Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell... About Old Age
Many years ago, when the thought of being my current age... ah, which is middle aged... (let me uncross my finger so I can type) was just that; a thought, I saw this movie on television. The movie has stayed with me all of these years, likely now 45 years (hey, I was just a baby), and of course I have seen it a couple of times since then. The movie is from 1951 and, while it has a serious message, it is lighthearted and comedic, although you might just have to hold back a tear or two. While Clifton Webb has always been a favorite of mine, the supporting cast of "elderly" characters makes the movie, in my opinion.
The movie centers around Lynn Belvedere, played by Clifton Webb, a man who has written and given lectures about staying young even in old age. Mr. Belvedere decides to find out if living a long life is really worth it, although he is only 46, and, according to his business manager, played by Zero Mostel, he doesn't even like admitting to that. Belvedere takes on the identity of a recently deceased 77 year old man, Oliver Erwenter, who had applied for admission to an old age home. The home is run down, decrepit and bleak, just like its residents. The people there go through their daily routines, including aches, pains, dizziness, and depression, a condition which itself can cause people to imagine even more illness, as one woman believes she has a bad appendix, even though the attendant to the residents, played by Joanne Dru,* tells her it is just gas. Many of the people have no one on the outside who cares much about them, and loneliness, routine and boredom are really their constant companions. Mr. Belvedere is able to convince people he is really 77, but because of his active lifestyle, he appears to be much younger.** The residents are captivated by "Mr. Erwenter," a man of their own age group who is still spry and young acting. This gives Belvedere the way to convince the residents to become active again, and he plans for the home to hold a bazaar, with the residents helping to spruce up the place, and then to work at the various booths for the bazaar. The home takes on new life and so do the residents. Any aches and pains subside a bit, as their newly found importance in life makes the pain less severe. And they're all too involved to feel the tiredness they had felt before.
Then, while Mr. Belvedere is out, in come some reporters who had heard about Belvedere's act. They disclose to everyone that the man they know as "Mr. Erwenter," is really a writer named, "Lynn Belvedere," and that he is 46, not 77. The residents are stunned, with a mixture of anger and sadness, as they now seek to retreat to their old lives again. The set up for the bazaar is dismantled and carted off, and the people sit in their chairs and begin to complain about their various illnesses. When Mr. Belvedere arrives, he is treated with scorn by the elderly residents, who feel he had been making fun of them with his performance. Belvedere is told that the run down old age home is really how their lives are, and that they are simply awaiting death.
Belvedere and the managing reverend go out together, and only return hours later. In the morning, as the residents will not even speak to Mr. Belvedere, the outer door leading into the yard of the home opens and all of the items for the bazaar are carried in and set up. The spirit of the residents is revived and the bazaar goes forward, with great success. Only then, the residents learn that Mr. Belvedere is leaving to return to his lecture circuit. At first they are sad, but he encourages them to continue with an active life. When they say how they will miss him, he tells them that won't happen, because they will be too busy to think about him, and that he found the answer to his question about whether it is worth living to an old age. He tells them, now he has to do something to help middle aged people. (Thank goodness, he's going to help me! ... Uncross fingers again)
* Actress Joanne Dru, who passed away in the mid 1990s, was the sister of the long time host of "The Hollywood Squares" game show, Peter Marshall, who, as of this writing, is 90 years old.
** In a funny scene at a point after his business manager had told how Mr. Belvedere hates to even admit to being over 45, the attendant tells the man she thinks is Mr. Erwenter, that it's hard to believe that he is 77, since he doesn't look a day over 60! A startled Mr. Belvedere takes a hit to his vanity, but he recovers when the reverend who oversees the home tells him he looks like he's 45. The reverend is played by Hugh Marlowe.
Photo is from the 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD
WORD HISTORY:
Ring (verb)-English has two main forms of this word, and this is only for the verb form (although also a later derived noun) meaning, "to make a sound with a bell or bells." The origin of the word is unclear, although some have suggested an Indo European root having to do with "screeching" or "crying out," but at this time, I'm not sold on it. To me, it is more likely a Germanic invention, based upon imitation of the sound, but an invention that either did not spread to all Germanic dialects, or that, at least, did not stick with all of them. Old Germanic had "hringjanan," meaning, "to make sound by hitting metal." This gave Old English "hringan," meaning, "to sound a bell, to alert or gain attention by sounding a bell or bells." This then became "ringen," before the modern form. The noun form, meaning, "the sound made by a bell," was derived from the verb, but not until the 1500s. Not all of the Germanic languages have forms of the word, but Dutch has "ringen," Swedish has "ringa," Danish and Norwegian have "ringe," Icelandic has "hringja" (German once had "(h)ringan").
