Louisa (1950)

To her family's discomfiture, grandmother Louisa starts dating two men...a grocer and her son's boss.

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writer:

Stanley Roberts (screenplay)

Stars:

Ronald Reagan, Charles Coburn, Ruth Hussey

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ronald Reagan	...	Harold 'Hal' Norton
Charles Coburn	...	Abel Burnside
Ruth Hussey	...	Meg Norton
Edmund Gwenn	...	Henry Hammond
Spring Byington	...	Louisa Norton
Piper Laurie	...	Cathy Norton
Scotty Beckett	...	Jimmy Blake
Jimmy Hunt	...	Chris Norton
Connie Gilchrist	...	Housekeeper Gladys
Willard Waterman	...	Dick Stewart
Marjorie Crossland	...	Lil Stewart (as Marjorie Crosland)
Martin Milner	...	Bob Stewart
Terry Frost	...	Stacy Walker - Square Dance Caller
Dave Willock	...	Joe Collins - Cab Driver

Storyline

The Norton family is in a turmoil due to faultfinding grandma Louisa. Strongly urged to find outside interests, Louisa starts dating grocer Hammond; their necking among the teenagers shocks the latter (!), and Louisa's architect son Hal isn't too thrilled either. So what's to do when Hal's boss Mr. Burnside becomes a rival for Louisa's favors?

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alter schützt vor Liebe nicht

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A poster for Universal-International's Harvey (1950) is quite evident outside a movie theatre in this film.

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Connections

References Harvey (1950)

User Reviews

A Romantic Comedy of the Senior Set

There is an unfair urban legend about the late 40th President of the United States that all his films were awful except for "Knute Rockne, All American" and "King's Row". Actually Ronald Reagan did more good films than most people realize - he was in supporting roles in "Boy Meets Girl" and "Dark Victory", he did nicely in "Brother Rat", "The Voice Of The Turtle" and (surprise!) "Bedtime For Bonzo", and he again gave good support to the trio of old troopers who star in this film.

"Louisa" is that rarity - a romantic comedy about the loves of elderly people. Spring Byington is the mother of Ronald Reagan, and she meets his new employer, Charles Coburn. Byington is perky and intelligent and graceful, and she captivates Coburn. So far so good. Unfortunately she already has met Edmund Gwenn, a poorer man than Coburn but just as smitten. Both men proceed to pursue her, and to try to derail each other's campaign for her. Coburn, being richer (and Reagan's employer) is in a better position - especially after he finds a secret regarding Gwenn's past that can blast his chances. Or will it boomerang and make Gwenn more sympathetic?

The three old pros carry this film - one of the two best films for elderly performers (with Monty Wooley's "As Young As You Feel") made in the 1950s. Both reaffirm that there is plenty of life in the older set than we usually think. And Reagan does well, upset to see his mother Byington not acting...well as a mother should. He is also jittery about his business future every time Coburn sees Gwenn visiting. A nice little comedy. Ronnie was in some good ones you know.