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Room for One More

Alternate Title: The Easy Way Director: Norman Taurog (Dir) Release Date: 26 Jan 1952 Premiere Information: New York opening: 14 Jan 1952 Production Date: mid-Aug--mid-Oct 1951 Duration (in mins): 96-98			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:		Cary Grant	(George "Poppy" Rose)
		Betsy Drake	(Anna Rose)
		Lurene Tuttle	(Miss Kenyon)
		Randy Stuart	(Mrs. Foreman)
		John Ridgely	(Harry Foreman)
		Irving Bacon	(Mayor)
		Mary Lou Treen	(Mrs. Roberts)
	And the Children:	Iris Mann	(Jane)
		George Winslow	(Teenie)
		Clifford Tatum Jr.	(Jimmy-John)
		Gay Gordon	(Trot)
		Malcolm Cassell	(Tim)
		Larry Olsen	(Ben)
		Hayden Rorke	(Doctor)
		Ray Page	(Gas station attendant)
		Charles Meredith	(Mr. Thatcher)
		Oliver Blake	(Mr. Doran)
		Frank Ferguson	(Steve)
		Don Beddoe	(School principal)
		Lillian Bronson	(Teacher)
		William Bakewell	(Milkman)
		Douglas Fowley	(Ice man)
		John McGovern	(Senior patrol leader)
		Gretchen Hartman	(Chairwoman)
		Charles Watts	(Mr. Roberts)
		Dabbs Greer	(Scoutmaster)
		Tony Taylor	(Joey)
		Stevie Wooten	(Little brother)
		Mary Newton
		Ezelle Poule
		Dorothy Kennedy
		Marcorita Hellman
		Karen Hale
		Doris Kemper
		Mary Alan Hokanson
		Felice Richmond

Summary:

After Anna Rose, mother of three and collector of stray animals, tentatively expresses interest in becoming a foster parent during a PTA tour of a children's home, the director, Miss Kenyon, arrives unannounced at the Rose household with a sullen teenager, Jane, who needs a place to stay for two weeks. Anna's good-natured husband George, called "Poppy" by the family, is reluctant to add to his motley household of kids and pets, which is swelling with the birth of a litter of kittens. However, recognizing what he calls "the gleam in Anna's eye," he does not interfere with her need to do good. Jane, an abused child with a history of suicide attempts, is at first distrusting and abrasive, but after Anna realizes that she is resentful of her dependence on others, who, in the past, have not wanted her, Anna finds her small paying jobs to help her feel self-reliant. During Jane's first baby-sitting job, which Anna arranged with their friends, the Foremans, Jane proves to be dependable and resourceful, and after two weeks, she is amiable, happy and loved by the Roses, who want her to stay permanently. Later, Anna arranges with Miss Kenyon for a young handicapped boy, Jimmy-John, to accompany them on vacation to the beach. Poppy, who had hoped to spend more adult time with Anna now that the children were settled, insists that his engineer's salary cannot afford another child, but relents after seeing the harsh conditions in which Jimmy-John lives. However, Jimmy-John, who compensates for his leg braces and difficulties in school with a mean-spirited reserve, hits the Roses' daughter Trot, destroys one of the boys' bicycles during a tantrum, and is caught peeking in the girls' window. Although Poppy solves the latter problem by explaining to the inquisitive boy how babies are born, the family is nearly convinced that Jimmy-John is more than they can handle. As Poppy prepares to take him back to Miss Kenyon, however, the children generously give him a reprieve. Back at home, Jimmy-John continues to throw tantrums when he is frustrated with his disabilities, until he is introduced to the Boy Scouts at a meeting held in the Rose home. Using the Boy Scout manual as a primer, he learns to read and is further challenged to earn merit badges, and as his self-confidence grows, he becomes more lovable. Later, at a PTA meeting, featured speaker Anna describes the "fun" of raising foster children, but during the question period, Poppy wonders aloud if her husband is neglected. She answers that her husband is respected and loved by every member of the family. Later, Jane's distress at being asked to the New Year's Eve prom by her beau, Ben, confuses Poppy and Rose, until the children explain that a formal evening gown is required for the occasion, which they cannot afford. As a Christmas gift, Anna alters her own evening dress for Jane, who is thrilled, until Teenie, the Roses' youngest, unflinchingly honest son announces that the dress "stinks." The children return their Christmas gifts to raise the money to buy Jane a new dress, but on the day of the prom, Jane is stood up by Ben, whose mother disapproves of her background. After sending Jane to the prom with their oldest son Tim, Poppy confronts Ben's parents at their home and persuades them to allow him to take Ben to the prom. There Poppy discovers that Jane is finding plenty of dance partners. Meanwhile, Jimmy-John undertakes a ten-mile hike required for a merit badge, which is made especially difficult by the cold weather and his leg braces, and he is late in returning. Poppy drives around until he finds Jimmy-John valiantly determined to succeed. When the annual Boy Scout Court of Honor is held, Jimmy-John is awarded the Boy Scout's highest honor, the Eagle badge. When asked to speak, Jimmy-John attributes his success to his luck in choosing his own parents. Later, the Foremans invite all five Rose children to spend the night at their house. After Poppy cheerfully bids each child a good night, he and Anna return home for a well-earned night to themselves.

