Russ Recommends: Life with Father (1947)

What may be the beginning of a semi-regular series, featuring lighthearted movies from the golden era of Hollywood, without even a hint of the ugly, vulgar modern world to be seen or heard. We often watch such things while eating our weeknight dinners.

Trailer:

 

Life with Father is based on the memoirs of Clarence Day, Jr., published in 1936,  The book was turned into a smash hit play that ran for more than seven years on Broadway.  The movie was a big hit with critics and at the box office, and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, who also directed Casablanca (1943).

The players include William Powell, perfectly irascible in the title role;

The beautiful, always delightful Irene Dunne as the long-suffering Mrs. Day;

Jimmy Lydon, who was also the teenage star of the Henry Aldrich series (still alive and living in New Jersey at 98 years old);

Edmund Gwenn as the Reverend Dr. Lloyd - also known as Kris Kringle;

Veteran comedienne ZaSu Pitts, always amusing; and

15-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, already gorgeous (when was she not?).

Music by the brilliant Max Steiner, who also scored Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and A Summer Place, to name but a few of his film credits.

Full movie (public domain):

 

Sidelights:  

Mr. Day's frequent expostulation in the play, "Oh, God!" was changed to "Oh, Gad!" for the movie version.  

Actor Edmund Gwenn shared his Beverly Hills home with a former Olympic silver medalist, Rodney Soher.

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