Just This Once (1952). Comedy Cast: Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford and Lewis Stone.
When the irresponsible Mark MacLene, falls $2,000,000 in debt, the man in charge of his estate, Judge Samuel Coulter, convinces the creditors to take monthly payments to pay back the money he owes.
Later, Coulter offers the very frugal attorney Lucille Duncan $50 a week, to look over Mark's grandfather's will and manage Mark's estate. Although reluctant, Lucy agrees.
That night, at Mark's house, Coulter tells him of the plan and introduces him to Lucy. Thinking Lucy will be a pushover, Mark accepts the plan.
The next day Lucy, immediately cancels all his charge accounts and when Mark arrives, he asks her to sign a $5,000 check. She refuses, telling him that he must now get by on $50 a week and then tells him where he can buy lunch for 50 cents. Lucy, can not believe it when she finds out that he spent $10 tipping a busboy for a window table.
A few days later, Coulter calls to tell her that he has flown to Paris on his private plane and has gone on a spending spree.
Lucy, catches up with Mark in Hawaii, forcing his return when she starts selling off some of his treasures. Now, that his home is empty, Mark decides to teach Lucy a lesson and moves into her apartment, expecting her to be responsible for him.
Later, when Lucy comes home from work, she finds her apartment newly decorated. After eating a gourmet meal, cooked by Mark, the couple is interrupted by Lucy's fiance, Tom Winters. Tom, is not happy to see Mark living in Lucy's apartment, but she assures him that there is nothing between them. Tom, then tells her that he going to get an $85 a week raise and now they can get married.
Hearing that Tom works for a company he owns, Mark calls Blackwell, Tom's boss and orders him to give Tom a $500 a week raise. When Tom tells Lucy of his huge raise, she finds out that Mark owns the company and insists that Tom refuse the raise. Lucy, decides it is in her best interest to resign, but Coulter raises her salary to $100 a week.
Still, trying to get Mark to change his ways, she suggests that they spend the day together doing things that are fun and free. As the three spend the day together, Mark and Tom grow to like each other and Mark realizes that Tom really loves Lucy.
At the Empire State Building, Tom loses the others in a elevator and Mark takes advantage of the situation by spending the evening alone with Lucy. He realizes that he is in love with her and when they get back to her apartment, he tells her that he is moving out of her apartment. He is about to kiss Lucy when Tom arrives. After Mark leaves, Tom tells Lucy that Mark had offered his yacht and villa for their honeymoon. When Tom sees Lucy's reaction, he realizes that she in love with Mark.
The next morning, Mark goes to her office to propose, she turns him down, saying that she could not respect him if he did not work. Mark promises that he will work, and sometime later calls to say that he has a job in the lab. Lucy makes special plans for that evening, but Mark cancels because he has to work late.
The next day, Mark had lied to Lucy and it does not take long before she realizes what Mark is doing and when he brings his fake colleagues to dinner. She throws him out, over his protests that he really does have a job..
This is a surprisingly, wonderful, romantic, comedy starring Peter Lawford and Janet Leigh. A fun way to spend a hot summer afternoon.
