Sitting Pretty **** (1948, Robert Young, Maureen O’Hara, Clifton Webb, Richard Haydn) – Classic Movie Review 13,709

The 1948 American comedy film Sitting Pretty stars waspish Clifton Webb as the snidey, know-it-all babysitter Mr Lynn Belvedere.

Director Walter Lang’s 1948 American comedy film Sitting Pretty is based on the novel Belvedere by Gwen Davenport, and stars Clifton Webb, Robert Young and Maureen O’Hara.

Quirky, cranky Clifton Webb brings edge to a sentimental yarn about a fussy, strict, rather camp live-in child minder called Mr Lynn Belvedere (Webb), who takes care and charge of Harry and Tacey King (Robert Young and Maureen O’Hara)’s noisy, out-of-control infants (Roddy McCaskill, Larry Olsen, Anthony Sykes) where everyone else has failed, and finds his experiences inevitably spawn a bestselling book – oh and hit movies!

Spitting out the waspish dialogue with rare aplomb, Academy Award-nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role Webb nearly walked off with a deserved Oscar for his brilliantly idiosyncratic and charismatic performance as the snidey, know-it-all babysitter Mr Lynn Belvedere, on which the appeal of this charming domestic comedy largely rests.

It was a huge hit, and a triumph for Webb, turning him into a star, and two sequels followed: Mr Belvedere Goes to College, Mr Belvedere Rings the Bell.

Cast: Robert Young as Harry King, Maureen O’Hara as Tacey King, Clifton Webb as Mr Lynn Belvedere, Richard Haydn as Clarence Appleton, Louise Allbritton as Edna Philby, Ed Begley as Horatio J. Hammond, Randy Stuart as Peggy, Roddy McCaskill as Roddy King, Larry Olsen as Larry King, Anthony Sykes as Tony King, John Russell as Bill Philby, Willard Robertson as Mr. Ashcroft, Cara Williams as secretary, Charles Arnt as Mr. Taylor, Ann Shoemaker as Mrs. Ashcroft, Minerva Urecal as Mrs. Maypole, Syd Saylor as cab driver, Ruth Warren, Mary Field as Della.

It was shot from October 23 1947 to December 16, 1947.

It premiered in New York on March 10, 1948 and was released by 20th Century Fox in April 1948.

Webb said it was ‘the most pleasant engagement I have ever had, either in the theatre or on the screen’. Webb gets to dance in the film, a talent he had shown in shows on Broadway.

It is Webb’s only Best Actor Academy Award nomination. He was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards for Laura (1944) and The Razor’s Edge (1946).

Clifton Webb was born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966).

Clifton Webb was unmarried and had no children. He lived with his mother until she died aged 91 in 1960, leading Noël Coward to quip heartlessly: ‘It must be terrible to be orphaned at 71.’ Robert Wagner, fellow star at 20th Century Fox, stated in his memoirs: ‘Clifton Webb was gay, of course.’

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,709

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