Mr. Belvedere Goes to College

In this second installment of the Mr. Belvedere series, our brilliant hero has decided to go college! Apparently, he was entirely self-taught but after years of being an expert at practically EVERYTHING, he finally saw a need for a formal education. His plan is to complete all four years of school in only one--and considering his many, many talents you naturally assume he'll succeed.

Oddly, you never actually see Belvedere in a single classroom scene--none! Instead, the film focuses on his extracurricular and work activities. Through these, he's able to do a lot to help all those around him and even his most ardent opponents were thoroughly won over by him by the end of the film. Three cheers for Mr. Belvedere!!!

I might have scored this film even higher--after all, I really enjoyed the film and in particular the wonderful character of Mr. Belvedere (who I'd seen in his previous film, "Sitting Pretty"). Clifton Webb was simply marvelous in this title role. However, the film had one serious problem that impaired my enjoyment of the film--and my wife was so frustrated with the problem that she actually started yelling at the TV set!! Really...I am not kidding. The character played by Shirley Temple was simply annoying--badly written and petulant for absolutely no reason. She simply was not a character but a cliché--and roles like these may have contributed to her retiring from films shortly after this film. After all, with films like this and "That Hagan Girl", it was obvious that Hollywood had no idea what to do with the grown up Ms. Temple--and you have to feel sorry for her in such thankless roles. But fortunately, apart from this, it's a nice and enjoyable film from start to finish. And, I sure wish that Clifton Webb had made more than only three Belvedere films!

Lynn Belvedere (Clifton Webb) is forced to go to college. He has been awarded a $10k literary prize but he must be a college graduate. He needs the money despite the success of his book due to the numerous libel suits. Despite being without even a high school diploma, he intends to finish the 4 year course in one year. Journalism student Ellen Baker (Shirley Temple) is desperate for an interview. Belvedere takes a job at a sorority.

After the success of the first movie, it's obvious to return Clifton Webb to reprise his Belvedere character. I don't mind dumping the family but Belvedere is best when he has to deal with little kids. There is a magic to the chemistry when a child with no preconceived notions try to connect with the oddity that is Belvedere. That magic is missing in this movie. It tries to replace it with a more grown Shirley Temple. I kept wondering if a little precocious young Shirley would be a great comedy partner to Mr. Belvedere. Now that would have been a fun time.

Clifton Webb has done some of the wittiest characters in the Golden Age of Hollywood, whether the his dark sardonic role in Laura or the efficiency expert and father of 12 children in Cheaper by the Dozen, but I always loved Mr. Belvedere the best. He is unfailingly funny while never cracking a smile himself, he makes us smile always, with his genius, know it all brain, his past in knowing everyone who is anyone, and his expertise at everything under the sun. Clifton Webb could even play a romantic interest in Three Coins in a Fountain, still without cracking a smile and with the dry sardonic wit. And he was believable in all his roles. There has never been any actor quite like him before or since. Although dated in its attitudes towards women, this movie shows all of those qualities.

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!

Not a bad follow up to the great 'Sitting Pretty' made the year before. Who can't love Clifton Webb? The all grown up Shirley Temple adds to the fun. All in all, it's a pretty good film but lacks much of the sophisticated dialogue of 'SP'!