A Thousand Clowns (1965)

Twelveyearold Nick lives with his Uncle Murray a MrMicawberlike Dickensian character who keeps hoping something wont turn up What turns up is a social worker who falls in love with Murray and a bit in love with Nick As the child welfare people try to force Murray to become a conventional man as the price they demand for allowing him to keep Nick the nephew who until now has gloried in his Uncles iconoclastic approach to life tries to play mediator But when he succeeds he is alarmed by the uncles willingness to cave in to society in order to save the relationship