Just This Once (1952) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A playboy hands control of his dwindling fortune to a pretty girl.

Cast & Crew

Read More

Don Weis

Janet Leigh

Peter Lawford

Lewis Stone

Judge Samuel Coulter

Marilyn Erskine

Richard Anderson

Photos & Videos

View All

Just This Once -- (Movie Clip) This Is A Great Girl!

Just This Once -- (Movie Clip) Some Kind Of A Holiday

Film Details

Genre

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

Mar 7, 1952

Premiere Information

Los Angeles opening: 27 Feb 1952

Production Company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Distribution Company

Loew's Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 30m

Film Length

8,085ft (9 reels)

Synopsis

When New York playboy Mark MacLene accrues $2,000,000 in debt, the executor of his estate, Judge Samuel Coulter, convinces the creditors to let him devise a payback plan that will enable Mark to avoid bankruptcy. Later, as Coulter ponders Mark's situation, he is struck by the frugality of attorney Lucille Duncan, who stubbornly refuses to settle a case for $25, over her client's wishes. Impressed by her words "every dollar counts," Coulter later visits her shared-space office and asks her to administer the "Spencer Clause" of Mark's grandfather's will, which allows for complete management of Mark's estate if it is in jeopardy. Although reluctant, Lucy agrees when Coulter offers her $50 a week. That night, at Mark's house, Coulter tells him of the plan and introduces him to Lucy, who compliments Mark on his antique furnishings. Thinking that the attractive Lucy will be easy to work with, Mark accepts the plan. The next day, all of Mark's bills are forwarded to Lucy, who is shocked at his extravagances. She immediately cancels his charge accounts and returns as much as possible. Just as she is calling to close the account at the florist where Mark bought her flowers, he arrives, asking her to sign a $5,000 check. She refuses, then stuns Mark by saying that he must now get by on $50 a week, and offers to show him where he can get a good lunch for 50 cents. At the automat, Mark is impressed that his sandwich is good, but Lucy is chagrined to learn that he spent $10 tipping a busboy for a window table. A few days later, Lucy thinks that Mark has adapted until Coulter calls to say that he has flown to Paris on his private plane and gone on a spending spree. Rising to the challenge, Lucy tracks Mark down in Hawaii and forces his immediate return when she starts to sell off pieces of his estate. Although Coulter is impressed by Lucy's work, she has second thoughts after realizing that Mark now hates her. With his house now almost bare, Mark decides to show Lucy how it feels to have her life managed and moves into her apartment, invoking the Spencer Clause, which also stipulates that the administrator must provide food and shelter. He explains that money means nothing to him, which is why he spends it, whereas it means everything to her, which is why she tries to keep it. The next evening, when Lucy comes home from work, she finds her apartment newly decorated with things Mark has bought. After eating a gourmet meal, cooked by Mark, the couple is interrupted by Lucy's fiancé, Tom Winters. Tom is not happy to see Mark living in Lucy's apartment, but she assures him that everything is fine. Tom then tells her that he is about to get an $85 a week raise, thus enabling them to marry. Hearing that Tom works for Cosmic Construction, a company he owns, the next day, Mark calls Blackwell, Tom's boss, and orders him to give Tom a $500 a week raise. When Tom tells Lucy of his good fortune, she is suspicious, and upon discovering that Mark owns Cosmic, insists that Tom refuse the raise. Now worried that Mark is changing her life, rather than the other way around, Lucy decides to resign, but Coulter raises her salary to $100 a week. Trying one last time to get Mark to change his spendthrift ways, Lucy suggests to Mark that they spend the day together doing things that are not only fun, but free. He is enthusiastic, even when Tom joins them. As the three spend the day together, Mark and Tom grow to like each other and Mark realizes that Tom loves Lucy very much. At the Empire State Building, Tom gets swept into a different elevator from Mark and Lucy. Although it was not planned, Mark takes advantage of the situation by spending the evening alone with Lucy. He realizes that he is in love with her, and when they get back to her apartment, packs his bag, saying that he must sleep somewhere else. He is about to kiss Lucy when Tom arrives. After Mark leaves, Tom tells Lucy that Mark had earlier offered his yacht and villa for their honeymoon so that they can marry right away. When Tom sees Lucy's reaction, he realizes that she loves Mark, and leaves. The next morning, Mark announces to Coulter that he plans to marry Lucy. When Mark goes to her office, though, she turns down his proposal, saying that she could not respect him if he did not work. Determined to win her over, Mark announces that he will work, and sometime later calls to say that he has put his chemistry degree to use by getting a job in a lab. Lucy excitedly plans a celebration that evening, but Mark cancels because he has to work late. The next day, Mark overwhelms Lucy with boring details of his "exciting" chemistry experiments, even though he is lying. Soon, Lucy realizes what Mark is doing, and when he brings his supposed colleagues to dinner, she exposes the ruse. She throws him out, over his protests that he really does have a job. Finally admitting defeat, the next day, Lucy orders an expensive trousseau. When she visits Coulter, he reveals that Mark, who has been in the Naval Reserve, has just been activated. Lucy then rushes to see Mark's commander and when she finds Mark, throws her arms around him. He tells her not to worry, as he is only being sent to Washington and is being placed in charge of all expenditures for the Navy.

