The Late George Apley

what a treat - what a delight! i'd never heard of this movie, but hung in for the opening scenes and was hooked within 20 minutes - so much subtle comedy, i found myself waiting for and wanting more laughs and was always rewarded with clever, witty lines, especially from the brother-in-law.

Ronald Coleman is picture perfect as the father and you can literally see the times a'changing before their eyes and catch the change in the children. you might think that the story is a bit predictable, but it has surprising plot turns. an unexpected gem - those here who trash this movie just don't understand classic and good cinema!

The Late George Apley provides Ronald Colman in one of the best roles of his career as the proper Bostonian George Apley in those pre-World War I years. It's funny, but even then Boston had slipped away from the grasp of his kind. Those immigrants, starting with the ones from Ireland had been running the government there for about a generation when this play on which the film is based is set. But don't tell that to George, his kind if they don't outrightly rule, they do set the standards of proper conduct for America. When the Apleys gather for Thanksgiving, they're most mindful of the fact that some of their ancestors originated it.

But even Colman and his insular Boston world can't escape generational problems. Both his son Richard Ney and his daughter Peggy Cummins are having problems with their respective choices as life partners, especially Cummins who wants to marry a man who graduated from of all places, Yale.

Colman, maybe the most civilized leading man ever in screen history captures the essence of the decent, but somewhat fatuous George Apley. A man who thinks all the answers to life's problems can be found in a volume of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Even Emerson didn't think that.

The Late George Apley is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by John P. Marquand who also collaborated with George S. Kaufman on the play. Their creation ran for 384 performances in the 1944-45 season and starred Leo G. Carroll and Janet Beecher on stage. Edna Best takes Beecher's role on screen as the patient wife of Colman.

Some really fine players populate the cast. Richard Haydn plays his usual fuss budget busybody of a cousin, always eager to help Colman maintain the high Apley standards. Mildred Natwick is Colman's even snootier sister and Percy Waram who was the only player to repeat his role from the stage plays her patient husband who talks to Colman like a Dutch uncle, not a brother-in-law.

The Late George Apley is a good American answer to those British comedy of manners even though a lot of this cast is of British origin. Would we had someone of the wit of George S. Kaufman today to write them and an actor with elegant prose of Ronald Colman to speak the lines.

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.

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.

This is a different sort of Ronald Colman movie. In an odd move, he plays the central character in the film but is also a very flawed man--not the sort of likable guy you'd expect him to be. This was quite a risk, though with this film and A DOUBLE LIFE (both 1947), Colman took on some darker characters. Now I am not saying that Colman is evil in THE LATE GEORGE APLEY, but he certainly is as far from the guy you'd see him play in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA or LOST HORIZON as you could get!

Colman plays George Apley--the head of a distinguished but way too self-important family of quality in Boston circa 1912. He is the blue-bloodest blue blood in town and a man completely wrapped up in traditions. And, according to traditions, his two grown children should marry within their ranks--and not for love but for family honor. The problem is that the son does not want to marry the cousin who was always designated to be his wife and the daughter is in love with a Yale man (uggh, for shame that he didn't go to Harvard!). So the heart of the story is will Apley get with the times or will he remain stuck and duty-boud forever? Fortunately, his brother-in-law (Percy Waram) was there to gently nudge George in the right direction and although Waram is NOT a well-known actor, his smaller role was probably the most interesting and pivotal in the film. He easily upstaged other supporting actors in the film such as Richard Haydn and Midred Natwick.

The film is funny, but in a very, very subtle way. If you are looking for belly laughs, this is not your film. However, it is a nice film about social satire and it is well made form start to finish as well as very different---something I value considering how many films I have watched over the years. Well worth seeing.