Just This Once (film)

Last updated
Just This Once
Just This Once (film).jpg
Directed by Don Weis
Written by Sidney Sheldon
Story byMax Trell
Produced by Henry Berman
Starring Janet Leigh
Peter Lawford
Lewis Stone
Cinematography Ray June
Edited by Fredrick Y. Smith
Music by David Rose
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • February 27, 1952 (1952-02-27)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$547,000 [1]
Box office$1.059,000 [1]

Just This Once is a 1952 American romantic comedy film directed by Don Weis and starring Peter Lawford, Janet Leigh and Lewis Stone. It was produced and distributed by the Hollywood major Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film's sets were designed by the art director James Basevi.

Contents

Plot

Mark MacLene IV is a millionaire playboy. He is totally irresponsible with his money, piling up $5 million in debts. Judge Coulter, executor of his estate, puts Mark's finances in the hands of a penny-pinching lawyer, Lucy Duncan.

Mark is aghast when Lucy puts him on a $50-a-week allowance. He still extravagantly tips a busboy $10 after a 50-cent lunch or charters a plane to fly off to Paris without a thought as to his financial situation. Lucy shuts off his access to funds, causing an angry Mark to barge into her personal life, moving into her apartment and upsetting her routine. She wants to quit, but Coulter doubles her pay.

Lucy has a fiancé, Tom Winters, who has held off on proposing marriage until he can afford it. Mark owns a construction company where Tom works, so secretly he plots to get Tom a huge raise. Lucy sees through the ruse. But when she learns Mark also has offered his yacht for their honeymoon, she begins to see a different side to him.

Now in love, Mark and Lucy must hold off making plans for the future because the Naval Reserve has called him to active duty. Lucy fears for his safety, but Mark says he's going to Washington, D.C., and getting a desk job where he will be in charge of Navy expenditures.

Cast

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $707,000 in the US and Canada and $352,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $89,000. [1]

Comic book adaptation

Related Research Articles

<i>Cape Fear</i> (1991 film) Psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese

Cape Fear is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a remake of the 1962 film of the same title, which was based on the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. The film stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Joe Don Baker, and Juliette Lewis. Robert Mitchum has a small role in the film, while Gregory Peck and Martin Balsam make cameo appearances, all three having starred in the original film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rat Pack</span> Group of entertainers in the 1960s

The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, such as Errol Flynn, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and others who met casually at the Holmby Hills home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. In the 1960s, the group featured Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, among others. They appeared together on stage and in films in the 1950s and 1960s, including the films Ocean's 11 and Sergeants 3; after Lawford's expulsion, they filmed Robin and the 7 Hoods with Bing Crosby in what was to have been Lawford's role. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis were regarded as the group's lead members after Bogart's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Leigh</span> American actress (1927–2004)

Jeanette Helen Morrison, known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lawford</span> British actor (1923–1984)

Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford was an English-American actor.

<i>The Horse Whisperer</i> (film) 1998 film by Robert Redford

The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American neo-western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. Redford plays the title role, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.

<i>Little Women</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Mervyn LeRoy

Little Women is a 1949 American comedy-drama film with script and music taken directly from the earlier 1933 Hepburn version. Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868–69 two-volume novel of the same name, it was filmed in Technicolor and was produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt. The original music score was composed by Adolph Deutsch and Max Steiner. The film also marked the American film debut of Italian actor Rossano Brazzi. Sir C. Aubrey Smith, whose acting career had spanned four decades, died in 1948; Little Women was his final film.

<i>My Geisha</i> 1962 film by Jack Cardiff

My Geisha is a 1962 American comedy film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Shirley MacLaine, Yves Montand, Edward G. Robinson, and Bob Cummings and released by Paramount Pictures. Written by Norman Krasna, based on Krasna's story of the same name, the film was produced and copyrighted in 1961 by MacLaine's then-husband Steve Parker. The world premiere was at the Plaza Theatre in London's West End on January 18, 1962.