Director

Don Weis

Cast

Janet Leigh

Peter Lawford

Lewis Stone

Judge Samuel Coulter

Marilyn Erskine

Richard Anderson

Douglas Fowley

Hanley Stafford

Henry Slate

Jerry Hausner

Benny Rubin

Charles Watts

Victor Wood

Kate Mackenna

Ida Moore

William "bill" Phillips

Dave Willock

Ann Zika

Emerson Treacy

Bill Welsh

Freeman Lusk

Harry Cheshire

Ned Glass

Robert Foulk

Joseph Mell

John "skins" Miller

John Perri

Western Union boy

Clarence Straight

Collins, chauffeur

Alvin Greenman

Busboy at automat

Joann Arnold

Robert Cabal

Robert Stephenson

Helen Winston

William Schallert

Alan Harris

Robert Knapp

Bob Alden

Patrick Conway

Young man on ferry

Phyllis Kirk

Young woman on ferry

Elizabeth Flournoy

Fred Welch

Steve Wayne

Paul Salata

Jeff Richards

John Eldredge

Commander Denham

Virginia Engels

Sam Pierce

Crew

James Basevi

Henry Berman

James Brock

Cedric Gibbons

A. Arnold Gillespie

Special Effects

Keogh Gleason

Sydney Guilaroff

Hair styles Designer

Ray June

Director of Photography

George Rhein

Assistant Director

David Rose

Douglas Shearer

Recording Supervisor

Sidney Sheldon

Fredrick Y. Smith

Max Trell

Based on a Story by

William Tuttle

Makeup created by

Edwin B. Willis

Photo Collections

Videos

Just This Once -- (Movie Clip) This Is A Great Girl! Old pal judge Coulter (Lewis Stone) introduces spendthrift heir Mark (Peter Lawford) to lawyer Lucy (Janet Leigh) who's been engaged to administer his affairs, in MGM's Just This Once, 1952.

Just This Once -- (Movie Clip) Some Kind Of A Holiday Playboy Mark (Peter Lawford) escorts lawyer Lucy (Janet Leigh), hired to run his affairs, to the automat for a lesson about a cheap meal, in MGM's Just This Once, 1952, from a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon.

Film Details

Genre

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

Mar 7, 1952

Premiere Information

Los Angeles opening: 27 Feb 1952

Production Company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Distribution Company

Loew's Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 30m

Film Length

8,085ft (9 reels)

Articles

Just This Once

November 23, 2005

Among the screenplays written by Sidney Sheldon during his tenure at MGM as a screenwriter (1948-53) was Just This Once (1952), developed from a story by Max Trell. The romantic comedy was directed by Don Weis, with studio contract players Peter Lawford and Janet Leigh in the leads.

By this time, Lawford had patented the role of the spoiled yet charming playboy who needs to be taught to face up to his responsibilities. Leigh is a comely lawyer who takes on that assignment in the film after being hired by a judge (Lewis Stone) who is Lawford's fund trustee and has placed him on a strict budget. The catch is that, in order to closely oversee Lawford's spending, Leigh must move in with him. Despite the fact that she already has a very frugal boyfriend (Richard Anderson), the lawyer finds herself falling for the playboy.

