Life with Father (1947)

William Powell and Irene Dunne

'Life with Father' is an American domestic comedy film made in 1947, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring William Powell and Irene Dunne with Elizabeth Taylor, Edmund Gwenn, ZaSu Pitts, Jimmy Lydon and Martin Milner. It is a charmingly told, character-focused witty movie about a family in late nineteenth century New York.

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TIn the 1930's humorist and autobiographer Clarence Day Jr. wrote a series of popular books, "God and My Father", "Life With Father", and "Life With Mother", which became the basis, in 1939, of a Broadway play, which was, in turn, made into the 1947 movie and later, a television series. The Broadway production was extemely popular and with over 3,200 performances holds the record for the longest-running non-musical play on Broadway, finishing its run on July 12, 1947.

The movie was released when the play's run ended and immediately proved popular with the public and critics alike. It received 4 unsuccessful nominations for Academy Awards, for Best Actor (William Powell, getting his third and final Oscar nomination), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (Robert M. Haas, George Hopkins), Best Cinematography, Color (Peverell Marley, William V. Skall) and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Max Steiner).

The plot line is wonderfully simple and describes episodes in the life of the Day family, particularly the eccentric father, Clarence, played by William Powell, and his much loved wife Vinnie played by Irene Dunne. We observe a series of family events as Vinnie constantly outwits her husband whilst letting him think that he is in charge as they face a series of problems, mostly caused by their four sons. Vinnie works hard to get her husband baptized and events come to a head when her eldest son, played by James Lydon has a romance with the pretty country girl Mary, played by a young Elizabeth Taylor. There are many fine comic moments and the movie offers an amusing and gently satirical glimpse into Victorian manners and attitudes.

The performances are uniformly good, particularly from William Powell and Irene Dunne, ably supported by Elizabeth Taylor, the comic actress ZaSu Pitts and the young Martin Milner. The whole is beautifully complemented by the score by Max Steiner.

Not onw of Hollywood's best known movies but its a real gem.