Tonight's Movie: Just This Once (1952)

JUST THIS ONCE is a fun piece of fluff in which Janet Leigh plays a lawyer hired to straighten out the finances of a playboy (Peter Lawford) who can't seem to stop frittering away the fortune he inherited. Before long, Leigh is introducing Lawford to the joys of the Automat and Central Park. Will he learn that some of the best things in life are free?

The film has a script by Sidney Sheldon which gives a fresh spin to what might have been a predictable romantic comedy, and the plot unfolds in a brisk 90 minutes. The supporting cast includes Lewis Stone (Judge Hardy of the Andy Hardy series, Stone is typecast here as a judge) and a very young Richard Anderson. As usual, MGM production values are evident even in a "B" movie, including a lovely wardrobe for Janet Leigh. There are several back projection scenes, however, which are amusingly bad, especially in a scene where Lawford is supposed to be lounging on the beach in Honolulu. Apparently the budget only stretched so far!

JUST THIS ONCE is part of the Turner Classic Movies library.