Life with Father (1947)

Ah, remember those good old days when father ruled the roost, keeping a tight rein on the money, the kids, and the docile wife? Well, neither does Clarence Day (William Powell), the title character in Life with Father. Taking place in New York in 1883, this charming comedy purports to show the life of a strict father managing his house and his family, only to be constantly--and unknowingly--out-manipulated by his somewhat ditzy wife, Vinnie (Irene Dunne). Day is terrifying enough that maids keep quitting, but Vinnie manages to keep Day under control--that is, until she discovers that he was never baptized. A battle ensues as she desperately tries to ensure that they will one day meet in heaven, and all the while he severely maintains that the church has no business messing with a man's soul. Meanwhile, young Clarence Day Jr. (Jimmy Lydon) is busy falling for visiting Mary Skinner (played gigglingly by Elizabeth Taylor), and his brother John concocts a money-making scheme that involves the selling of a rather dubious potion. The costumes, the characters, and the wonderful story line--based on a play that was based on the memoir written by Clarence Day Jr.--make this a delightful movie that's perfect for a family-film night. --Jenny Brown Amazon.com

Life with Father

The quality of the video was very poor. The sound was bad and part of the video was so bad you couldn't watch it. I really love this movie and was very disappointed
Carolyn Taylor June 2, 2008

Two Categories for Review

There should be two categories for these reviews: One for the movie itself, and the next for the technical quality of the DVD. Otherwise, it's confusing to the reviewer, and the final rating is a mixture of apples and oranges.

I give the movie FIVE stars.
I give the technical quality ZERO stars. May 25, 2008

So Real !

Life with father is, a true story and I can vouch for it being just like real life, at least life with a father like mine, {born in 1919}.
Like Vinnie, in the movie, my mother always got what she wanted too, and my father was always fussing about it, just like Mr.Clarence Day, and to hear him tell his eldest son about women, when he first notices his son taking an interest in girls, or rather in a girl, was just like hearing my father tell my brother about women!
It is so true to real life, at least, like I said, in my home, that I just about died laughing! Interestingly, it was so well done that my father, who was watching it with me, really enjoyed it as well!
Of course his wife, my mother, died at a young{compared to my father's 89 years}62, so perhaps in missing her he sees the story in a different light.
The sweet way in which they show the love between Clarence and his wife, Vinny, is so beautiful, and really touching, I highly recommend the story, the only reason why I didn't put five stars is because of the picture quality and sound, but it is not as bad as others, who are not as used to old movies as I am, would lead you to believe.
I really do not know if they can reproduce it any better, perhaps with some they can only do the best they can, but looking back I can't see it as a problem at all, we are just so used to everything these days being so richly textured, the story itself is so well done that you really don't notice anything else but the pure joy of the interplay between the characters and the rich dialog!
Highly Reccomended and just...thank you, Hollywood, for putting it out on DVD!
Irene Dunne was wonderful as the mother, as always! And even the children handle their parts excellently, there really isn't a boring character in the whole lot!
The mother may always get her way in the end, but she isn't perfect either, and that is brought out in her lack of understanding money. It is beautiful how they show so well the strengths and weaknesses of both mother and father, and how they work together,like the lock and the key, or are trying to get along amid each others differences, it is touching and amusing all at once.
Every woman could learn a lesson by watching Vinnie, she is a role model for the fascinating woman, or a woman striving to be more true to the way God, or nature, fitted us to be, to bless our men, {helping them over their weaknesses at the same time letting them believe we did nothing of the kind}! Somehow such a way helps them want to be, what we need them to be; it all began in the garden of Eden!
May 5, 2008

don't spend the money

I agree with the other reviewers. This is a good movie, good cast and story, but this DVD version is awful. The picture is grainy and the sound is barely audible, not worth the time or money , wait for a new issue. February 21, 2008

Dated But Still A Classic

A classic movie, unfortunatly the acting IS dated and some viewers might not appreciate it. January 28, 2008

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