Mon père et nous

When I first saw this movie, I thought it was fair at best. On the second viewing, I really, really liked it. I'm almost afraid to see it for the third time, as I could almost dislike it again since I seem to flip-flop on this.

THE GOOD: The film has "charm" written all over it. Although Irene Dunne has some Grace Allen-type gag lines, William Powell is the one who provides most of the laughs in this tale of upper-crust family life in the 1880s. However, both Powell and Dunne are excellent and play off each other well. The story revolves around the personal and business life of the Clarence Day family, a true family in the sense of the word it, which is nice to see. Every character is interesting and the supporting cast includes Edmund Gwenn and Zasu Pitts (love that name!). Nice Technicolor, too.

THE BAD: The romance between Jimmy Lydon and a young Elizabeth Taylor gets a little sappy. Powell's constant exclamation "Gad!" is very annoying as a close as screenwriters apparently could get to saying "God" all the time in 1947.

All in all, it's a nice period piece that takes you back life a little over a century ago, and provides us another one of these more-innocent family stories. To my knowledge, there has never been a good print made of this, either on tape or DVD, which doesn't make sense considering the fine cast and good reputation of this movie.

"Life with Father" is a superbly subtle comedy about family life in an age long ago. The setting is New York City in 1883. This film is based on a play that was based on the memoirs of Clarence Day. It is a look at family life in an age that is perceived as having husbands and fathers as firm and rigid rulers of their roosts. Of course, any number of books and stories from that time attest that the stereotype was not true for all, or even very widely applicable.

But this film is a snapshot of Clarence Day and his family. It has an unusual twist that winds through the story. The fact that the father, Clarence, can't recall that he was ever baptized guides the outcome of this story.

The film has a superb cast from top to bottom. William Powell and Irene Dunne are the perfect match for the roles of Clarence and Vinnie Day - Father and Mother. The comedy here isn't in the usual clever or funny dialog, or in pratfalls or other humorous antics. Rather, it is an ingeniously subtle humor woven into the parts and acted so excellently by the players. By that stereotype of the family of the time, Clarence is the master of his domain. But Dunne's Vinnie has the cunning and ability to steer things her way after Father has put his foot down on one matter or another. This happens repeatedly, and by Mother's sly changing of topics or the direction of a discussion, Father winds up giving in. Powell's Father isn't frustrated for long, because the challenges of a large brood of boys and a household come one after another.

Two scenes in particular in this film do evoke hearty laughter. Both have to do with money, bills and exchanges. And Dunne's Mother leaves Powell's Father bewildered at the conclusion of each. He is a Wall Street investment and finance broker, but Vinnie's household math logic is beyond his grasp.

In the roles of the children are some up and coming stars and actors with long futures ahead of them. Elizabeth Taylor plays a cousin of the family, Mary Skinner. Marty Milner is in his first of more than 100 films, here playing John Day. And Jimmy Lydon (at 24) plays the oldest teen son, Clarence Day Jr. He already had more than a dozen films behind him and would be in 150 films in his career. Not all child actors go on to have successful film careers as adults. Two of the boys here were such. Johnny Calkins plays Whitney Day and he made only a dozen films before he quit acting in 1949. Derek Scott as Harlan Day is in his only film role.

The rest of the cast are mostly accomplished actors who lend a good hand to the plot with their skills. Leading this bunch is Edmund Gwenn as Rev. Dr. Lloyd. He would win an Oscar for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas movie, "Miracle on 34th Street" later in 1947. Another well-known actress is Zasu Pitts who plays Aunt Cora Cartwright.

This is a wonderful film for the whole family, but one which younger members of the family may see only as being about a harsh father. Even with explanation, they may not appreciate the humor of Mother getting her way out of most disputes. On second thought, perhaps only we senior members may enjoy this film for what it is.

This film's excellent cast brings interest to a story of otherwise routine family events. Almost all of the performers are nicely matched with their characters, especially William Powell and Irene Dunne as the parents. The period piece setting works well most of the time, and although it is occasionally stagy, "Life With Father" is a pleasant movie to watch, with many good comic moments.