<i>Highlander: Endgame</i> 2000 American film

Highlander: Endgame is a 2000 American fantasy action film directed by Doug Aarniokoski and starring Adrian Paul, Christopher Lambert, Bruce Payne, and Lisa Barbuscia. It is the fourth theatrical release in the Highlander film series and it serves as a continuation of both the Highlander film from 1986 and the Highlander television series. The film reunites Duncan MacLeod, the lead character of the series, and Connor MacLeod, the lead character of the films. In the film, the Macleods need to deal against a new enemy named Jacob Kell, a powerful immortal who is willing to break any rule to win the Prize. This marks Lambert's fifth and final appearance as Connor. Highlander: Endgame was released on September 1, 2000. A stand-alone sequel, Highlander: The Source was released seven years later, with Paul reprising his role.

<i>A Yank at Oxford</i> 1938 comedy-drama film

A Yank at Oxford is a 1938 comedy-drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Vivien Leigh and Edmund Gwenn. The screenplay was written by John Monk Saunders and Leon Gordon. The film was produced by MGM-British at Denham Studios.

<i>Scaramouche</i> (1952 film) 1952 American film by George Sidney

Scaramouche is a 1952 romantic swashbuckler film starring Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Mel Ferrer. Filmed in Technicolor, the MGM production is loosely based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the 1923 film version starring Ramon Novarro. It was directed by George Sidney and produced by Carey Wilson from a screenplay by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel. The original music score was composed by Victor Young and the cinematography by Charles Rosher.

<i>Harper</i> (film) 1966 film by Jack Smight

Harper is a 1966 American mystery film based on Ross Macdonald's 1949 novel The Moving Target and adapted for the screen by novelist William Goldman, who admired MacDonald's writings. The film stars Paul Newman as Lew Harper, and was directed by Jack Smight, with a cast that includes Robert Wagner, Julie Harris, Janet Leigh, Shelley Winters, Lauren Bacall, and Arthur Hill.

<i>Three on a Couch</i> 1966 film by Jerry Lewis

Three on a Couch is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Jerry Lewis and starring Jerry Lewis and Janet Leigh.

<i>Houdini</i> (1953 film) 1953 film by George Marshall

Houdini is a 1953 American Technicolor biographical film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal and Berman Swarttz, directed by George Marshall, that stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The film's screenplay, based upon the life of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, was written by Philip Yordan, based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The film's music score was by Roy Webb and the cinematography by Ernest Laszlo. The art direction was by Albert Nozaki and Hal Pereira, and the costume design by Edith Head.

<i>The Love Letter</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by Peter Chan

The Love Letter is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Chan and starring Kate Capshaw, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Everett Scott, and Tom Selleck. It is based on the novel by Cathleen Schine. The original music score was composed by Luis Enriquez Bacalov. The film takes place in the fictional Massachusetts town of Loblolly-by-the-Sea and was filmed in Rockport, Massachusetts.

<i>Good News</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Charles Walters

Good News is a 1947 American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film based on the 1927 stage production of the same name. It starred June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Mel Tormé, and Joan McCracken. The screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green was directed by Charles Walters in Technicolor.

<i>Strictly Dishonorable</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Strictly Dishonorable is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by John M. Stahl and starring Paul Lukas, Sidney Fox and Lewis Stone, George Meeker, and Sidney Toler. It was written by Gladys Lehman and based on Preston Sturges' 1929 hit Broadway play of the same name. Strictly Dishonorable was Sturges' second play on Broadway, and his first to be filmed.

<i>Prince Valiant</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Henry Hathaway

Prince Valiant is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Robert L. Jacks, in Technicolor and Cinemascope, produced and released by 20th Century-Fox. Based on the King Features syndicated newspaper comic strip of the same name by Hal Foster, the film stars James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Debra Paget and Sterling Hayden.

<i>Starlift</i> 1951 film by Roy Del Ruth

Starlift is a 1951 American musical film released by Warner Bros. starring Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Virginia Mayo, Dick Wesson, and Ruth Roman. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by John D. Klorer and Karl Kamb, from a story by Klorer. The film was made during the beginning of the Korean War and centers on a U.S. Air Force flyer's wish to meet a film star, and her fellow stars' efforts to perform for injured men at the air force base.

<i>If Winter Comes</i> 1947 film by Victor Saville

If Winter Comes is a 1947 American drama film directed by Victor Saville and starring Walter Pidgeon, Deborah Kerr and Angela Lansbury. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the 1921 novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl. The novel had previously been made into the 1923 silent film If Winter Comes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. "Movie Love #14". Grand Comics Database.