ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

The comic character Mister Belvedere would appear in a trio of films starting in 1948's "Sitting Pretty" and ending in what is generally considered the best of the 3 in "Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell."

While they are all entertaining, my favorite was the middle film "Mr. Belvedere Goes to College."

Lynn Belvedere has published a highly successful novel, as seen in "Sitting Pretty," but he is also besieged by multiple lawsuits and in need of money.

A literary prize has been awarded to Lynn but in order to collect it he must have something he doesn't possess : a college degree.

The self-educated genius decides to attend Clemens University entering the freshman class.

Watching the brilliant, sardonic snob interact with the younger generation at college is a fun ride.

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's one of the movies which Mike praised above.

_ Mr Belvedere Rings The Bell Cliffton Webb (1951)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

At one time producers considered doing a fourth Mr. Belvedere film where he would be on a jury.

I believe I read that Clifton Webb felt that the character of Belvedere was being overused and Webb refused to do anymore such films.

That's a shame. The character was a hoot and the idea of having Belvedere on a jury was a good one. Perhaps Belvedere would put his great intellect clearing an innocent victim and solving a murder mystery?

Had it been supported by a strong script, I think it would have been a fine entry in the Mr. Belvedere series of movies.

[Bud Brewster]

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I completely agree that having Mr. Belvedere on a jury would be great! He could solve the crime and deduce the true culprit while his fellow jurors are convinced the poor defendant is guilty.

Today, I'm watching the Nick Carter series on TCM, the ones that starred Walter Pidgeon as a high society sleuth in the Nick Charles style.

I think "Mr. Belederer Joins the Jury" would be the perfect lead in to the next film, "Mr. Belvedere Cracks the Case", in which he somehow becomes involved in a murder investigation and causally runs rings around the cops while he makes brilliant deductions based on clues the detectives miss or interpreter!

They would constantly snub him for being an "egg-head civilian, trying to private eye", and Belvedere would smile and ignore their insults while frequently humiliating them by being smarter!

What do you think, Mike?

By the way, some clever fellow managed to upload the original Belvedere movie to YouTube by omitting the credits and disguising the title as Successfully settled 1948 comedy Robert Young, Maureen O'Hara, Randy Stewart, John Russell, Betty Lynn.


_____________________ Sitting Pretty (1948)


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FYI: The cute, precocious teenager shown in the image above is Betty Lynn . . . aka Thelma Lou of Mayberry!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Sounds like a winner to me, Bruce.

I found it somewhat surprising that Clifton Webb did not wish to reprise his character of Belvedere again for another film.

Webb kind of played that same character in numerous movies that he did such as two of my favorites : "Cheaper By the Dozen,'' and "Mister Scoutmaster."

So why he was loathe to do so once more is puzzling?

He certainly was talented gent, so perhaps he was attempting to break out of the supercilious persona he so beautifully crafted for the silver screen.

Trouble was that he pretty much did that character so well that he was long typecast by that time.

Trivia } Clifton Webb was cast as the lead in the 1959 film adaptation of Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Due to being ill at the time he could not do the role and James Mason took over the part.

Much as I enjoy Webb's acting, I just do not envision him doing the role quite as well as Mason performed it.

[Bud Brewster]

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You're battin' a thousand today, Michael, me lad!

Webb just wouldn't have made a good Professor Lindenbrook, but Mason was superb. However, I've stated before that his Captain Nemo impresses me a bit less. In fact, after careful thought I firmly believe that a better actor for Nemo would be Tyrone Power!

To demonstrate my point I took this picture —


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— and replaced Mason's head with a highly altered version of Tyrone.





I'm rather pleased with the result, even in closeup. The tortured, faraway look is perfect. He appears determined and unyielding:D



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

I agree with you, Bud.

Ty Power was a terrific actor and would have made an excellent Nemo.

Power came from a family of actors. Ty took the profession seriously and learned his stage craft well.

He was mostly relegated to handsome-hero roles but was frustrated that 20th Century Fox would not let him break out from his stereotypical persona.

He did show his acting depth in "The Razor's Edge" or "Nightmare Alley."

Sadly, Ty Power died at the too young age of 44.

His beautiful daughter Taryn Power (Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger) recently passed away.

I know I have written it before and that you disagreed with me, Bud, but I submit that Errol Flynn would also have made a fine Captain Nemo.

Flynn had the same obstacle as Power did; their respective movie studios (Warner Brothers for Flynn) were loathe to allow them do richer and challenging roles.

Both 20th Century Fox & Warner Brothers wanted their actors to only perform in roles that were moneymakers for the studios.

Swashbuckling adventurers and courageous leading man parts were what the studio demanded for their stars each and every time.

Flynn did not have the range of Power nor did he have Power's extensive stage training.

But Flynn was better than the roles that WB forced him to do continually.

However, Flynn was Flynn's own worst enemy over the course of his career.

Alcoholic, drug abuser and a life of debauchery wasted away his talent and his looks. Died at 50.

If you ever get a chance to see him in the 1944 WW II film "Uncertain Glory," Bud, you get to see just how strong an actor he could be when he had a powerful script and when he was firing on all cylinders.

He was wonderful in a number of his roles such as the classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood," and "Captain Blood."

If given the opportunity by his studio to do more diverse parts that were complex, Flynn could have been an even greater actor than we remember him as to this day.

[Bud Brewster]

[Pow]

Clifton Webb was born Webb Parmalee Hollenbeck (1889~1966).

Prior to becoming a Broadway & Movie star, Webb was a superb professional ballroom dancer. In both this film and the wonderful Cheaper By the Dozen, Webb has scenes where he is dancing.

Webb's Lynn Belvedere character was the model for the time traveling cartoon character Mr. Peabody on Peabody's Improbable History segment on the hilarious The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends cartoon TV series.

I caught something for the first time having just watched recently Mr. Belvedere Goes to College. There's a scene where Shirley Temple is leaving the Sorority House, as she walks past the main room we see the women gathered around a piano and singing. They sing the lyrics "As we walk along life's highway." I'm not sure of the songs full title.

What I noticed for the first time is that this is the exact same song used in the finale at a college graduation on the entertaining 1952 movie Belles On Their Toes, which was a sequel to the marvelous Cheaper By the Dozen. Not particularly important, just got a kick out of discovering this for the first time after having viewed these films many a time.