Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)

Clifton Webb recreates his Sitting Pretty role as Mr. Lynn Belvedere, the World's Greatest Genius. Belvedere discovers that he is ineligible for an honorary award because he never attended ... See full summary »

Director:

Elliott Nugent

Writers:

Richard Sale, Mary Loos,

Stars:

Clifton Webb, Shirley Temple, Tom Drake

Cast

Cast overview:
Clifton Webb	...	Lynn Belvedere
Shirley Temple	...	Ellen Baker
Tom Drake	...	Bill Chase
Alan Young	...	Avery Brubaker
Jessie Royce Landis	...	Mrs. Chase
Kathleen Hughes	...	Kay Nelson
Taylor Holmes	...	Dr. Gibbs
Alvin Greenman	...	Cornelius 'Corny' Whittaker
Paul Harvey	...	Dr. Keating
Barry Kelley	...	Police Sgt. Griggs
Robert Patten	...	Joe Fisher (as Bob Patten)

Storyline

Clifton Webb recreates his Sitting Pretty role as Mr. Lynn Belvedere, the World's Greatest Genius. Belvedere discovers that he is ineligible for an honorary award because he never attended college. So he enrolls as a freshman in a major university, becoming the target for "hazing" from obnoxious upper class-man Alan Young. The middle-aged Belvedere rapidly builds himself into Big Man on Campus, which complicates his intention of remaining incognito while attending college. Journalism major Shirley Temple likewise threatens to blow Belvedere's cover by writing an article about him for a major magazine. Before earning his college degree (four years' worth of study in six months!), Belvedere plays Cupid for Temple and her estranged boyfriend Tom Drake. Mr. Belvedere Goes to College proved successful enough for a follow-up film, 1951's Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | mr belvedere | based on novel | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Movieplayer.it - News and Info, Pics, Trailers (Italian)

Country:

USA

Language:

English Norwegian

Release Date:

May 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alla tiders primus

Filming Locations:

University of Nevada-Reno - 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on January 16, 1950 with Clifton Webb reprising his film role.

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Goofs

When Mr. Belvedere goes to the Student Employment Bureau, it is a square-framed building on the outside, but when he enters, the interior is a Quonset hut.

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Connections

Referenced in M*A*S*H: Your Hit Parade (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Collegiate"
(uncredited)
Written by Moe Jaffe and Nat Bonx

User Reviews

Amusing enough but even Belvedere's witty remarks can't salvage weak script...

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.