Sitting Pretty (1948)

When a young mother (Maureen O'Hara) has trouble keeping a nanny because of her three rambunctious boys, she advertises in a national magazine. When she accepts an application, she is shocked when the new nanny arrives ..... he's a guy (Clifton Webb)! Based on the novel BELVEDERE by Gwen Davenport and directed by Walter Lang (THE KING AND I), this proved to be a turning point in Webb's career. Prior to this film, Webb had been in darker dramas like LAURA and THE RAZOR'S EDGE and his acerbic tongue was used more venomously. This was his first movie comedy and his deadpan delivery still had a sting but it wasn't as mean spirited and proved the perfect antidote to the wholesomeness surrounding him. Not only did he receive his only Oscar nomination but he became a bona fide box office star. His character was popular enough to spawn two more films with him playing the character of Belvedere. It's a comedy but it still has something to say about mindless small town gossip and its damaging effects. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a classic comedy but it's quite fun! With Robert Young as the husband, Richard Haydn as the neighborhood gossip, Ed Begley, Louise Allbritton, John Russell and Cara Williams.