Mother Is a Freshman

"It's the cheer leader of the year!"

1949 1h 21m EN

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 2

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Widow Abby Abbott is having serious money problems and has to dip into the family trust in order to pay for her daughter Susan's college tuition. The catch: Abby must also become a co-ed or she can't touch the money. After passing her entrance exams, Abby goes to college and becomes very popular, especially with a handsome English professor whom Susan has a crush on.

“It's the cheer leader of the year!”

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Cast

Loretta Young
Abigail Fortitude Abbott
Van Johnson
Professor Richard Michaels
Rudy Vallee
John Heaslip
Barbara Lawrence
Louise Sharpe
Robert Arthur
Beaumont Jackson
Betty Lynn
Susan Abbott
Griff Barnett
Dean Gillingham
Kathleen Hughes
Rhoda Adams

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lloyd Bacon
Writers: Richard Sale, Mary Loos, Raphael Blau
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lloyd Bacon, shot by Arthur E. Arling. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Loretta Young and Van Johnson and Rudy Vallee carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's the cheer leader of the year!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lloyd Bacon directs. Arthur E. Arling behind the camera. Alfred Newman scores. William Reynolds cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Lloyd Bacon, shot by Arthur E. Arling. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Loretta Young and Van Johnson and Rudy Vallee carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It's the cheer leader of the year!".
9IMDB entry: tt0041659 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.