Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell is a 1951 American comedy film, the third and final one starring Clifton Webb as Lynn Belvedere. It follows on from Sitting Pretty (1948) and Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949).

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
Directed by	Henry Koster
Screenplay by	Ranald MacDougall
Based on	The Silver Whistle 1948 play by Robert E. McEnroe
Produced by	Andre Hakim
Starring	Clifton Webb Joanne Dru Hugh Marlowe Zero Mostel
Cinematography	Joseph LaShelle
Edited by	William B. Murphy
Music by	Cyril Mockridge
Production company	20th Century Fox
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	August 1, 1951 (1951-08-01) (New York City)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.75 million (US rentals)[1][2]

Plot

Mr. Belvedere is on a lecture tour on the topic "How to be young, though 80". He wonders if there is any point in living to be 80 himself after overhearing four residents of the Church of John old age home talk about their ailments. He decides to embark on an investigation at the home. When he goes to see Bishop Daniels about gaining entry, he is mistaken for Oliver Erwenter, who had applied for admission, but died at age 77. He does not correct the mistake since only the aged are admitted.

After encountering initial skepticism, he has the residents of the facility feeling younger, aided by youth pills from "Tibet" (actually simply sugar pills he concocts at the local drugstore), much to the disapproval of the well-meaning but staid Rev. Charles Watson, the person in charge of the old age home. Belvedere also helps Harriet Tripp, Watson's assistant, with her romance problem: the reverend does not see that she is in love with him. With the help of Emmett, the lecture tour company's advance man, Belvedere makes preparations for a church bazaar to raise funds for the poverty-stricken place.

Watson soon discovers his newest charge's true identity, but he keeps the information to himself after seeing how much good Belvedere has accomplished. However, reporters finally uncover his deception, and the disillusioned senior citizens revert to their cheerless routine. Belvedere manages to convince them that they are only as old as they think they are. Watson also sees the light and proposes to Miss Tripp. His work done, and convinced it is worth his while to live to 80, Belvedere leaves to resume his lecture tour.

Cast

• Clifton Webb as Lynn Belvedere (Oliver Erwenter)
• Joanne Dru as Miss Tripp
• Hugh Marlowe as Rev. Charles Watson
• Zero Mostel as Emmett
• Billy Lynn as Mr. Beebe
• Doro Merande as Mrs. Hammer
• Frances Brandt as Miss Hoadley
• Kathleen Comegys as Mrs. Sampler
• Jane Marbury as Mrs. Gross
• Harry Hines as Mr. Cherry
• Warren Stevens as Reporter

Lynn, Merande, Brandt, Comegys and Marbury all reprised their roles from the Broadway play.^[3]

Uncredited (in order of appearance)

Hugh Beaumont	Police officer in the park who informs Mr. Belvedere about the old folks.
Harry Carter	Taxi driver arriving for Mr. Belvedere.
Kathryn Sheldon	Bishop Daniels' housekeeper who opens the bishop's door for Mr. Belvedere.
Harry Antrim	Bishop Daniels who receives Mr. Belvedere in his study.
J. Farrell MacDonald	Mr. Kroeger, resident of old folks' home.
Norman Leavitt	Pharmacist who is mystified by Mr. Belvedere's reason for mixing a sugar placebo.
Edward Clark	Mailman into whose mailbag Mr. Belvedere adds a small package.
Guy Wilkerson	Kramer, one of the newspaper reporters discussing the disappearance of Mr. Belvedere.
Ray Montgomery	Newspaper reporter discussing the disappearance of Mr. Belvedere.
Thomas Browne Henry	Father Shea, superintendent of St. Vincent's Hospital, who comes to collect the croquet set.
Ferris Taylor	Curtis, visitor to the church bazaar.

Production

The film was based on the play The Silver Whistle by Robert E. McEnroe.^[4] Although the plot of the film resembles that of the play, Belvedere was not a character in the play. The leading character was a hobo named Oliver Erwenter, played by José Ferrer. The Silver Whistle, with all of its original characters, was telecast in 1959 on Playhouse 90, in which Eddie Albert played the role of Erwenter.

Reception

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film "a poorly conceived alteration of The Silver Whistle". The play's protagonist, a "cheerful do-gooder", was replaced by Lynn Belvedere, a substitution that Crowther considered a poor fit, writing "it is hard to swallow Mr. Belvedere in such an unlikely place, and we find his airy patronage of the oldsters in decidedly questionable taste".^[4] However, he did concede that "Mr. Webb plays the contradictory role with his usual arrogance and flourishes which occasionally are moderately droll" and many of the supporting cast "acquit themselves admirably".^[4]

References

1. Solomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-810-84244-1.
2. "Top Grossers of 1951". Variety. January 2, 1952. p. 70 – via Internet Archive.
3. "The Silver Whistle". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
4. Crowther, Bosley (August 2, 1951). "The Screen in Review; 'Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell', With Clifton Webb in Title Role, Arrives at Roxy". The New York Times.

External links

• Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell at IMDb
• Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell at the TCM Movie Database
• Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• 1952 Theatre Guild on the Air radio adaptation of The Silver Whistle at Internet Archive