The Late George Apley

I watched this last night. I'd never even heard of it before so read the reviews here, which led me to expect it to be slightly dull but worth watching because of Ronald Coleman.

I didn't expect it to be so funny! Within the first ten minutes I was laughing out loud and I found it funny, sweet and charming all the way through.

The humor is very subtle, almost what I would call "British" humor, wry, sly and dry. The opposite of slapstick. Such great actors who can convey so much with a pause, a glance, wonderful to watch.

The movie is 60 years old, takes place nearly 100 years ago and thousands of miles away from where I live but I know people who are exactly like that. Which is probably why I found it so funny.

Perhaps the ending is a bit predictable but there were some nice plot twists in getting there. A quiet movie, yes, but not at all dull. I would definitely watch it again.

I doubt this film could have been pulled off without Ronald Colman in the title role as a descendant of the prominent Apley family of Boston. His entire life is taken up with people of similar background, and he considers anything outside of the Back Bay of Boston to be a foreign country. The film is set in the years prior to WWI and horse drawn forms of transportation are still the norm. He believes in his own form of noblesse oblige, and is very satisfied with his ways of giving back to the community - Tuesday Night Club on Tuesday, Wednesday Night Club on Wednesday - need I say more?

In this rarefied museum piece of a life, George's children are about to turn everything upside down. His daughter is in love with a Harvard professor - so far so good - who is a Yale man! And the young man is teaching that Emerson is a rebel! Even worse, his son is in love with a young lady from Worcester whose father is president of a tool and die works! "A foreigner" as George himself says. To top things off a flashing electric sign advertising Grapenuts has been put within sight of his front door.

Like I said before, if the part of George was played by anybody else but the dapper and charming Colman, this guy would probably come across as insufferable. As it turns out, George really has a generous soul, a point that is driven home by Colman's portrayal, but his point of view is crowded with traditions that are centuries old whose origin he doesn't really understand himself, and to step away from them - or to see any member of his family step away from them - leads to a sense of discomfort that makes him feel that he perceives a wrong that must be righted.

I'll let you watch and see how this all works out, but it really is a delightful comedy of manners with real heart and delightful character actors in the supporting roles. Highly recommended.

Sadly, a lot of modern film watchers can't appreciate a comedy like this that isn't over-the-top, ribald, or in your face. "The Late George Apley" is a refreshing throwback from a long-gone era when subtlety in a comedy and understated performances like Ronald Colman's were more valued and appreciated. Thank heavens there are networks like TCM where you can catch some of these forgotten gems from time to time.

Don't pay attention to reviewers who claim "nothing happens" in this movie, although I imagine those with attention deficit disorder may have trouble with a film like this. For everyone else, there is plenty going on beside the humor, including a lot of charm as well as some surprising depth and unpredictability in the various characters.

Ronald Colman is "The Late George Apley" in this 1947 film based on a Philip Barry play, also starring Richard Ney, Peggy Cummins, Edna Best, Richard Haydn, Vanessa Brown, and Mildred Natwick. Apley is a stuffed shirt whose well-ordered family is suddenly not so well-ordered. His son (Richard Ney) is dating a girl from Worcester, which is seen by Apley as being someplace like the Black Hole of Calcutta, and his daughter (Cummins) loves a Yale man who lectures that Emerson was a radical. At first, George takes a firm stand, then relents at the behest of his understanding friend, who saw George give up the woman he loved 30 years earlier. When the Worcester girl's father actually rejects the Apley family, George rethinks his position. His daughter is sent to Europe to get away from her boyfriend, and his son is betrothed to his cousin (Brown).

Imagine going to Broadway shows in the '20s and '30s and attending one class-conscious play after another. Before the Depression, the sets were drawing rooms, the clothing was formal, everyone had British accents, and the plots had to do with the crossing of the classes. Frankly, I'm glad they finally intermingled.

Ronald Colman is marvelous as George, and one sees his confusion, pain, and remembrance of the past on his face. He's a very sympathetic character. Peggy Cummins is very pretty and Richard Ney is nice-looking. Vanessa Brown, as the dowdy cousin, gives a sweet performance, and her story arc is very satisfying.

If you're a fan of Ronald Colman, as I am, this is a good movie to see. Also, if you know Boston at all, you'll find hearing the street names interesting. Otherwise, it's a mildly interesting period piece that most people will find relating to difficult.

THE LATE GEORGE APLEY is the sort of comedy of manners that audiences could appreciate in the '40s and '50s before more explosive entertainment took center stage. It's performed with great charm and skill by a talented cast--and especially by Ronald Colman (in the sort of stuffy role he was born to play) and by the charming British actress Peggy Cummins. Viewing her here, one can understand why Zanuck found her unsuitable to play Amber St. Claire in FOREVER AMBER--charming but immature in stature and looks.

The cast seems to be relishing their roles in this tale of Boston bluebloods striving to uphold the family's social status. Vanessa Brown and Richard Ney, unfortunately, are the least appealing aspects of the supporting cast in rather colorless roles. Richard Haydn shines, as he always does in these sort of things.

Only fans of Ronald Colman can truly appreciate this sort of period piece. It flows smoothly but with little ventilation seeping into the musty households and other interiors and seems more like a stage play soon to be seen on Masterpiece Theatre.