Mr. Belvedere Goes to College

Mr Belvedere's character is a lot of fun to watch, he is the 1940s version of "the most interesting person in the world" - name it, he's not only done it, he invented it. No one should take this character seriously, so I don't follow the comments about being a perfect fit for "today's cellphone generation" (ah yes .. the youth of today are even worse then the last crop).

The main aspect of the film I found "dated" is the idea that being a single mother (Ellen Baker - Shirley Temple) was such a huge scandal -- something that should be covered up, or a source of disgrace. Even given the morals of the time, what would be scandalous about a married women who lost her husband in the war? There must have been many women in this situation. Thank goodness we live in more liberal times.

I also got a little exasperated with the old movie cliché of someone starting to explain their situation only to be cut off -- and then letting this misunderstanding carry the plot for the next half hour. My goodness, half the movies you see use this same tired plot device. Oh well, too late to complain. As I understand it, the writers and most of the characters are long since dead, so they don't care what I think. Except of course Mr. Belvedere who is surely sitting on a mountain somewhere in Tibet surfing the internet (which he invented).

In the aftermath of WWII, America's fighting men are returning home, and many of them are using the G.I. Bill to attend college. Also enrolling is Lynn Belvedere, successful author, autodidact, and self-acknowledged genius. We first met him in Twentieth Century Fox's "Sitting Pretty". Though nothing about Mr. Belvedere would surprise us, it is odd to see a man of his age living the life of a frosh. And so this fish-out-of-water story begins.

Another student attending Clemens is Ellen Baker, played by Shirley Temple with grace and the sureness of an acting veteran. Her path intersects Mr. Belvedere's and sets up the main part of the story.

Mr. Belvedere is one of the great comic characters and Clifton Webb portrays the master of all trades with precision. The writing allows the character to be almost churlish, as someone who must endure the imperfections of others, while remaining a man of principle.

This film is fairly simple in its premise (like Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School), and it likewise spends little time moralizing, content to entertain in the broadest of ways. In that regard, it is very successful. Mr. Belvedere is no fuddy-duddy; he's a ducky shincracker, too!

This is a great movie starring Shirley at her best! As a teen she was just coming into her own, and I especially loved her acting at that age. Clifton Webb was sensational, and really steals the show! One person that has been left out of the credits though, is Jeff Chandler. He has a very small part at the very end of the film. He is one of the cops that breaks into Shirley's home. Although there is no close up of him, his voice is unmistakable, and his looks are so distinct you know it's him! It's worth seeing just to see him for those brief moments! All in all, a movie for anyone who like a good laugh and a good time!

I'm a fan of Clifton Webb and love his portrayal of Mr. Belvedere. He did three films as Belvedere, and this may be the least of the three. But it's still fun.

There are a lot of possibilities offered by the premise - the self-styled, eccentric, sarcastic but somehow lovable genius, Lynn Belvedere, entering college as a middle-aged freshman. But a lot of the movie focuses on Shirley Temple as a struggling young single mother/student, and some of this side of the picture is tedious. Shirley as a young adult is still as cute and charming as ever. She just doesn't get to have much fun with her role.

Alan Young is on hand as a snide, nerdy roommate of Belvedere (he calls Webb "Belvy"), a sort of overage Holden Caulfield. His interactions with Webb provide some laughs. Jesse Royce Landis plays a sorority house mother who employs the Young character and Belvedere as waiters. Her son, at college on the GI Bill, loves Shirley but has no idea she's a war widow with a small child. It's that kind of plot, but at least there's some humor in the sorority situation, as Belvedere straightens out some of the loud, sloppy girls in his unique manner, and shares recipes with the Scandinavian cook (speaking to her in her native language, of course).

20th Century-Fox had a way with college movies. Father Was A Fullback, Take Care Of My Little Girl, Mother Was A Freshman, and Apartment For Peggy, to name a few. So they knew what they were doing in sending Mr. Belvedere to college. Maybe hilarity doesn't ensue as often as it did in the first Belvedere picture, Sitting Pretty (1948). But this isn't a bad sequel and you do get to see Clifton Webb do his Belvedere characterization, in his unique and charming, very funny manner.

It s especially significant that this is the first and only time Shirley Temple returned to 20th Century Fox after her reign as the studio's top child star. She is very appealing in this film. This proves that they could, and should, have groomed her for juvenile leads.

As for Clifton Webb, who plays the title character, his performance is very multi-dimensional. When the police think he is a peeping tom and he is crawling through windows-- hiding out in the halls inside Shirley's apartment building-- it reminds this writer of Waldo Lydecker from Laura. There is a creepiness and danger that he brings to some of these scenes that is both disturbing and fascinating.