Young Man with Ideas (1952)

A young lawyer, encounters problems while relocating his family.

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Ben Barzman, Arthur Sheekman

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Ruth Roman, Denise Darcel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Ford	...	Maxwell Webster
Ruth Roman	...	Julie Webster
Denise Darcel	...	Dorianne Gray
Nina Foch	...	Joyce Laramie
Donna Corcoran	...	Caroline Webster
Ray Collins	...	Edmund Jethrow
Mary Wickes	...	Mrs. Jarvis Gilpin
Bobby Diamond	...	Willis Gilpin
Sheldon Leonard	...	Rodwell 'Brick' Davis
Dick Wessel	...	Eddie Tasling
Carl Milletaire	...	Tux Cullery
Curtis Cooksey	...	Judge Jennings
Karl 'Killer' Davis	...	Punchy (as Karl Davis)
Fay Roope	...	Kyle Thornhill
John Call	...	Man With Bushy Hair

Storyline

A young lawyer, encounters problems while relocating his family.

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Plot Keywords:

moving away | family in danger | gambling | attorney | 

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Taglines:

GIRLS...it's the quiet ones who fool you!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young Man in a Hurry

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The $85,000 verdict that is celebrated wold equal $810,000 in 2018.

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Quotes

Caroline Webster: Are they going to bump you off, Daddy?

User Reviews

If this woman was my wife, I think I'd take a contract out on her!

When the film begins, Max and Julie Webster (Glenn Ford and Ruth Roman) are living in Montana. Max is a meek lawyer who doesn't get the respect his wife thinks he deserves. When they go to a very important meeting with Max's boss to celebrate a case they just won, Julie gets drunk and tells off Max's boss!! The next day, Julie nags poor Max into going in to the boss and instead of apologizing insists that he should ask for a raise. Not surprisingly, Max is fired.

The wife then insists that they should move to California and this means not only relocating them but forcing poor old Max to take the California Bar exam in order to practice there. Not only that, he doesn't have a job...though he is offered one as a bill collector. Naturally this job is all wrong for Max since he's so meek, but when the wife berates him for being so weak, he takes the job. The wife also nearly gets Max killed due to comments she makes to a stranger over the phone. What's next? Well, two other women end up throwing themselves at Max and you figure sooner or later he's going to up and leave Julie...or bust her in the kisser! But then,...there are the kids to consider.

This films has funny moments but the longer I watched it, the more the film annoyed me. While Max certainly should learn to speak up for himself, the writer made Julie too difficult to like and, well, a tad nasty. I found that as the film progressed, I wanted Max to leave her...and that made the film a comedy that simply stopped being funny. But you also know that in the 1950s no matter what she did and how hateful she acted, by the end of the film they'd be back together even if Max did leave her. I just wanted to see Max take the kids, move back to Montana and leave Julie to turn tricks or sell organs in order to survive...or something of the sort. I also think it was a serious mistake to make Max so meek and mild...yet occasionally, and inexplicably, a crazed madman who beats the crap out of thugs....none of which is really funny. The sum total of all this was tiresome and could easily have been funnier.