Life With Father
The longest running non-musical play in Broadway history. Life with Father was brought to joyous comedic life on film in 1947. Based on Clarence Day's writings about his own family, Life with Father stars screen legends William Powell and Irene Dunne as Clarence and Vinnie Day. Clarence is the head strong yet loving patriarch, while Vinnie is his "dizzy" wife, whose real genius is letting her husband believe it is really he who is running the family. Filled with warmth and humor, the film follows the family's adventures in 1880's New York City. Look for a young Elizabeth Taylor in an important supporting role as one of the Day son's romantic interests.
Life with Father was one of the top grossing films of the year and received Academy Award nominations in the Cinematography, Musical Scoring and Art Direction Categories. A further nomination went to William Powell, who was cited by New York Film Critics as the year's "Best Actor."
Member Reviews
Poor DVD quality - Lina
The movie itself is good (if the pre-women's rights interaction between husband and wife doesn't annoy you too much), but I have to say the picture and and especially the sound quality of the DVD are poor. (At one point, the sound conked out entirely for a few seconds.) This film needs to be re-mastered. Also, the DVD extras are poor - no commentary at all, and no sub-titles (which would help with the poor sound quality).A Warm And Humorous Family Film - Radio_Jane
I read the original novel that this play was based on; charming, true life accounts of an eccentric 1880's family in New York. It's appeal is somewhat the same as "Cheaper by the Dozen" (The original with Clifton Webb, not that absurdity Steve Martin just made), but this is less of a chronological telling of the family history, and more of a series of humorous vignettes, mostly centered around the flighty Vinny's attempts to get her stubborn husband baptized. The film seems to start rather slowly, but William Powell's Clarence Day Sr. builds like a comic storm, finally coming to a delightful thunderous crash when he finds himself losing the battle with his wife. It made for better reading than it did viewing, but it is a pleasant film, and a great choice for a family movie night
Member Reviews
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Poor DVD quality - Lina
The movie itself is good (if the pre-women's rights interaction between husband and wife doesn't annoy you too much), but I have to say the picture and and especially the sound quality of the DVD are poor. (At one point, the sound conked out entirely for ...A Warm And Humorous Family Film - Radio_Jane
I read the original novel that this play was based on; charming, true life accounts of an eccentric 1880's family in New York. It's appeal is somewhat the same as "Cheaper by the Dozen" (The original with Clifton Webb, not that absurdity Steve Martin just ...