Book Vs. Movie: The Parent Trap
The 1949 Novel by Erich Kastner Vs the 1961 Disney Classic Film
The Margos are twinning this week talking about Lottie/Lisa & Sharon/Susan–the lead characters from the Erich Kastner german novel Das Doppelte Lottchen. The author’s life is fascinating and we discuss it in this episode. A pacifist who fought for Germany in WW1, Kastner became a leftist, pacifist who warned about german authoritarianism. The Nazi party actually burned his books and forbade him to work during WW2.
The story that will soon be known as The Parent Trap is about twin girls who meet at summer camp and learn they are sisters and a product of a divorced family. They decide to switch places (and homes) to get to know the parent they never met before. Also, to bring their parents back together. The book features illustrations of Walter Trier which really brings the story to life. It’s considered a classic in children’s literature and Kastner earned the Hans Christian Anderson Award for writing in 1960 and was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature four times in his lifetime.
The 1961 film was written and directed by David Swift and features an incredible performance by 15-year-old Hayley Mills who would go on to be a Disney superstar. (We don’t touch on the 1998 remake with Lindsay Lohan, sorry for those fans!)
So, between the novel and the movie–which did we prefer?
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The life story of Erich Kastner
- The basic outline of the story
- Biggest differences between book & movie.
- Starring: Hayley Mills (Sharon & Susan,) Brain Keith (Mitch Evers,) Maureen O’Hara (Maggie McKendrick,) Joanna Barnes (Vicky Robinson,) Charlie Ruggles (Charles McKendrick,) Cathleen Nesbitt (Louise McKendrick,) Una Merkel (Verbena the Housekeeper,) Leo G. Carroll (the Reverand,) Nancy Kulp (Mrs. Grunecker) and Frank DeVol (Mr. Englewood)
Clips used:
- Susan tells her family off
- The Parent Trap trailer
- Mitch and Maggie reunite
- Music by Richard and Robert Sherman
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