Houseboat Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Houseboat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 6, 2025

Melville Shavelson's "Houseboat" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff and two vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Italian maid

Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida? Who was the bigger star in post-war Italy? Both were incredibly popular and had equally huge fan bases. This is why in the late 1950s they crossed the Atlantic and began working with famous Hollywood producers and directors. Stanley Kramer cast Loren in The Pride and the Passion, while King Vigor offered Lollobrigida a part in Solomon and Sheba. The two actresses had done several other English language films, but The Pride and the Passion and Solomon and Sheeba were supposed to be the massive and transformative films they needed to be embraced by mainstream American audiences. Unfortunately, these films did not meet expectations. Loren and Lollobrigida accepted parts in other films, but it was not too long before both realized they were far more impressive in Italian films. Loren, a better English speaker, appeared in more Hollywood films than Lollobrigida.

Melville Shavelson’s Houseboat is one of the smaller Hollywood films Loren appeared in after The Pride and the Passion. She is good in it, and looks very good, too, but the only legitimate star before the camera is her partner, Cary Grant. While the screenplay requires that she struggles to fit into Grant’s world, Loren often struggles to manage her lines and emotions too, and because of this, the chemistry between the two is very shaky. (All of this is quite ironic because at the time, Grant and Loren were involved in a romantic relationship that created a lot of headlines on both sides of the Atlantic).

After choosing to be a full-time dad and State Department employee, widower Tom Winters (Grant) realizes he would need a maid to look after his three children. At a concert, he bumps into Cinzia Zacardi (Loren), a free-spirited Italian beauty who is in the area with her father (Arturo Zaccardi), a famous orchestra conductor, and without realizing that she is a socialite trying to spice up her life, hires her. Shortly after, Tom buys a rundown houseboat from a cheeky character (Harry Guardino) and, with Cinzia’s help, begins transforming it into a proper home. However, it quickly becomes obvious that Cinzia is not cut out to be a maid -- she cannot cook and clean, or all the other things maids are supposed to do. However, Cinzia can love, and is already secretly fantasizing about Tom, who is also desired by his beautiful sister-in-law, Carolyn (Martha Hyer).

Houseboat works with very familiar and predictable material, which is not a problem because this is how films like it were made during the 1950s. The looks of their stars and the chemistry between them were a lot more important than the quality of the stories they told. While many had wonderfully scripted jokes, some of the funniest material in these films emerged from the great chemistry between their stars and was completely improvised.

Good improvisations can also be observed in Houseboat, but Grant and Loren do not create any memorable moments while their characters become closer. Often, these improvisations compensate for the absence of the great chemistry that Houseboat needs to be an effective film. To be clear, Houseboat is not an unfortunate misfire, but it looks and feels too sterile, like a collection of carefully scripted yet uneven vignettes, rather than a terrifically shot and polished film.

It must be said that the children are not utilized well either. Indeed, instead of creating hilarious chaos and complicating Grant and Loren’s interactions, they routinely look like unfortunate distractions. This particular development sinks several good sequences that could have been among the biggest highlights.

So, is Houseboat worth seeing? Yes, it is. Despite everything in it that does not work as well as it could have, it is still a charming film that can relax one's mind and put one in a good mood at the end of a long and exhausting day. Then again, there are many more films like it that do all of this and a lot better, too.

Houseboat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 and granted a 1080p transfer, Houseboat arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 6K master prepared at Paramount. On my system, Houseboat looked quite impressive, and in all the ways I hoped it would. For example, all visuals boasted outstanding delineation, clarity, and depth, and maintained a terrific organic appearance. Their dynamic range was fantastic as well. (In a higher resolution, they would look even more impressive). Color reproduction and balance were excellent as well. Perhaps a few sections could have been just a tad warmer, but I thought that the overall temperature of the visuals was convincing. A lot of the indoor and darker footage, where there are plenty of darker nuances, looks terrific. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film is spotless as well. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Houseboat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

If there were any age-related imperfections on the soundtrack in the past, it is impossible to tell now because all exchanges and the music sound great. The upper register is rock solid, too. The dynamic potency of the lossless track is not bad either, though there isn't any material that produces memorable contrasts. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Houseboat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff.

• Trailers - presented here are two vintage trailers for Houseboat. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

Houseboat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Great chemistry is what films like Houseboat needed the most to impress. While Cary Grant and Sophia Loren look good before the camera, a lot of what happens between them feels a bit too sterile. Houseboat can still end a long and exhausting day rather well, but there are many more and much better films like it. Kino Lorber's release introduces a marvelous new 6K restoration, recently completed at Paramount. RECOMMENDED.