My Six Loves

This was a sweet little flick starring Debbie Reynolds as an exhausted Broadway star taking a rest in her country home. There she finds love, acceptance and contentment that fame, money and her career could never give her.

This movie is not available on video, so try to catch it when your local stations air the late night movie. Or try American Movie Classics. It's worth it.

I don't quite know why I loved this movie, but I did! It had some great one-liners and everyone was perfect in their respective roles. Eileen Heckart was hilarious as the personal assistant to Debbie Reynolds and Mary McCarty and Max Showalter were equally hilarious as the beer-guzzling, welfare collecting and neglectful "step parents" to the kids. When they showed up in their broken down trailer, burping from drinking too much, the Reverand asked them "Can we help you?" Heckart looked up at him and said "Are you serious?" Alice Ghostley was also fantastic as the goldbricking "housekeeper" who was taking care of Debbie Reynolds' Connecticut house while Raynolds lived and worked in New York.

I have always loved this movie. Is it sophisticated? No. Are there Oscar worthy performances, directing or writing? No. But what it does have is a charming and likable cast, an endearing story line and a happy ending. It is one of the most pleasant of the many feel good light comedies that came out in the early 60s.

If you are looking for deep meaning, this not the movie for you. If you spend your movie watching time picking apart flaws in movies, yes, you will find plenty in this movie. But if you just want to enjoy a movie and feel good when you are finished watching it, I can highly recommend this movie.

MY SIX LOVES was an entertaining family comedy from the 1960's that stars Debbie Reynolds as a musical comedy star who is sent to her country home after being told by doctors that she is exhausted and needs major time off. She and her assistant (Eileen Heckart)arrive at her country home and shortly after her arrival, Reynolds discovers six orphans secretly living on her property. The story is routine, the situations predictable and the story pretty much moves in the expected directions, but it's a relatively entertaining journey with Reynolds at the peek of her charm, receiving able assistance from Heckart, Cliff Robertson as a neighborhood minister, and a surprisingly funny David Janssen as her fast-talking agent. The kids are cute and work well with the star. It ain't Chekhov, but it will keep you awake for 90 minutes.

I saw this movie at a drive-in theatre with my family when I was 4 years old. I remembered parts of it, most notably the six orphans living in the woods behind Debbie Reynolds' house. Those memories have stayed with me my entire life, but couldn't remember the name of it, or its stars.

While channel surfing the other night, it was just beginning, and I didn't recognize it (I'd completely forgotten the beginning of the film). Within minutes the hair was standing on the back of my neck as I recognized this as "that movie" I saw almost 40 years ago! I stayed up half the night watching it, and remembering my childhood.

Hopefully this will make it onto DVD. As a jaded 40 something year old, I was surprised how moved I was by this little movie, and I can't get the song "It's a Darn Good Thing" outta my head!

Wonderful family viewing.