Powell is perfect as Mr. Day. The character in himself is not especially distinctive - an autocratic, mildly eccentric, often oblivious patriarch - but Powell gives a fine performance that makes him a worthy center of attention. Dunne is, if anything, even better as the charming and patient Mrs. Day, who is much more clever than she appears, and who in most respects actually runs the household. The rest of the cast includes some fine supporting actors like Zasu Pitts and Edmund Gwenn, with Jimmy Lydon adding a good performance as Clarence, Jr. There is not that much to the actual plot, but the acting, writing, and careful production (including attractive Technicolor photography) make innocent day-to-day events seem significant, and make the viewer want to see how things come out.

Because of the fine cast, this movie works well as comedy and as a thoughtful look at family life. If you enjoy classic cinema, take a look.

I have been a tremendous fan of this movie for many years. I discovered the movie version after I had seen a local stage production and it was an excellent transfer of the play to the screen. Until recently I had only seen it on TV first in black and white years ago and then in color on TCM. I like it so well I bought two of the DVD versions (I won't mention which) and as other reviewers have said they were horrible with washed out color, grainy images and sound that was not synchronized and barely understandable. I guess this is all you can reasonably expect for a movie that has some how slipped into the public domain and for which there is not much demand. However, while searching on Amazon I discovered a review for a new digitally remastered DVD that supposedly fixed all those problems. I ordered a copy and the review was correct. There is now an excellent DVD available from DigiComTV BarCode # 885444062681.

I have always liked this movie.

Clarence Day was the son of Clarence Day Sr. and Vinnie Day. His childhood (with three brothers) was a privileged one, as his father was a successful broker in New York City during the Gilded Age. Day became a humorist and autobiographer, writing three books that remain very entertaining: GOD AND MY FATHER, LIFE WITH FATHER, and LIFE WITH MOTHER. Day died in the 1930s, but a play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse was produced from the books entitled LIFE WITH FATHER. It played for nearly a dozen years or so, and for many years had the record of Broadway performances before the coming of the super musical hits from OKLAHOMA onward.

LIFE WITH FATHER is set in 1885 (the historical reference that sets this date is the rant by Mr. Day at the newspaper, where he refers to the then Mayor of New York, "Honest Hugh Grant" and Tammany Boss Richard Croker). The story line is actually quite straightforward - the senior Day (William Powell) faces the daily problems of his household, thinking he is running things but constantly being out-witted by his dearly loved wife Vinnie (Irene Dunne) who insists on having an ugly ceramic pug dog for awhile. Accidentally Mr. Day reveals that his free-thinking parents have never had him baptized, and this horrifies his wife and their local minister (Edmund Gwenn). Being a man in his late forties now, Powell thinks it is absolutely foolish to make him get baptized now. In the meantime his oldest son Clarence (Jimmy Lyden) has met with the first love interest of his life (his mother's cousin, young Elizabeth Taylor). Clarence's brother John, who is interested in science (he has wired up the parlor to cause a bell to go off, that confuses Mr. Day no end), has gotten involved selling a patent medicine. This will have ill-effects on Mrs. Day and Mr. Day, culminating in an oath that Mr. Day will end up regretting. Finally there are some marvelous examples of home economics from Mrs. Day that baffle and confuse Mr. Day no end - watch how she takes back the pug dog (which was charged) and gets a "free suit" for Clarence ("THEY DON"T GIVE AWAY FREE SUITS!", Mr. Day insists.]

I doubt, unfortunately, that a book, play, or movie like LIFE WITH FATHER would last today. And I think we are the poorer for that. It is of a long dead world, with a fierce devotion to order and stratified social life in our homes and in our cities and nation. But it was not without it's charms. Catch the sweetest moment in this wonderful movie, when Mr. Day and Vinnie are singing "Sweet Marie" together in their parlor, on a summer afternoon.