Mr. Belvedere au collège

Director/actor Elliot Nugent seems attracted to college tales, judging from this film and THE MALE ANIMAL (which he starred in on Broadway and directed on film). And it must have seemed a good idea to put CLIFTON WEBB, as Belvedere, the self-proclaimed genius, into a college setting so he could show everyone how smart he was even before getting a degree, but somehow MR. BELVEDERE GOES TO COLLEGE just misses the mark.

Not that everyone doesn't try. SHIRLEY TEMPLE, then still at a difficult stage in her adult career and returning to Fox for this co-starring role for the first time since her child career ended, is pert and pleasant as a young woman having an affair with TOM DRAKE, but their chemistry isn't there. And JESSE ROYCE LANDIS has her usual role as a meddling mother with ALAN YOUNG supplying some good comic support. But the end result is a mediocre comedy that fails to come up to the standards of what one expects from a Mr. Belvedere story.

Webb is witty and Temple is charming, but still the film flounders when it should sparkle and just possibly Elliot Nugent is partly to blame, although the script is certainly below par.

Summing up: It's trivial stuff, but if you keep your eyes open you might spot JEFF CHANDLER in a brief role as a policeman.

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.

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'!

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!