ashley h

Young Man With Ideas is a boring film. It is about a young lawyer who encounters problems while relocating his family. Glenn Ford and Ruth Roman give terrible performances. The screenplay is badly written. Mitchell Leisen did a bad job directing this movie. I was not impressed with this motion picture.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Milquetoast Ford and overbearing wife Roman make this almost impossible to watch. A terrible script which is totally unbelievable. Anyone with "phone" problems like this would call the telephone company and have their number changed as well as getting rid of the excess extensions. Who wouldn't do that? It's just crazy plot contrivances, one after another, that sink this desperate ship. Although you hate Romans' character, she acted well. Ford, on the other hand, could not escape from his stuttering, outlandishly backward role. He isn't a real person and he can't act -- at least in this film. There's not much here. It's a movie that will have you gritting your teeth in frustration almost from the beginning. This is the kind of movie that made people stay home and watch TV instead. At least you knew what you were getting, and you didn't have to pay for sub-par entertainment. The 50s ushered in a preponderance of bad movies, relative to the thirties and forties, and cemented television's place in the mind of the public as the true entertainment medium.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

Bland comedy about Glenn Ford moving to California with his wife and kids and having to study for the Bar Exam, but all sorts of comic and dramatic incidents get in the way of his trying to prep for the exam. Ford is likable, but I prefer Ford in dramatic over comedic roles. Meh.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Audience Member

typical fifties MGM rom-com not a sequel to 1950's 'young man with a horn'

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Mitch Leisen

Director

Glenn Ford

Maxwell Webster

Ruth Roman

Julie Webster

Denise Darcel

Dorianne Gray

Nina Foch

Joyce Laramie

Donna Corcoran

Caroline Webster

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Reminds me of a television sitcom.

Rated: B-

Aug 6, 2022

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Manny Farber

The Nation

The movie's humor is derived from Leisen's knowing how to keep his people fairly smart in dumb situations, sensitive in slapstick scenes, and just selfish enough when they are being their most virtuous.

Nov 24, 2020

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Synopsis

Maxwell Webster (Glenn Ford) practices law in Montana, where he lives a staid existence with his wife, Julie (Ruth Roman), and their kids. He eventually opts for a drastic change and moves his family to California to start over. Studying to pass the state's bar exam, Maxwell endures numerous hardships while trying to make ends meet, even becoming involved in questionable schemes. When he gets into trouble for being associated with a bookie, Maxwell has to use his legal skills to defend himself.

Director: Mitch Leisen
Screenwriter: Ben Barzman, Arthur Sheekman
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English

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