so hard in a long time.It does drag in places after an exciting first hour as the twins perform a musical number only to eat up screen time and many scenes are spent talking repetitively about the same problems through out.The new love interest wasn't as evil or conniving as the 90s version Mar and made you think how good ole dad couldn't see right through the charade sooner.Another flaw was the slit screen was kinda obvious in certain scenes taking the realism out of focus for a few moments at a time.Still it was a nice way to see a nice, clean, relaxing film.

After watching the 1998 remake with Lindsay Lohan, I had to check out the 60's version which I thought was unbelievably filmed well! Firstly, before I start ranting on how great the film was, I will say that I don't think that this film doesn't match the remake. Usually I find remade films worse or less superior than the originals but for some reason I just found some more fun in the remake. The original however I think is still excellent and should still be viewed.The plot centers on two twins who discover each other at a girls camp. They find out who each other's parents are and then they decide to con-cock a mischievous plan into swapping places and getting to know each other's parents before meeting again, trying to reunite their parents.The acting, scenery and settings, music score, unique moments and memorable scenes were put together very well and the entire film still holds up to today's standards.My first thoughts were that the film wasn't going to be great at all and that it wasn't going to beat the remake. I was wrong about it being a well made masterpiece, but I was right about it not beating the remake in my opinion.I thought everything was a little different and more absurd whilst I still found more moments (especially the woods scenes). However, I did find the music a little bit too typical (very 50's-60's styled themed music, it sounded like anything else).Overall, I do love this film. I don't have anything negative to say about it, but there's just something about the remake which I found more special, but then again if we didn't have this film, we wouldn't have the remake!!! Anyway, I really believe the film is one of the best 1960's films, ranking right up with 60's horror such as Black Sabbath and Rosemary's Baby. 8.5/10