Mister Scoutmaster

A cute little film not designed to be a classic but as a showcase for the talents of Clifton Webb who this is obviously tailored too. He is his usual irascible self, slowly simmering to a boil and ever mindful of his dignity which is stripped away at regular intervals.

Nice to see Frances Dee a pleasant actress who once married to Joel McCrea rarely worked and then often in undemanding supporting roles. Such is her part here but she does well by and is a good balance with Webb's starch.

George Winslow is sweetly endearing as the misfit cub who idolizes the scoutmaster in his own way.

Efficiently directed with a veteran supporting cast this moves along at a quick clip, a most enjoyable diversion.

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.

This movie was never intended as a big-budget film but was a cute little picture that pretty much anyone could enjoy. It probably won't change your life, but it is certainly charming and engaging.

Clifton Webb plays a curmudgeon (that's certainly not new) who has a TV. However, his ratings are failing and he is worried about cancellation. So he decides maybe he is too out of touch with kids--as he and his wife have none of their own. So, he volunteers as a scoutmaster and regrets doing this almost immediately! Remember, he IS a curmudgeon and doesn't particularly like kids. To make things worse, one of the kids really likes him and follows him like a lost puppy. No matter how indifferently he acts towards the kid, the child just wants to spend time with him! The kid is cute and nearly steals the show all by himself!

What happens next and the twists and turns of the movie are something you'll just have to find out for yourself. Understand that this is a light, cute and yet not cloying movie you'll probably enjoy.

WARNING: MAY contain some minor spoilers.

Hard to say anything bad about this movie, except for one thing.

YOU DON'T GET TO SEE IT MUCH ANYMORE !!!! Then again, maybe that's because you have to be home in the morning or at 3 am to catch it the Fox Movie channel.

Too bad, for this is another gem lost to time, Clifton Webb takes his patented sour, know-it-all demeanor he had perfected as Lynn Belvedere ("Sitting Pretty" and sequels), and turns 'Nature Boy'.

Actually, it's like this.

Webb plays Robert Jordan the host of a Sunday children's educational program that is losing audience share, and the network breaks it to him that he needs to do something about it, or else.

Part of the problem may be due to the fact that the married host has no children.

BUMMER !!! But as such things happen, the local church pastor needs a leader for an unruly troop of Boy Scouts, and finds a willing victim ... ahhhh 'VOLUNTEER' ... in the host, so Jordan he takes the position.

Problem solved, RIGHT ???

WRONG !!! This being a movie there are other problems.

For example, it turns out one of the Scouts is the son of his boss at the TV station, which causes a little friction; especially since the kid is overweight, has asthma as well as an attitude.

And he is the more reasonable one.

Also, there is this Cub Scout, Mike (George Winslow) who wants to hang around, being the 'stray puppy' type.

As it turns out, the reason is that he has no folks of his own, but is cared for by a relative who hasn't much time for him.

It is things like this that makes his job harder than expected.

All in all, Webb becomes more understanding of kids, and not only saves his show but learns a rewarding lesson, and eventually even adopts Mike.

Still a great movie after all these years.

Cliften Webb exhibits his signature persona, as a starchy aristocratic middle-aged authority figure: Robert Jordan. Not generally fond of children, but his wife Helen(Francis Dee) expresses a desire for a child, and thinks she's too old to produce one herself. Robert reluctantly agrees to look for an adoption. He decides he needs some activity to get him more in touch with the young generation, and grabs the opportunity of scoutmaster. As you can imagine, he soon regards the scouts as a bunch of savages, at least when assembled in a group. They laugh at his newness at the role.........When he goes calling on a prospective scout, he falls over a bicycle in the dark. A tiny girl answers the door, says her mother told her not to let anyone in, and shuts the door in his face. When he rings the bell again, this is repeated. Luckily, the brother happens to arrive home. The girl lets him in , but again shuts the door on the scoutmaster. The boy lets him in........Meanwhile, a small, shy, cub scout(George Winslow, as Mike) has taken a liking to Mr. Scoutmaster., in his frozen face manner. At first, Robert considers him a pest, but gradually warms up to him, with Helen's encouragement. Eventually, Robert visits his home, and meets the woman(pretty , blonde, Vega Ann Borg) who says she is Mike's unofficial guardian, at present. Robert gets the impression that she is rather neglectful of Mike and of the house. On another occasion, Mike unexpectedly shows up for a boy scout meeting. When Robert tells him he doesn't belong there, he leaves. Robert then is afraid he may get lost, and tells the scouts to scatter and look for him. Robert, himself, then goes looking in the place he most fears that Mike may have gone to. The remainder of the film involves a climactic irony or two...........The screenplay depends on a number of unlikely contrivances, but don't most comedies? George Winslow(Mike) was discovered by Art Linkletter , as having an unusual frozen face persona, and unusual voice. Hollywood embraced him as a comedy element. His most remembered role was in the hit "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". He wasn't able to make the transition to teen or adult actor.