It's Giving Life That Counts

I recently watched the original Yours, Mine, and Ours (haven't seen the new version, it just didn't appeal to me.) It's always interesting to watch older movies, especially because I find I'm often pleasantly shocked by the blatant messages of morality in them. I laughed so hard when I watched the original Cheaper by the Dozen, and the local Planned Parenthood woman was scandalized by the fact that this obviously intelligent and well respected woman dared to have twelve children, lol, and then had the door slammed behind her as she left, disgusted.

I admit that there were a few things in Yours, Mine, and Ours that kind of grated on me a bit at first, some slight passes at having lots of kids. But, I think one part beyond made up for those little passes. I found it so sweet, that I just had to copy it word for word!

The scene is near the end, Helen (Lucille Ball) is expecting their first child together, their 19th child combined. In the midst of labor pains and attempting to get her to the car to head to the hospital, one of her oldest daughters is having a boyfriend crisis of sorts. The daughter's shaggy-haired boyfriend, Larry, wants to have sex, and she's asking her step father, Frank (Henry Fonda) if she's being old fashioned or a prude for saying no to him, like he claims she is. The response given while he's supporting his wife down the stairs as she's in labor with their first child together, with 18 children running around them and all kind of chaos surrounding them was just beautiful, and about as pro-life as you can get.

Frank: "I've got a message for Larry, you tell him this is what it's all about. This is the real happening. If you want to know what love really is, take a look around ya."

Helen: "What are you two talking about?"

Frank: "Take a good look at your mother."

Helen: "Not now!"

Frank: "Yes, now! It's giving life that counts. Until you're ready for it, all the rest is just a big fraud. All the crazy haircuts in the world won't keep it turning. Life isn't the loving, it's the dishes and the orthodontist and the shoe repairman and ground round instead of roast beef. And I'll tell you something else, it's not going to bed with a man that proves you're in love with him, it's getting up in the morning and facing the drab, miserable, wonderful, everyday world with him that counts."

They head outside, Frank still supporting his laboring wife, they're both shouting goodbyes to the younger kids, telling them to get back in bed, and he continues talking to Helen's daughter.

Frank: "I suppose having 19 kids is carrying it a bit too far, but if we had it to do over, who would we skip, you?"

Such a simple message...each life is precious, and it's giving life that counts. Can you imagine hearing such a thing in a movie made today? It would be utterly shocking. It seems at this point, people hadn't quite yet forgotton that sex and love and babies go together, though they were beginning to. Frank summed it up nicely, trying to separate those things "is just a big fraud."