Film Snail

7.2

Sitting Pretty

NR·1948·83m

Comedy

Summary

Tacey and Harry King are a suburban couple with three sons and a serious need of a babysitter. Tacey puts an ad in the paper for a live-in babysitter, and the ad is answered by Lynn Belvedere. But when she arrives, she turns out to be a man. And not just any man, but a most eccentric, outrageously forthright genius with seemingly a million careers and experiences behind him.

Cast

Robert Young

Harry King

Maureen O'Hara

Tacey King

Clifton Webb

Lynn Belvedere

Richard Haydn

Mr. Clarence Appleton

Louise Allbritton

Edna Philby

Randy Stuart

Peggy

Ed Begley

Horatio J. Hammond

Larry Olsen

Larry King

John Russell

Bill Philby

Betty Lynn

Ginger

Willard Robertson

Mr. Ashcroft

Charles Arnt

Mr. Taylor (uncredited)

Gertrude Astor

Townswoman (uncredited)

Barbara Blaine

Jitterbug (uncredited)

Boyd Cabeen

Club Patron (uncredited)

Ken Christy

Mr. McPherson (uncredited)

Mary Field

Della (uncredited)

Grayce Hampton

Mrs. Appleton (uncredited)

Leota Lorraine

Conference Guest (uncredited)

Ellen Lowe

Effie (uncredited)

J. Farrell MacDonald

Cop (uncredited)

Lee MacGregor

Jitterbug (uncredited)

Marion Marshall

Secretary (uncredited)

Thomas Martin

Waiter (uncredited)

Roddy McCaskill

Roddy King (uncredited)

Mira McKinney

Mrs. Phillips (uncredited)

Dave Morris

John the Mailman (uncredited)

Jane Nigh

Mabel Phillips (uncredited)

Anne O'Neal

Mrs. Gibbs (uncredited)

Charles Owens

Jitterbug (uncredited)

Isabel Randolph

Mrs. R. B. Frisbee (uncredited)

Albin Robeling

Maitre D' (uncredited)

Loretta Russell

Conference Guest (uncredited)

Syd Saylor

Cab Driver (uncredited)

Harry Seymour

Waiter (uncredited)

Bill Sheehan

Cab Driver (uncredited)

Ann Shoemaker

Mrs. Ashcroft (uncredited)

Anthony Sydes

Tony King (uncredited)

Charles Tannen

Newsreel Director (uncredited)

Bob Tidwell

Jitterbug (uncredited)

Minerva Urecal

Mrs. Maypole (uncredited)

Ruth Warren

Matron (uncredited)

Billy Wayne

Newsreel Man (uncredited)

Josephine Whittell

Martha Hammond (uncredited)

Cara Williams

Secretary (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Walter Lang

Novel

Gwen Davenport

Screenplay

F. Hugh Herbert

Reviews

Geronimo1967

April 24, 2022

"Harry" (Robert Young) and "Tacey" (Maureen O'Hara) are in need of a new maid after their other, a bit of a beer-swiller, departs. They take out an advertisement and get a response from a promising "Lynn Belvedere", but he - well that says it all! Initially sceptical of this somewhat supercilious man, they soon find his services indispensable, even if his presence in their lives brings a certain attention from the local gossips - led, admirably, by Richard Haydn's, scene-stealing and frankly quite throttle-able "Appleton". It turns out, though, that the rather secretive "Mr. Belvedere", has an ulterior motive that brings all the local hens home to roost! It's good fun, this. There's good chemistry between Young and O'Hara, their elder child "Larry" (Larry Olsen) is quite engaging too, but it's Webb who delivers the goods. Walter Lang keeps the story moving along nicely, the script is frequently quite pithy with plenty of scornful bon-mots from the babysitter who can turn his hand to everything from fixing the fridge to obstetrics. The humour is gently engaging, as are the performances making for an enjoyable 80 minutes of observation and reap as ye sow mischief.