The movie centers around Lynn Belvedere, played by Clifton Webb, a man who has written and given lectures about staying young even in old age. Mr. Belvedere decides to find out if living a long life is really worth it, although he is only 46, and, according to his business manager, played by Zero Mostel, he doesn't even like admitting to that. Belvedere takes on the identity of a recently deceased 77 year old man, Oliver Erwenter, who had applied for admission to an old age home. The home is run down, decrepit and bleak, just like its residents. The people there go through their daily routines, including aches, pains, dizziness, and depression, a condition which itself can cause people to imagine even more illness, as one woman believes she has a bad appendix, even though the attendant to the residents, played by Joanne Dru,* tells her it is just gas. Many of the people have no one on the outside who cares much about them, and loneliness, routine and boredom are really their constant companions. Mr. Belvedere is able to convince people he is really 77, but because of his active lifestyle, he appears to be much younger.** The residents are captivated by "Mr. Erwenter," a man of their own age group who is still spry and young acting. This gives Belvedere the way to convince the residents to become active again, and he plans for the home to hold a bazaar, with the residents helping to spruce up the place, and then to work at the various booths for the bazaar. The home takes on new life and so do the residents. Any aches and pains subside a bit, as their newly found importance in life makes the pain less severe. And they're all too involved to feel the tiredness they had felt before.
Then, while Mr. Belvedere is out, in come some reporters who had heard about Belvedere's act. They disclose to everyone that the man they know as "Mr. Erwenter," is really a writer named, "Lynn Belvedere," and that he is 46, not 77. The residents are stunned, with a mixture of anger and sadness, as they now seek to retreat to their old lives again. The set up for the bazaar is dismantled and carted off, and the people sit in their chairs and begin to complain about their various illnesses. When Mr. Belvedere arrives, he is treated with scorn by the elderly residents, who feel he had been making fun of them with his performance. Belvedere is told that the run down old age home is really how their lives are, and that they are simply awaiting death.
Belvedere and the managing reverend go out together, and only return hours later. In the morning, as the residents will not even speak to Mr. Belvedere, the outer door leading into the yard of the home opens and all of the items for the bazaar are carried in and set up. The spirit of the residents is revived and the bazaar goes forward, with great success. Only then, the residents learn that Mr. Belvedere is leaving to return to his lecture circuit. At first they are sad, but he encourages them to continue with an active life. When they say how they will miss him, he tells them that won't happen, because they will be too busy to think about him, and that he found the answer to his question about whether it is worth living to an old age. He tells them, now he has to do something to help middle aged people. (Thank goodness, he's going to help me! ... Uncross fingers again)
* Actress Joanne Dru, who passed away in the mid 1990s, was the sister of the long time host of "The Hollywood Squares" game show, Peter Marshall, who, as of this writing, is 90 years old.
** In a funny scene at a point after his business manager had told how Mr. Belvedere hates to even admit to being over 45, the attendant tells the man she thinks is Mr. Erwenter, that it's hard to believe that he is 77, since he doesn't look a day over 60! A startled Mr. Belvedere takes a hit to his vanity, but he recovers when the reverend who oversees the home tells him he looks like he's 45. The reverend is played by Hugh Marlowe.
Photo is from the 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD
Ring (verb)-English has two main forms of this word, and this is only for the verb form (although also a later derived noun) meaning, "to make a sound with a bell or bells." The origin of the word is unclear, although some have suggested an Indo European root having to do with "screeching" or "crying out," but at this time, I'm not sold on it. To me, it is more likely a Germanic invention, based upon imitation of the sound, but an invention that either did not spread to all Germanic dialects, or that, at least, did not stick with all of them. Old Germanic had "hringjanan," meaning, "to make sound by hitting metal." This gave Old English "hringan," meaning, "to sound a bell, to alert or gain attention by sounding a bell or bells." This then became "ringen," before the modern form. The noun form, meaning, "the sound made by a bell," was derived from the verb, but not until the 1500s. Not all of the Germanic languages have forms of the word, but Dutch has "ringen," Swedish has "ringa," Danish and Norwegian have "ringe," Icelandic has "hringja" (German once had "(h)ringan").
Labels: Clifton Webb, comedy, English, etymology, films, Germanic languages, Hugh Marlowe, Joanne Dru, loneliness, movies, old age
posted by Randy at 2:45 PM
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