Production Company:	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Brand Name:	A Warner Bros.--First National Picture
Distribution Company:	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Director:	Norman Taurog	(Dir)
	Jack Mintz	(Dial dir)
	Sherry Shourds	(Asst dir)
Producer:	Henry Blanke	(Prod)
Writer:	Jack Rose	(Scr)
	Melville Shavelson	(Scr)
Photography:	Robert Burks	(Dir of photog)
Art Direction:	Douglas Bacon	(Art dir)
Film Editor:	Alan Crosland Jr.	(Film ed)
Set Decoration:	William L. Kuehl	(Set dec)
Costumes:	Leah Rhodes	(Ward)
	Marjorie Best	(Ward)
Music:	Max Steiner	(Mus)
	Murray Cutter	(Orch)
Sound:	Charles Lang	(Sd)
Make Up:	Gordon Bau	(Makeup artist)
Production Misc:	Don Moyer	(Tech adv)
	Robert H. Hayes	(Tech adv)
	Frank Inn	(Animal trainer)
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Songs:	"Row, Row, Row Your Boat," traditional.
Source Text:	Based on the book Room for One More by Anna Perrott Rose (Boston, 1950).
Authors:	Anna Perrott Rose

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.	26/3/1952 dd/mm/yyyy	LP1603

PCA NO:	15560
Physical Properties:	Sd:	RCA Sound System
	b&w:


Genre:	Comedy-drama
Sub-Genre:	Domestic

Subjects (Major):	Children
	Engineers
	Family relationships
	Foster parents
	Housewives
	Self-sacrifice

Subjects (Minor):	Battered children
	Beaches
	Boy Scouts
	Cats
	Dogs
	Handicapped
	New Year's Eve
	Orphanages
	Proms
	Rabbits and hares
	Schools
	Transformation
	Vacations

Note:	Voice-over narration by Cary Grant as "George Rose" is heard intermittently throughout the film. Room for One More was based on an autobiographical novel by Anna Maria Rose Wright of Lynwood, NJ. Wright was credited onscreen as Anna Perrott Rose. Although Sep 1951 HR news items add Karoline Grimes, Tommy Law and Elizabeth Flournoy to the cast, their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Fifty-one San Fernando and Verdugo, CA, Boy Scouts were extras in the Boy Scout Court of Honor scene, according to Warner Bros. production notes. Grant and Betsy Drake were real-life spouses from 1949 to 1959. Room for One More marked the film debut of five-year-old George "Foghorn" Winslow, who first appeared on Art Linkletter's People Are Funny television show. The child, who appeared in a number of films during the 1950s, was known for his distinctive voice. Grant reprised his role for a Lux Radio Theatre production on 26 May 1952, which co-starred Phyllis Thaxter as "Anna Rose." The film was later broadcast on television under the title The Easy Way . A television series based on the film, starring Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay as George and Anna Rose, ran on the ABC network in 1962.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Box Office	12 Jan 1952.
Box Office	15 Mar 1952.
Daily Variety	10 Jan 52	p. 3.
Film Daily	10 Jan 52	p. 8.
Hollywood Reporter	16 Jul 51	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	17 Aug 51	p. 19.
Hollywood Reporter	12 Sep 51	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	17 Sep 51	p. 7.
Hollywood Reporter	27 Sep 51	p. 10.
Hollywood Reporter	11 Oct 51	p. 8.
Hollywood Reporter	12 Oct 51	p. 15.
Hollywood Reporter	10 Jan 52	p. 3.
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest	12 Jan 52	p. 1185.
New York Times	14 Jan 52	p. 15.
New York Times	16 Jan 52	p. 21.
Time	28 Jan 1952.
Variety	16 Jan 52	p. 6.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



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