Father Is a Prince

What superficially appears to be just another Warner Bros. programmer of 1940 turns out to be something quite else--a brooding and deeply touching drama depicting the flaws chipping away at the supposedly "perfect small-town American family." Beginning as breezy comedy about a selfish, skinflint father (Grant Mitchell) domineering his wife (Nana Bryant) and children (two young sons and a vibrant teenaged daughter), the film gradually shifts into a dark, psychological character study when said daughter (the lustrous Jan Clayton, in an early film role) returns home from a short vacation with her handsome fiancé (George Reeves) in tow. The pair plan to marry quickly, and father acts just as quickly to break up their wedding, completely oblivious to the toll his cruel, egomaniacal behavior has taken on his long-suffering wife, now afflicted by fatigue, and soon, much worse. Father is the owner of an outdated carpet-sweeper company, while his future son-in-law's father runs a prosperous vacuum-cleaner business. In an amazingly swift 57 minutes, this little-known gem (TCM unearthed it a few days ago) offers more rewards than you'll find in highly-heralded films twice its length--and budget. The young romantic leads are portrayed with considerable warmth and intelligence by two future TV-stars of the 1950s'--Jan Clayton (Jeff's mother on "Lassie") and George Reeves (yes, Superman himself!). But the two major revelations are the duet/dual of two first-rate character actors, usually relegated to supporting roles, finally allowed to shine in the spotlight. Grant Withers makes the transition from a belligerent, skinflint nightmare of a patriarch into a caring man who sees the error of his ways (before it's too late) with remarkable, nuanced understatement. But it is the glorious Nana Bryant, as the psychologically abused wife but concerned and devoted mother, who truly shines. Overlooked for generally forgotten performances in a number of films (good and mediocre alike), here Ms. Bryant comes to the forefront as the browbeaten victim of a tyrannical husband who finally erupts with a long-suppressed bitterness and battered strength that is genuinely heartbreaking and should have warranted at least an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, in 1940, "Father is a Prince" (based on a play I would indeed love to see or read) was thoughtlessly tossed away by Warner Bros. as a routine bottom-of-the-double-bill filler. A shame this first-rate film and its superb cast were ignored in its time. Catch it the next time it shows up on TCM, and you're in for a film to be cherished. The honesty of the humor, emotions, sadness (and nearly tragic ending) it evokes are as timeless today as 62 years ago. The title, of course, is bleakly sardonic: Father is indeed a Prince (in the last few minutes, that is)), but Nana Bryant's portrayal of Mother is what gives this heartwarming, ultimately unsettling film its lasting resonance.

Grant Mitchell was just about everybody's father, or uncle, or bank president in the films made during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s! In this one, he is the muttering, sputtering cheapskate father of the most functional, happy, educated family that I have ever seen! At least at the beginning. It's a real shortie from Warner Brothers, so they don't waste any lines. At the beginning, everyone is happy, and things are sailing along, but by the 30 minute mark, things aren't going so well. Mom (Nana Bryant) is getting mysterious headaches, Dad is having problems at the office, and the guy that comes home with the daughter is stirring things up too! That "guy" Gary.. is.. George Reeves, from TV's Adventures of Superman. (it didn't end well for him in real life. check out his bio on wikipedia.org) Vera Lewis is the daughter, Carrie. Lots of clever lines, spoken at a pretty fast clip, and the story moves right along. There is the running gag of Dad's occupation, the carpet sweeper king, and this plays a large part in the plot. Watch out for that big blow-up scene when company comes over. Then, some serious moments near the end, but you'll have to watch it for yourself. Directed by Noel Smith, who had started out in the silent movies.

A play entitled Big Hearted Herbert was the original source for this film from Warner Brothers B picture unit Father Is A Prince. No stars in this one but a nice and solid group of character players make this film a real gem.

The central character is Grant Mitchell, married and father of three children and as miserable a tightwad as you will ever imagine. The look of anguish on Mitchell's face as the mailman asks him to part with three cents for postage due is priceless. So you can imagine what it must have been like when he's informed by an IRS investigator that he owes Uncle Sam $8000.00 and his only choice is whether to have winter in Leavenworth or Alcatraz. Mind you this is because he saved money buy not having his books and his income tax done by an accountant.

Now Mitchell is having to deal with daughter Jan Clayton getting married to George Reeves and the expenses that entails. But far more serious on the horizon for him is wife Nana Bryant who's been having dizzy spells lately that concern family doctor John Litel.

All I can say is that her health crisis is enough to see that Mitchell has been placing too much store by the size of his bank account.

Father Is A Prince seems like a more up to date version of Life With Father and it might be good to see both of these back to back for comparison. This film does not have the posh ambiance of New York of the 1880s nor the A list cast. Still this film has a lot of merit to it along with a good lesson about the wrong things to value in life.

Big Hearted Herbert ran 134 performances on Broadway in the 1934-35 season, a decent run in those Depression years. Possibly had Warner Brothers been willing to invest some real money in the film they might have gotten someone like WC Fields or Jack Benny to play the lead. But Grant Mitchell was just fine in the role.

It was nice to discover this film and hopefully others will as well.

In this story, father is definitely no prince! Nope, John (Grant Mitchell) is a nasty, grumpy skinflint...and you wonder why his wife hasn't left him long ago! It all comes to a head when their daughter brings home her new fiancé and his family and instead of making them feel welcome, he does everything he can to insult them and ruin the evening. Finally, the missus has had enough...and she wants a divorce. But before she can leave the big jerk, she passes out, as she's apparently been sick...but her husband simply didn't give her a chance to tell him about her fainting spells. Does her serious illness wake him up to the realities of being a decent husband and father or is John destined to handle this like most things in life? In other words, very poorly.

While the story is a bit broad in its characterization of John, the point of this story is excellent....a really nice object lesson for husbands...and wives. Also, while Mitchell's skinflint portrayal is laid on pretty thick, he really shows what an excellent actor he is later in the film. Overall, an amazingly good B-movie...better than you'd think out of a cheaper, more quickly made movie.

Grant Mitchell is an irascible fellow. He's the penny-pinching owner of a company that manufactures carpet sweeper. His daughter, Jan Clayton, has just gotten engaged to George Reeves. He's no Superman, but his father runs a vacuum-cleaner manufacturing company. Mitchell doesn't know about the engagement, but his wife, Nana Bryant, has invited them to dinner. Unfortunately, Miss Bryant is feeling poorly.

It's one of those Warner Brothers B movies of the era, short on funny and long on frantic, that I usually don't care for, but this expert cast -- which includes John Litel and Lee Patrick -- pull it off, thanks to some dramatic turns.

Miss Clayton, like Reeves, is probably better known for her television work than her movies. She was the first mother figure on the long-running Lassie series. After that, she guest-starred around TV through 1972. She died in 1983 at the age of 66.