Sheldon, born in Chicago in 1917, had begun in films as a $24-a-week script reader for Universal. He moved on to New York and writing for the stage, and by age 25 had three musical hits running simultaneously on Broadway: The Merry Widow, Jackpot and Dream With Music. He would later, with his collaborators, win a Tony Award for the book of Redhead, starring Gwen Verdon.

Sheldon returned to films with a bang, winning an Oscar® for his screenplay for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), starring Cary Grant. He has written or contributed to more than 20 film scripts, including such MGM hits as Easter Parade (1948), The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and Dream Wife (1953), which he also directed. He later moved to Paramount, where his screenplays included The Buster Keaton Story (1957), which he also produced and directed.

In addition to his films and his remarkable success as a novelist (18 titles which have sold more than 300 million copies), the prolific Sheldon has written more than 200 TV scripts and created the series I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart. Among movies adapted from his novels are The Other Side of Midnight (1977), Bloodline (1979) and The Naked Face (1984).

Producer: Henry Berman
Director: Don Weis
Screenplay: Sidney Sheldon, from story by Max Trell
Cinematography: Ray June
Art Direction: James Basevi, Cedric Gibbons
Original Music: David Rose
Editing: Fredrick Y. Smith
Principal Cast: Janet Leigh (Lucille Duncan), Peter Lawford (Mark MacLene IV), Lewis Stone (Judge Samuel Coulter), Marilyn Erskine (Gertrude Crome), Richard Anderson (Tom Winters).
BW-91m.

by Roger Fristoe

Just This Once

Just This Once

Among the screenplays written by Sidney Sheldon during his tenure at MGM as a screenwriter (1948-53) was Just This Once (1952), developed from a story by Max Trell. The romantic comedy was directed by Don Weis, with studio contract players Peter Lawford and Janet Leigh in the leads. By this time, Lawford had patented the role of the spoiled yet charming playboy who needs to be taught to face up to his responsibilities. Leigh is a comely lawyer who takes on that assignment in the film after being hired by a judge (Lewis Stone) who is Lawford's fund trustee and has placed him on a strict budget. The catch is that, in order to closely oversee Lawford's spending, Leigh must move in with him. Despite the fact that she already has a very frugal boyfriend (Richard Anderson), the lawyer finds herself falling for the playboy. Sheldon, born in Chicago in 1917, had begun in films as a $24-a-week script reader for Universal. He moved on to New York and writing for the stage, and by age 25 had three musical hits running simultaneously on Broadway: The Merry Widow, Jackpot and Dream With Music. He would later, with his collaborators, win a Tony Award for the book of Redhead, starring Gwen Verdon. Sheldon returned to films with a bang, winning an Oscar® for his screenplay for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), starring Cary Grant. He has written or contributed to more than 20 film scripts, including such MGM hits as Easter Parade (1948), The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and Dream Wife (1953), which he also directed. He later moved to Paramount, where his screenplays included The Buster Keaton Story (1957), which he also produced and directed. In addition to his films and his remarkable success as a novelist (18 titles which have sold more than 300 million copies), the prolific Sheldon has written more than 200 TV scripts and created the series I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart. Among movies adapted from his novels are The Other Side of Midnight (1977), Bloodline (1979) and The Naked Face (1984). Producer: Henry Berman Director: Don Weis Screenplay: Sidney Sheldon, from story by Max Trell Cinematography: Ray June Art Direction: James Basevi, Cedric Gibbons Original Music: David Rose Editing: Fredrick Y. Smith Principal Cast: Janet Leigh (Lucille Duncan), Peter Lawford (Mark MacLene IV), Lewis Stone (Judge Samuel Coulter), Marilyn Erskine (Gertrude Crome), Richard Anderson (Tom Winters). BW-91m. by Roger Fristoe

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

A Hollywood Reporter news item includes Bob Wilkinson in the cast, but his appearance in the released film has not been verified.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Spring March 1952

Released in United States Spring March 1952

By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use