ABSTRACT
In 1987, a film called Three Men and a Baby made $167,780,960 at the box office, making this one of the highest earning ‘fish-out-of-water’ father films in the history of the genre. The film tells the story of three professional bachelors, who suddenly find themselves caring for a baby left on their doorstep. In one of the key scenes, Tom Selleck’s character, an architect, is seen holding the baby (Mary) as he surveys a construction site. Mary appears on site in a little pink hard hat. The film’s success says something about the gendered assumptions around work and family life at the time.
