High Time is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bing Crosby, Fabian, Tuesday Weld, and Nicole Maurey. The film is told from the perspective of a middle-aged man who enters the world of a new generation of postwar youth.
In the years since its release, High Time has come to be viewed as a comedic study of the slowly emerging generation gap between the music and mores of an older generation and postwar youth, as well as an inadvertent time capsule of American adolescents and lifestyles in 1960.
Plot
Wealthy restaurateur Harvey Howard (Bing Crosby), a self-made man, widower, and owner of Harvey Howard Smokehouses, decides to go back to college at the age of 51 and earn a bachelor's degree. He faces opposition from his snobbish grown children, as well as a generation gap between himself and his much-younger fellow students. The first day in school, he finds that just convincing older students, faculty, and administrators that he is serious is a humorous task. He enrolls and receives freshman rooming, and is up front about his determination to be "just another freshman". He's assigned a quad rooming arrangement, which sets precedent for the upcoming years - dealing with the student press, the dorm adviser, and making that first toast with sauerkraut juice to seal their bond to complete their four years together.
The president's welcoming speech sets the tone for the effort facing the freshman class. Harvey has to convince the phys ed coach that he has what it takes to compete by doing ten plus one pull-ups to the cheers of his fellow younger frosh, only to collapse on his face upon finishing his set. Another frosh challenge is the bonfire that must exceed the height of the prior years. Harvey meets the French professor, Helen Gauthier, when removing a supporting wooden box from under her porch. The bonfire's total height comes up a foot short; Harvey climbs to the summit and deposits his three-foot chair. Having two brilliant roommates and jock Gil Sparrow (Fabian), the academic rigors are always fuel for comedy and camaraderie. Science Professor Thayer is haphazard, and numerous comedic moments ensue including chemicals that take on a life of their own, pairs of wires that should never be brought near each other during a storm, and improving one's skating skills except on thin ice.
Sophomore year again has Harvey being berated by his children, but the school's beat reporter is there to welcome him and puts up with the snobby kids. Harvey is off to meet his last year's roommates and the requisite toast to success. He is asked to join their fraternity and has the usual hazing period to endure, polishing shoes, washing floors, and the most challenging, dressing in drag and getting a retired colonel to sign his dance card at a costume ball. The elderly southern gentleman is suffering a gout attack and his social climbing children are attending the same event. While dancing with his son, Harvey so discombobulates him that his dress is torn in half, and while having it fixed in the ladies lounge, he floors his daughter. Back on the floor, Harvey bribes the band leader to play "Dixie", the colonel stands, Harvey pounces into his arms, dancing the length of the floor, deposits the sputtering colonel on his easy chair, has him autograph his dance card, throws his wig into his lap, and rushes the exit. The rest of the year is full of great football by Gil, academic pressure, and more antics by Prof. Thayer.
Junior year starts with Harvey arriving in a red Mercedes convertible, and meeting the group at a Harvey Howard Smokehouse for a toast of goat milk, which only T.J. Padmanagham likes. The Smokehouse maitre D' at Harvey Howard's, super-snob Burdick, doesn't like one bit of this. His first task is to rudely challenge the group to order their meals, which is fine with Harvey, who orders Harvey Burgers with special sauce for the lot. Burdick sneers back that it's too early for the special sauce. Navy brat Bob Bannerman chimes in with "... it's later than you think". The burgers arrive and are dry, carbonized, and inedible. Harvey, who stands behind all burgers served in his Smokehouses, calls Burdick over to "take them back". Burdick challenges Harvey to do better, which he does. Burdick, watching Harvey jump to it at the grill, catches Harvey Howard's full name and faints. Burdick completes eating a burger prepared by Harvey and becomes a transformed Harvey employee. Over the summer, prior to junior year, Harvey had hired Professor Gauthier to tutor him at Nag's Head. His children, in turn, complain to the college and it appears that Gauthier has to resign to save face. The students protest and the president delays any action until the next spring.