Just This Once

1952 "M-G-M's screamingly funny romance!"
6.3| 1h31m| en
Details

An heir of a vast fortune is deeply in debt because he spends faster than his very generous trust fund allows. There is a battle of wills between his selfish spendthrift was and the money manager which is is forced/tricked into appointing.

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Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
abcj-2 I recorded this a week or two ago off of TCM and was in no particular hurry to watch it. Yesterday I felt in the mood for a romantic comedy that I'd never seen before. I love Janet Leigh and sometimes record films just to see if they're worth watching. "Just This Once" is one of those rare unexpected treats that come along occasionally and become an instant favorite. Lawford and Leigh had terrific chemistry. Lewis Stone as the Judge and Richard Anderson as Leigh's fiancé add to a terrific supporting cast. I love how the office workers are involved in the relationship as the movie progresses.There is a nice plot summary that gives the necessary details. However, "screen magic" is subjective and usually unexpected for me. This is one of those films that the only bad thing about is that now I've already seen it (although it will hold up well on repeat viewings for me and I'm sure for those who like to watch their favorites again and again). The other is that it's not on DVD. But I'll be keeping the recording as long as I can, and there is always hope it will be released:)If you liked Holiday Affair, this film has a familiar ring. I wouldn't say I like it better, but I'd say I like it as well, and that one was a favorite right out of the gate for me. This is a fluffy piece of romantic comedy with a touch of screwball that is my favorite genre next to British Period Romances. "Just This Once" moves way up my list of classic comedies as an instant favorite and unexpected treat that I'll look forward to seeing again and again.
powderedslicker It's a shame this is unavailable on any home video format. I genuinely enjoy this little piece of mid-fifties fluff, good for the whole family. There's even a bit of a twist with a little bite at the end, if you look at it compared to most films of its ilk. What a great way to waste an hour and a half.Janet Leigh is fun as the, of course, slightly uptight executor of the trust fund that the fabulous playboy Peter Lawford, who is also very good, lives lavishly on. I found most of the dialogue spot on and funny, and, best of all, poor Peter isn't forced to reform by the end of the film, and neither is Janet Leigh made to look foolish.
whpratt1 Since Janet Leigh is one of my favorite movie stars from the past, I really enjoyed this 1952 film where she stars as Lucy Duncan, a lawyer who had to work her way through some rough times in order to become a lawyer. Lucy has a boyfriend who is a civil engineer and makes eight-five dollars a week and Lucy finds out she has a new client who is willing to pay her fifty dollars a week and between the two of their salaries, they would be able to get hitched. The client Lucy has is Judge Samuel Coulter, (Lewis Stone) who wants Lucy to have a sort of power of attorney over the trust fund of Mark Maclene IV who is very wealthy and simply spends his money like water on all kinds of gals, giving them jewelry, furs and the list goes on and on. Lucy takes control and takes back all the items that Mark purchased and makes him live on fifty dollars a week, plus 50 cents for lunch. Lucy even shows Mark an auto mat where he can get his lunch for a quarter and takes him on a Staten Island Ferry ride for only 5 cents one way. Janet Leigh was twenty-five when she made this picture and was recently married to Tony Curtis. Great film to view, Enjoy.
boblipton This is a surprisingly strong romantic comedy starring Peter Lawford and Janet Leigh. At first they seem to be playing their stereotypical roles -- Lawford is immensely rich, and annoying: he spends too much, so his fund trustee -- played by the ever dependable Lewis Stone -- hires common, sensible, penny-pinching Janet Leigh to rope in his spending.At first I thought this was going to be another of those unfunny, empty comedies that Don Weis directed Peter Lawford in in the early 1950s, but this is quite different. There is a tremendous amount of character exposition between the gags, flaws and strengths of character together to make this a highly enjoyable movie.