High Time (1960)

Widower and hamburger restaurateur Harvey Howard decides to go to college at 51 years of age. Resisting the easy path, he insists on not receiving preferential treatment, and lives in a ... See full summary »

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Tom Waldman (screenplay), Frank Waldman (screenplay),

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Fabian, Tuesday Weld

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bing Crosby	...	Harvey Howard
Fabian	...	Gil Sparrow
Tuesday Weld	...	Joy Elder
Nicole Maurey	...	Prof. Helene Gauthier
Richard Beymer	...	Bob Bannerman
Patrick Adiarte	...	T.J. Padmanagham
Jimmy Boyd	...	Robert Higgson
Yvonne Craig	...	Randy 'Scoop' Pruitt
Gavin MacLeod	...	Professor Thayer
Kenneth MacKenna	...	President Byrne of Pinehurst
Nina Shipman	...	Laura Howard

Storyline

Widower and hamburger restaurateur Harvey Howard decides to go to college at 51 years of age. Resisting the easy path, he insists on not receiving preferential treatment, and lives in a dorm like the other students despite the disapproval of his grown son and daughter. As the years pass, and he gets involved in study sessions, fraternity initiations, and sporting events, he begins falling in love with Professor Gautier, the French teacher, but doesn't consider re-marrying appropriate.

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Plot Keywords:

college | college initiation

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Taglines:

Here's how to guarantee a high time!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1961 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Big Daddy

Filming Locations:

University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bing Crosby Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Irene Vernon's final film.

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Goofs

During the Freshman bonfire sequence, the shadow of the camera and camera car can clearly be seen at the bottom right of the frame tracking a runner as he finishes a set of hurdles.

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Quotes

Harvey Howard Jr.: [Outraged and shocked over his father's decision to enter college at 51, while he, himself, never graduated] Father, I warn you, I can be pretty stubborn when I'm pushed!
Harvey Howard: [Completely nonplussed] So's your old man.

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Connections

Remade as Back to School (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Nobody's Perfect"
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen (as James Van Heusen)

User Reviews

Bing With Younger Generation

This is one of the best Bing Crosby's later films. He only gets to sing two songs in it, The Second Time Around and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear during a Christmas hayride with some of the rest of his younger cast members.

Bing is 53 year old Harvey Howard, self made millionaire restaurant franchise owner, who's decided to go back and do a lot of the things he missed when he was younger which included a college education. That in itself is an intriguing character for me. I've met a lot of self made types in my life who think because they are successful and make a lot of money in one field, they're omni-competent. Just the fact that Harvey Howard IS going back to college to improve himself intellectually and broaden his horizons is a plus for me with this character.

I read an interview with Fabian once who said that Bing was great to work with and put him right at ease. Fabian had just done one feature film called Hound Dog Man and it was less than a success. After High Time he went on to a pretty good career in films during the sixties.

The Second Time Around was the last of 15 songs that Bing introduced in films that was nominated for an Academy Award, a record not likely to be broken. It lost to Never On Sunday. It was a million selling song, but ironically not by Bing. Frank Sinatra took the song and he made it a big hit, probably the only time in Bing's career this ever happened.

The kids are just fine, Fabian, Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer (a year away from West Side Story)Patrick Adiarte. Gavin MacLeod has some very funny moments as Bing's comic nemesis and absent minded chemistry professor and Nicole Maurey strikes the right note as the French teacher that widower Crosby falls for.

A really great feel good movie.