← Back to Reviews
in
Life with Father
Warner Brothers spared no expense in bringing their lavish screen adaptation of Life with Father to the screen, a warm slice of cinematic Americana that engages the viewer thanks to superb production values, some clever dialogue and sparkling performances from the stars.
The setting is 1883 Manhattan where we meet wealthy businessman Clarence Day (William Powell), a no-nonsense businessman who thinks he runs his home with the same skill with which he runs his business, but it is Day's wife, Vinnie (Irene Dunne) who really runs the house, including her tyrannical husband and her four redheaded sons. Among the mini-dramas that spring up during the course of the story are the unwelcome visit from Vinnie's cousin and her young companion, Mary Skinner, who finds herself immediately to eldest Day son Clarence Jr. Vinnie also becomes very concerned when she learns that her husband has never been baptized.
The film found its roots in a memoir by the real Clarence Day Jr, which was turned into a play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, which premiered on Broadway on November 8, 1939 and ran for over 3200 performances, holding the record as the longest running Broadway show until 1972. Donald Ogden Stewart, who won an Oscar for writing the film version of The Philadelphia Story, does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the stage piece, especially in the writing of these central characters, Clarence and Vinnie Day, showing the viewer how much his parents meant to Clarence Jr., especially his hard-nosed father, who wasn't the household dictator that he thought he was.
I love the way the opening scenes of the film establish Clarence Day's intimidation factor through Vinnie's warnings to the new maid with very specific instructions about how Mr. Day likes things. Even our first glimpse of Mr. Day isn't an actual glance, it's his shadow against the wall at the top of the stairs, bellowing at the top of his lungs, a nice directorial touch by Michael Curtiz. I also love Vinnie's subtle manipulation of her husband that she does so effortlessly without him knowing what she's doing. Was also amused by the way Vinnie sees her husband through an entirely new set of eyes when she learns he was never baptized.
Curtiz' direction could have used a little more pacing, but it does display loving respect for this classic piece of theater and the performances he elicits from his cast absolutely light up the screen. William Powell received a Best Actor nomination for his blustery performance as the iron-fisted Clarence Day and the lovely Irene Dunne was robbed of a nomination for her performance as Vinnie, the real head of the Day household. Jimmy Lydon and a young Martin Milner are fun as Clarence Jr and John and a beautiful young teenager named Elizabeth Taylor makes an impression as Mary Skinner. A classic stage piece makes a smooth transition to the screen.
Warner Brothers spared no expense in bringing their lavish screen adaptation of Life with Father to the screen, a warm slice of cinematic Americana that engages the viewer thanks to superb production values, some clever dialogue and sparkling performances from the stars.
The setting is 1883 Manhattan where we meet wealthy businessman Clarence Day (William Powell), a no-nonsense businessman who thinks he runs his home with the same skill with which he runs his business, but it is Day's wife, Vinnie (Irene Dunne) who really runs the house, including her tyrannical husband and her four redheaded sons. Among the mini-dramas that spring up during the course of the story are the unwelcome visit from Vinnie's cousin and her young companion, Mary Skinner, who finds herself immediately to eldest Day son Clarence Jr. Vinnie also becomes very concerned when she learns that her husband has never been baptized.
The film found its roots in a memoir by the real Clarence Day Jr, which was turned into a play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, which premiered on Broadway on November 8, 1939 and ran for over 3200 performances, holding the record as the longest running Broadway show until 1972. Donald Ogden Stewart, who won an Oscar for writing the film version of The Philadelphia Story, does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the stage piece, especially in the writing of these central characters, Clarence and Vinnie Day, showing the viewer how much his parents meant to Clarence Jr., especially his hard-nosed father, who wasn't the household dictator that he thought he was.
I love the way the opening scenes of the film establish Clarence Day's intimidation factor through Vinnie's warnings to the new maid with very specific instructions about how Mr. Day likes things. Even our first glimpse of Mr. Day isn't an actual glance, it's his shadow against the wall at the top of the stairs, bellowing at the top of his lungs, a nice directorial touch by Michael Curtiz. I also love Vinnie's subtle manipulation of her husband that she does so effortlessly without him knowing what she's doing. Was also amused by the way Vinnie sees her husband through an entirely new set of eyes when she learns he was never baptized.
Curtiz' direction could have used a little more pacing, but it does display loving respect for this classic piece of theater and the performances he elicits from his cast absolutely light up the screen. William Powell received a Best Actor nomination for his blustery performance as the iron-fisted Clarence Day and the lovely Irene Dunne was robbed of a nomination for her performance as Vinnie, the real head of the Day household. Jimmy Lydon and a young Martin Milner are fun as Clarence Jr and John and a beautiful young teenager named Elizabeth Taylor makes an impression as Mary Skinner. A classic stage piece makes a smooth transition to the screen.