Mister Scoutmaster

A middle aged man, Robert Jordan, set in his ways, takes on a boy scout troop after his predecessor leaves under duress. Jordan takes on the pack mostly to learn what the boys like so he can revive his flagging radio program which is losing it's appeal to the younger set. He has a rough go at first with the boys, especially so with Mike, an 8 year old who forms an attachment for the older man which is anything but reciprocated. Do things work out for Jordan and the scouts? Check out this entertaining and amusing film from the old days.

I just saw this film for the first time and surprisingly was quite impressed. Clifton Webb again shows that underneath that gruff exterior beats a caring heart. Even the children do an admirable job, as does Frances Dee, Webb's sympathetic wife. This picture could have gone either way, but it's poignant writing and good performances work well and even offer some positive messages for us all. Bravo!

If you love Mr. Belvedere, chances are you'll like to see Clifton Webb in similar comedies. He didn't always play the structured stuffed shirt, but frequently his audience liked to see him like that. In Mister Scoutmaster, he plays a television personality who hates children but gets roped into becoming a scoutmaster. His wife, Kay Francis, has her heart set on adopting a child, but Edmund Gwenn, in charge at the orphanage, thinks Clifton isn't sincere. To prove it, Clifton volunteers to be a scoutmaster to a bunch of impressionable scouts.

George Winslow (the child actor with the 'froggy' voice) is a wannabe boy scout who likes to hang around the older boys and Clifton. He's a pathological liar who frequently gets into trouble, but Kay takes a liking to him. While she has it in mind to adopt him, Clifton has his hands full just keeping an eye on him while the other boys are trying to be serious scouts. Do you think the little kid will soften Mr. Belvedere's heart? Check out this family friendly flick to find out. It's not the best in the world, but it won't hurt you.

Clifton Webb becomes Mister Scoutmaster as a matter of show business survival. He's host of a television program which is in danger of being canceled because it's not reaching the youth audience the sponsors of a breakfast cereal want to reach. What to do, but reach the minds of what the youth of America are thinking.

Edmund Gwenn who is the pastor of the church Webb and wife Frances Dee attend has the perfect solution. The Boy Scout troop that meets in his church has just lost their scoutmaster because they're an unruly group of kids at times. Gwenn gets Webb to be the new scoutmaster.

Remember this is Clifton Webb and this will not be an easy relationship given what his movie characters are like. But in the end he bonds with the scouts and with one particular young Cub Scout, George Winslow. Young Mr. Winslow who had an early deepening voice had a spate of popularity at the time. But despite that he comes across as a real kid.

During the Fifties, 20th Century Fox softened Webb's acid image from the Forties. His first film with them, Laura where he also played an electronic media personality Waldo Lydecker had a great deal more bite than his character of Robert Jordan here. But I sure can't see Lydecker leading kids into the woods except to lose them in the wilds.

Standing out as she always does is Veda Ann Borg playing George Winslow's aunt who has legal custody of him. But she's a loose living girl and that kid certainly cramps her style. Veda Ann never fails to steal a film no matter how brief her brassy part is.

The Boy Scouts have undergone a lot of change since Mister Scoutmaster was in theaters. Still the polished and elegant Webb leading a Boy Scout troop will definitely get a few laughs and tug a couple of heartstrings in regard to young Master Winslow.

The book (titled 'Be Prepared!')was written as a semi-autobiographical account by Keith Monroe, using Rice Cochran as a pseudonym. Since he was in his 30's at the time the book was published and had been a scoutmaster for only a few years, it has been suggested that many of the experiences belonged to his father, also a scoutmaster for many years. Rumor was that the head of Boy Scouts at the time was enraged by the book, and called for the head of the author. The book, if you can find it, is an excellent read and offers profound insight into the life of a scoutmaster. Clifton Webb's portrayal as a curmudgeonly yet lovable leader, somewhat naive to the behavior of boys, is enjoyable but the movie is more fluff than substance. I must admit my bias, having earned Eagle Scout in the author's troop.