Life with Father (1947)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Clarence Day (memoir)
Howard Lindsay (play) ...

Release Date:

13 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Here for all!! All the happiness of the play that ran longer, the laughs that were louder than any known before!

Plot:

A financier from New York rules his numerous family, consisting of his wife and his four sons, with the meticulousity of a bookkeeper.

Plot Keywords:

Businessman | Redhead | Young Love | Family Relationships | Maid

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

William Powell	...	Clarence Day, Sr.
Irene Dunne	...	Vinnie Day
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Mary Skinner
Edmund Gwenn	...	Rev. Dr. Lloyd
Zasu Pitts	...	Cousin Cora Cartwright
Jimmy Lydon	...	Clarence Day, Jr.
Emma Dunn	...	Margaret - the cook
Moroni Olsen	...	Dr. Humphries
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Whitehead - introduces Morley
Derek Scott	...	Harlan Day
Johnny Calkins	...	Whitney Day
Martin Milner	...	John Day
Heather Wilde	...	Annie - 1st maid
Monte Blue	...	The Policeman
Mary Field	...	Nora - 2d maid

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #11667, General Audience) | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Mary Pickford was to have made her big screen comeback in the role of Vinnie but eventually the role went to Irene Dunne because of her box-office appeal.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie opens "NEW YORK 1883". Later, Father rails at Mayor "Honest" Hugh Grant. Grant was NYC mayor from 1889-1892. Franklin Edson was mayor in 1883.

Quotes:

Rev. Dr. Lloyd: Mrs. Day, your husband is a practical man. We've had to be practical about the new church. We have all the facts and figures.
Father: Oh? What's the property worth where we are now?
Rev. Dr. Lloyd: Oh, let's see. Is it $40,000? I know the figure has a four in it.
Father: What's the new piece of property going to cost you?
Rev. Dr. Lloyd: I think the figure I heard mentioned was $85,000. Or was it $185,000?
Father: Dr. Lloyd, you preach that someday, we'll all have to answer to God.
Rev. Dr. Lloyd: We shall indeed.
Father: Well, I hope God doesn't ask you any questions with figures in them!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "M*A*S*H: Life with Father (#3.8)" (1974)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Marie

Powell & Dunne Shine In Charming Period Piece

When I first saw this movie, I thought it was fair at best. On the second viewing, I really, really liked it. I'm almost afraid to see it for the third time, as I could almost dislike it again since I seem to flip-flop on this.

THE GOOD: The film has "charm" written all over it. Although Irene Dunne has some Grace Allen-type gag lines, William Powell is the one who provides most of the laughs in this tale of upper-crust family life in the 1880s. However, both Powell and Dunne are excellent and play off each other well. The story revolves around the personal and business life of the Clarence Day family, a true family in the sense of the word it, which is nice to see. Every character is interesting and the supporting cast includes Edmund Gwenn and Zasu Pitts (love that name!). Nice Technicolor, too.

THE BAD: The romance between Jimmy Lydon and a young Elizabeth Taylor gets a little sappy. Powell's constant exclamation "Gad!" is very annoying as a close as screenwriters apparently could get to saying "God" all the time in 1947.

All in all, it's a nice period piece that takes you back life a little over a century ago, and provides us another one of these more-innocent family stories. To my knowledge, there has never been a good print made of this, either on tape or DVD, which doesn't make sense considering the fine cast and good reputation of this movie.