Mr Belvedere's character is a lot of fun to watch, he is the 1940s version of "the most interesting person in the world" - name it, he's not only done it, he invented it. No one should take this character seriously, so I don't follow the comments about being a perfect fit for "today's cellphone generation" (ah yes .. the youth of today are even worse then the last crop).
The main aspect of the film I found "dated" is the idea that being a single mother (Ellen Baker - Shirley Temple) was such a huge scandal -- something that should be covered up, or a source of disgrace. Even given the morals of the time, what would be scandalous about a married women who lost her husband in the war? There must have been many women in this situation. Thank goodness we live in more liberal times.
I also got a little exasperated with the old movie cliché of someone starting to explain their situation only to be cut off -- and then letting this misunderstanding carry the plot for the next half hour. My goodness, half the movies you see use this same tired plot device. Oh well, too late to complain. As I understand it, the writers and most of the characters are long since dead, so they don't care what I think. Except of course Mr. Belvedere who is surely sitting on a mountain somewhere in Tibet surfing the internet (which he invented).
The main aspect of the film I found "dated" is the idea that being a single mother (Ellen Baker - Shirley Temple) was such a huge scandal -- something that should be covered up, or a source of disgrace. Even given the morals of the time, what would be scandalous about a married women who lost her husband in the war? There must have been many women in this situation. Thank goodness we live in more liberal times.
I also got a little exasperated with the old movie cliché of someone starting to explain their situation only to be cut off -- and then letting this misunderstanding carry the plot for the next half hour. My goodness, half the movies you see use this same tired plot device. Oh well, too late to complain. As I understand it, the writers and most of the characters are long since dead, so they don't care what I think. Except of course Mr. Belvedere who is surely sitting on a mountain somewhere in Tibet surfing the internet (which he invented).