Louisa is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, and starring Spring Byington, Ronald Reagan, Charles Coburn, Ruth Hussey, Edmund Gwenn, and Scotty Beckett. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. This was also Piper Laurie's film debut.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound (Leslie I. Carey).
Contents
Plot
Grandma Louisa begins dating grocer Henry Hammond, much to the disgust of her son Hal and the rest of the family. Hal's boss Mr. Burnside becomes Hammond's rival for Louisa's affections.
Cast
Ronald Reagan as Hal Norton
Charles Coburn as Mr. Burnside
Ruth Hussey as Meg Norton
Edmund Gwenn as Mr. Hammond
Spring Byington as Louisa Norton
Piper Laurie as Cathy Norton
Scotty Beckett as Jimmy Blake
Jimmy Hunt as Chris Norton
Connie Gilchrist as Gladys
Willard Waterman as Dick Stewart
Marjorie Crossland as Lil Stewart
Martin Milner as Bob Stewart
Terry Frost as Stacy Walker
Dave Willock as Joe Collins
Reception
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "Stanley Roberts has written and Universal-International has produced a thoroughly congenial family comedy in this iconoclastic little film and Alexander Hall has directed it in a nimble and unpretentious style. And, what's best, Spring Byington plays it with deliciously venturesome bounce, ably and winningly assisted by Charles Coburn and Edmund Gwenn. Apparently what Mr. Roberts had in mind when he wrote this film was the loneliness to which older people who have lost their accustomed mates are prone. Only he didn't let the pathos of the prospect get him down. Rather he let it inspire him to look on the brighter side."