Critics then praised it as wholesome entertainment. Later feminist readings (e.g., Maltin, 1973; Bell, 1994) noted the film’s contradictory messages: girls are manipulative yet resourceful; the mother (Maureen O’Hara) is an independent career woman who must ultimately submit to reconciliation. However, all prior analyses relied on the same sanitized home video and broadcast versions. The Internet Archive uploads provide new evidentiary ground.
: If you find a version you like, you can save it to your Favorites to access it easily later.
The story kicks off at , where two polar opposites meet: the tomboyish Susan Evers from California and the refined Sharon McKendrick from Boston. After a series of escalating pranks—including a disastrous camp dance—the two are sent to "solitary confinement" (a shared cabin), where they discover they are actually identical twins separated at birth.