Young Man with Ideas

Glenn Ford is a "Young Man with Ideas" in this 1952 comedy directed by Mitchell Leisen and also starring Ruth Roman, Nina Foch, and Denise Darcel.

Ford is attorney Max Webster, living in Montana. He does the grunt work for the law office where he works -- research, writes summaries, etc., all things that the partners take credit for. His wife Julie (Roman) pushes him to ask for a partnership. He is rejected, so he quits, and the family moves to Los Angeles. There he crams for the bar with an attractive fellow student (Foch), who also gets him a job at a collection agency, something he is ill-suited for. Not only can't he collect, but he ends up paying part of a singer's (Darcel) bill.

But the Websters have much bigger problems than Max's failure at the collection agency. Their house was a gambling joint for bookies, and people keep calling and placing bets. Though they keep telling the callers that "Mike" has moved away and they have the wrong number, one day, Julie, in disgust, takes a $10 bet for Kimo, who comes in at 80 to 1. The caller on the other end wants his money.

Amusing comedy that could have been uproarious, but Leisen, who did such great work in the '40s, was a fallen star by then. Glenn Ford was always a very charming and attractive actor, and while his comedy talent was limited, he still manages to be likable. Still, we have two stars who usually do dramatic roles -- three really, if you count Foch -- in a comedy. They probably had to make the film to fulfill their contracts.

Cute but ultimately disappointing. The story had some fun things in it, including Glenn Ford trying to sing "Mother," and Mary Wickes having her son show off his acting expressions. It wouldn't have taken much to make this much better. but it needed a Leo McCarey or a Howard Hawks in the director's chair.

Maxwell Webster (Glenn Ford) and his wife Julie join his bosses for a dinner party. Julie gets drunk and Maxwell doesn't get the recognition he wants. It all ends badly. Max is good lawyer but a pushover. Julie convinces him to quit and move the family to L. A. They could only get a house which is a former bookie joint. Joyce Laramie inserts herself as his class study buddy to get a Californian law license. She gets him a collection job but he's ill-equipped for the work.

This has some fun. Glenn Ford plays a flustered guy pretty well. There are some good moments and good comedic side characters. The child actor bit is very funny. Max is a little too pathetic at times but it fits his character. I would like less of that. The trial is an interesting turn but it's a bit too serious. All in all, it's good fun for the most part.

Glenn Ford renders his usual brand of under-played finesse in "Young Man With Ideas." Fortunately these roles offer a departure from earlier assignments for both he and his leading lady. With polished style Ford woos the audience to embrace Maxwell Webster, a shy "every-man" who longs to break free of a dismal law career in Montana. His wife Julie is delivered with verve by the competent Ruth Roman. Equipped with her trademark upturned collars Roman blossoms as an apt comedienne sidekick to Ford's straight man. Nina Foch perfectly balances this picture injecting some much needed sexual energy as Joyce Laramie a cool "blonde with a brain" law student. Standout supports include Denise Darcel playing Dorianne Gray, a broad lounge act (or a lounge act broad) singing "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)." The beloved Mary Wickes pops in nearly tearing the scenery from it's hinges, as a kooky stage-mom neighbor she takes only her budding child-star Son as prisoner.

In what otherwise may have been a ho-hum movie given the ordinary A minus treatment, this dusty gem shines like a new penny under expert direction of Mitchell Leisen, a largely well-paced screenplay by Arthur Sheekman and a stalwart cast.

When the film begins, Max and Julie Webster (Glenn Ford and Ruth Roman) are living in Montana. Max is a meek lawyer who doesn't get the respect his wife thinks he deserves. When they go to a very important meeting with Max's boss to celebrate a case they just won, Julie gets drunk and tells off Max's boss!! The next day, Julie nags poor Max into going in to the boss and instead of apologizing insists that he should ask for a raise. Not surprisingly, Max is fired.

The wife then insists that they should move to California and this means not only relocating them but forcing poor old Max to take the California Bar exam in order to practice there. Not only that, he doesn't have a job...though he is offered one as a bill collector. Naturally this job is all wrong for Max since he's so meek, but when the wife berates him for being so weak, he takes the job. The wife also nearly gets Max killed due to comments she makes to a stranger over the phone. What's next? Well, two other women end up throwing themselves at Max and you figure sooner or later he's going to up and leave Julie...or bust her in the kisser! But then,...there are the kids to consider.

This films has funny moments but the longer I watched it, the more the film annoyed me. While Max certainly should learn to speak up for himself, the writer made Julie too difficult to like and, well, a tad nasty. I found that as the film progressed, I wanted Max to leave her...and that made the film a comedy that simply stopped being funny. But you also know that in the 1950s no matter what she did and how hateful she acted, by the end of the film they'd be back together even if Max did leave her. I just wanted to see Max take the kids, move back to Montana and leave Julie to turn tricks or sell organs in order to survive...or something of the sort. I also think it was a serious mistake to make Max so meek and mild...yet occasionally, and inexplicably, a crazed madman who beats the crap out of thugs....none of which is really funny. The sum total of all this was tiresome and could easily have been funnier.

Imagine, if you will, a Billy Wilder film where the sharp, cynical humor has been replaced by flaccid, family sit com and you have some idea of this dreary offering from Mitchell Leisen just as his career was starting to slouch toward its dull denouement. Not helping is a cast of good dramatic actors who are hopelessly adrift in comedy. Glenn Ford is way too strong to play the befuddled, nerdish title role and Ruth Roman's attempt at a cute, perky, fifties housewife pretty much falls flat. As does Nina Foch in the temptress role. As for Denise Darcell, well, she's not even a good dramatic actress, let alone funny. Perhaps if scenarist Arthur Sheekman had given these players some lines that are halfway risible things may have been better but Sheekman, who did such a great job adapting "Some Came Running", is also an odd choice when you're dealing with light fare. Solid C.