Take Her, She’s Mine is part two of a trilogy of films that James Stewart made during his “grumpy dad” period. The first film, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1963) features Stewart as the titular Mr. Hobbs, a man who takes his wife (Maureen O’Hara), children, their spouses, and their children, all on vacation at the beach. The third film, Dear Brigitte (1965) features Stewart as the father of Billy Mumy, who is in love with French film star Brigitte Bardot. The second film, penned by the husband and wife team, Henry and Phoebe Ephron (parents of Nora), features Stewart as Frank Michelson–father of “a dish” in the form of Sandra Dee.
At 21, Dee is all grown up and no longer possesses the gawky frame and innocent wide-eyed face of her most famous role as Frances “Gidget” Lawrence, in 1959’s Gidget. By 1963, Dee had been married to singer Bobby Darin for three years and have given birth to their son Dodd in 1961. Dee plays Mollie, the recent high school graduate, turned college freshman. At the beginning of the film, she horrifies her father by donning a yellow bikini which shows off her curves and attracts the attention of her male classmates. Frank and his wife, Anne (Audrey Meadows), are relieved that their daughter will be attending college in New York and hopefully devoting her attention elsewhere.
Throughout the main Mollie plotline, Frank’s story is interwoven. An overprotective, nervous father, Frank is seen rushing into an emergency school board meeting which has been called to address some recent scandals with which he’s involved. The president of the Pacific Palisades Board of Education, Frank’s reputation and job are on the line. His attempt to rationalize his involvement in these scandals frame the Mollie storyline, which is presented in flashback. The first scandal involves Frank being arrested at a protest at a New York college where Mollie is attending. Like many young adults attending college in the turbulent 1960s, Mollie becomes involved in politics and adopts multiple causes. She also forms a folk act with a friend.
FRANK: How old is the punk?
MOLLIE: He’s not a punk.
FRANK: All right, how old is the non-punk?
James Stewart as “Frank Michelson” and Sandra Dee as “Mollie Michelson.”
In New York, Mollie’s activism and folk performances end up taking priority over her studies. She writes telegram after telegram to her parents informing them of her latest arrest (due to protesting) and lamenting that she’s still a virgin. Frank is concerned about Mollie’s activism leading to legal troubles and ends up traveling to New York to talk to her. There’s a funny scene in the cafe where Mollie sings where he thinks that she’s become a stripper, due to the drunken antics of a group of college boys who keep yelling at her to “take it off.” There’s also an odd performance by Jim Nabors, whose voice is inexplicably dubbed. As someone who has seen a lot of Nabors as Gomer Pyle, his dubbed voice is obvious and off-putting. Look for Bob Denver who also performs at the club. Frank then ends up joining Mollie in a protest and ends up being arrested at a sit-in when he stands up for the kids. Due to failing all her courses, Mollie is kicked out of school.
Back at home, Mollie is seen painting in a bikini outside her home while she partakes in one of her hobbies, painting. Mollie’s style is abstract and doesn’t make much sense to Frank and Anne, but it catches the attention of someone with connections to a prestigious art school in Paris. Paris is where a bulk of the action of the film takes place. While in Paris, Mollie excels at her studies, but also attracts the attention of a young Frenchman, Henri (Philippe Forquet). Mollie and Henri become an item and seem to be a good match. Frank and Anne become concerned when Mollie sends a telegram stating that Henri’s painting of her is going to appear in Life Magazine. When the magazine is published, Frank and Anne are horrified that the painting appears to feature Mollie topless. Frank packs his bags and heads to Paris.
FRANK: Do you know what ‘Life’ means when they say protege?
ANNE: Welll….
FRANK: When they say protege, they’re winking. It’s their way of slipping you the dirt. When they say protege, what they’re really saying…
ANNE: Okay, Okay!
James Stewart as “Frank Michelson” and Audrey Meadows as “Anne Michelson”
There’s another storyline interwoven in the Paris segment with Henri and Mollie trying to get Henri’s parents to accept Mollie, despite her being American and not French. There’s a funny sequence where Henri, Mollie, and Henri’s parents attend a masquerade party aboard a large ship. Henri and Mollie are dressed as Marc Antony and Cleopatra, along with almost every other young couple on board. One would assume that the recent release of Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra epic probably influenced a lot of Halloween costumes that year. Frank gets wind of the party and decides to attend as Daniel Boone.
On board, there’s a funny running gag with Frank’s costume literally falling apart at the seams as he tries to figure out which Cleopatra is Mollie. There’s another joke running throughout the film with various people mistaking Frank for James Stewart. Eventually Frank finds Mollie just as her and Henri’s relationship appears to be ending. Based on his actions throughout the film, one would think that Frank would be overjoyed with his daughter’s relationship ending; but he begins to realize that she and Henri had something special going. It is at this point when he has to decide whether to continue trying to protect Mollie, or finally accept that she’s a grown adult.
While this isn’t the greatest film ever made, it is a fun piece of 1960s fluff–the perfect coming of age film to watch on a Saturday or Sunday morning, or a lazy summer afternoon. Sandra Dee’s costumes are adorable and some are quite sexy, especially when Frank imagines her as a can-can dancer in the Moulin Rouge. This film is also fun to see Paris in the 1960s and the newly constructed LAX aiport. Having just traveled through LAX in April, it’s always fun to see somewhere I’ve been in an old movie.
James Stewart is quite funny as the nervous, overprotective father whose own fuddy duddy-ness and lack of knowledge about the current generation leads him to unwittingly getting involved in all sorts of scandals–including being photographed inside a Parisian brothel with one of the prostitutes on his arm. John “the butterfly collector from ‘Gilligan’s Island’ looking for the Pussycat Swallowtail” McGiver, who was seemingly in every 1960s film and television show ever made, is hilarious as one of the school board members. Sandra Dee, who is unfairly regarded as an eternally virginal goody two shoes (a la “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” in Grease), is excellent in this film. She’s completely believable as a young woman trying to find her way in the world and learn who she is. Her frustration with her father is understandable, as well as her desire to keep him involved. She wants to be allowed to fail, but also wants her father to help her should she need it. Dee’s character runs the gamut in this film from naive, to curious, to angry, to frustrated, to optimistic, to happy, to scared, and to romantic. And let’s face it, she’s a dish too!