Belvedere räumt auf (1948)

Belvedere räumt auf: Directed by Walter Lang. With Robert Young, Maureen O’Hara, Clifton Webb, Richard Haydn. A family that hires a live-in babysitter is surprised when he turns out to be a man who’s a quirky genius.

“For a 1948 film dealing with the dawning era of suburbia, a concept that hadnu0026#39;t even existed 10 years earlier, this little charmer holds up remarkably well. The reason is Clifton Webb, who steals every scene he is in. And heu0026#39;s in just about every scene. This was Webbu0026#39;s first appearance as the fastidious Mr. Belvedere, an odd duck with a genius IQ — and a hidden agenda. Here. he becomes a live-in babysitter for a suburban couple (Young and Ou0026#39;Hara) and their three boys. The one weak spot in the plot is that the three boys seem perfectly normal, but Ou0026#39;Hara apparently canu0026#39;t handle them. Much hilarity ensues once Mr. Belvedere arrives on the premises. In his off time, Mr. Belvedere is up to something in his attic room, but Young and Ou0026#39;Hara are hard-pressed to figure out what. A nosy neighbor (Haydn) causes no end of mischief, convinced that there must be hanky panky going on. The ending feels a bit rushed and the movie at times resembles a stage play more than a movie, but everything comes out just fine. And we finally find out Mr. Belvedereu0026#39;s secret. But you will have to watch the movie to find out what that secret is. A delight.”