Although Cary Grant is first billed and narrates the story, the central character of Room For One More is Grant's then wife Betsy Drake. The film is based on the memoirs and true story of Anna Rose who after having three children of her own, goes out and takes in more for foster care. In real life the Roses had four foster children, here we only see presumably the first two.
Drake is one of those people who just can't resist taking in a stray anything. In addition to kids, she and Grant take in dogs, and cats, and even a rabbit which does its multiplying thing in short order. The two foster kids are Iris Mann an unloved and unlovely teenager who with a real home blossoms like Cinderella.
Clifford Tatum, Jr. is more of a problem, he's a sullen kid equipped with Forrest Gump like braces. Grant and Drake achieve something of a miracle with him as well.
Room For One More is one of a series of films where the married and domesticated Cary Grant is more in evidence. You could also include Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and Houseboat as that same type of film. It was a new dimension for an older star and Grant handled it very well. Highlight has to be his talk with young Tatum about the facts of life after Tatum is caught trying to satisfy his own curiosity.
The climax is young Tatum becoming an Eagle Scout and overcoming his physical handicaps. The film seems to be almost a commercial for the Foster Care system and for the Boy Scouts. Since the time Room For One More Was Made, both institutions have come in for their share of criticism from various sources.
In 1962 Room For One More was made into a television series by Warner Brothers starring Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay, but it only lasted for one season.
But the film has endured as a family classic and likely to remain so. The leads are in fine form and they get good support from the adult and child supporting cast.
Drake is one of those people who just can't resist taking in a stray anything. In addition to kids, she and Grant take in dogs, and cats, and even a rabbit which does its multiplying thing in short order. The two foster kids are Iris Mann an unloved and unlovely teenager who with a real home blossoms like Cinderella.
Clifford Tatum, Jr. is more of a problem, he's a sullen kid equipped with Forrest Gump like braces. Grant and Drake achieve something of a miracle with him as well.
Room For One More is one of a series of films where the married and domesticated Cary Grant is more in evidence. You could also include Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and Houseboat as that same type of film. It was a new dimension for an older star and Grant handled it very well. Highlight has to be his talk with young Tatum about the facts of life after Tatum is caught trying to satisfy his own curiosity.
The climax is young Tatum becoming an Eagle Scout and overcoming his physical handicaps. The film seems to be almost a commercial for the Foster Care system and for the Boy Scouts. Since the time Room For One More Was Made, both institutions have come in for their share of criticism from various sources.
In 1962 Room For One More was made into a television series by Warner Brothers starring Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay, but it only lasted for one season.
But the film has endured as a family classic and likely to remain so. The leads are in fine form and they get good support from the adult and child supporting cast.