Young Man With Ideas (1952)

An attorney (Glenn Ford) in Montana quits his job and relocates his family to Los Angeles which necessitates taking another bar exam. Their new home once served as a bookie joint and complications arise when his wife (Ruth Roman) takes a bet over the phone and is unable to "pay off" after the horse wins. Meanwhile, he's studying law at night with a very attractive blonde (Nina Foch) and gets involved with a French nightclub singer (Denise Darcel). Mitchell Leisen was an underrated director of the mid to late 1930s (he directed MIDNIGHT and EASY LIVING) through the 1940s but by the time of the 1950s, the good scripts were drying up and he ended his career directing episodic TV. If Arthur Sheekman's screenplay had been better perhaps Leisen could have whipped up some of the old magic but as it is, it's a decent minor comedy that doesn't insult your intelligence with a nice lead performance by Ford and of the three actresses, Foch comes off best. With Mary Wickes, Sheldon Leonard, Ray Collins, Donna Corcoran and Barbara Billingsley.