Hollywood cinema

Don Hartman (writer)

• One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Henry could go on a trip with some other boys to Alaska, if he earned$100.Henry decides to market soap with Basil, his best buddy. It was a venturethey messed up, and turned the town against them. Needless to say, Henrygoes to the big city, to explain to the philanthropist backing the trip,whyhe wants to go to Alaska, and turn in the money (he did not get the full$100).

Cooper was a horrible actor in here, as was Bracken. They wereunbelievable, and plain stupid. While Cooper was fun in Our Gang, helackscomedic talent in here. Bracken’s best moment, but then it got tediouswasafter dinner, when he started doing impressions, and it went on, and on,andon, and on. Very boring. This was a terrible casting of young people -perhaps the actors reversed could have been better, but this was one oftheworst movies I have seen from the 1940’s.

• First appearance of Sylvester Pussycat.

Howard Lindsay (play)

• The premiere was on 14 August 1947 in Skowhegan, Maine, where the play had its initial performance eight years before. The stage play ran 3,224 performances, holding the record for the longest non-musical run on Broadway. The play was based on Clarence Day’s book.
• Before filming began, the cast was taken to Perc Westmore’s salon on a Sunday morning to have their hair dyed red. When it was time to rinse the dye, the beauticians discovered that the water had been turned off for the entire block because the street was being repaired. Because dyes were so strong then, leaving them on could have caused the cast to lose their hair. Luckily, someone suggested diluting the dye with cold cream.
• The play’s writers, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, and Clarence Day’s widow were on the set and were given veto power on all aspects of the film. According to author David Chierichetti, Mrs. Day approved Irene Dunne’s characterization and even lent some jewelry that belonged to the real Vinnie.
• The original play, “Life With Father”, became the longest-running non-musical play of its time. It played on Broadway for nearly eight years, from 1939 to 1947, and the film version was released the year that the Broadway run ended.
• Mary Pickford was to have made her big screen comeback in the role of Vinnie but eventually the role went to Irene Dunne because of her box-office appeal.
• Mary Pickford made several tests for the role of Vinnie, but the studio worried about her box office popularity after a 13-year absence from the screen. In the end, director Michael Curtiz vetoed her, as he preferred Irene Dunne.
• Irene Dunne’s only film in color.

• Continuity: The opening scene shows a carriage block with “Clarence Day” engraved on it. A few seconds later after the police man passes by, the carriage block has no engraving.
• Factual errors: The movie opens “NEW YORK 1883″. Later, Father rails at Mayor “Honest” Hugh Grant. Grant was NYC mayor from 1889-1892. Franklin Edson was mayor in 1883.

Forward, self-confident and impudent, easily provoked to tears, she’s areal charmer in this film, but even here she has trouble with the men:Jimmy Lyndon isn’t quite demonstrative enough for her, and he doesn’tpromise to be the first one to write… After all, the proper young girlreasons, it’s the man who must write first, declaring his undying love…

The film retained the fun and spirit of the stage play, chronicling inepisodic style the humorous events that detailed life in the ClarenceDay household in late 19th Century New York City…

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

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

THE BAD: The romance between Jimmy Lydon and a young Elizabeth Taylorgets a little sappy. Powell's constant exclamation "Gad!" is veryannoying 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 littleover a century ago, and provides us another one of these more-innocentfamily stories. To my knowledge, there has never been a good print madeof this, either on tape or DVD, which doesn't make sense consideringthe fine cast and good reputation of this movie.

3) In his third and final Oscar nomination, William Powell was nominatedfor playing the bellowing and lovable 19th century domestic tyrantClarence Day, Sr. in Life With Father. If he had to lose I'm surePowell was glad it was to his very good friend in real life RonaldColman for A Double Life. Still with that strange flaming red hair ontop of his familiar features, Powell imprints his own personality onthe leading role of the longest running play on Broadway up to thattime.

Based on the recollections of Clarence Day, Jr. as played by JimmyLydon here, Life With Father ran for eight years on Broadway for 3447performances. It was brought to the stage by Howard Lindsay and his twopartners, writing partner Russell Crouse who adapted Day's work to thestage and life partner Dorothy Stickney who with her husband got theircareer roles on Broadway. The play ran from 1939 through 1947 takingAmerica right through World War II. The time that it was written andpresented to the public may account for its popularity as the publicmight just have wanted reassurance of American values at that criticalpoint.

As Lindsay and Stickney had no kind of movie box office, WarnerBrothers decided to acquire William Powell for the lead and cast IreneDunne as the wise mother who has learned just the right way to handleher husband and inevitably get what she wants. Powell is a man whothinks when all else has failed, he can bellow his way through anysituation. My favorite line in the play is when he tries to hire a maidand that title quote is when he's asked for references.

Warner paid a lot in loan outs for this film. Irene Dunne was not acontract employee of his studio and Elizabeth Taylor was also borrowedfrom MGM for the small, decorative part of a cousin that gets JimmyLydon and Martin Milner's hormones in an uproar. The part that Taylorplays was originated on Broadway by another future film star, TeresaWright.

Incidentally Martin Milner reminisced many years later about the filmand said of all the boys and of course Powell, he was the only naturalredhead among the lot.

Edmund Gwenn fresh from an Oscar himself for Miracle on 34th Streetplays the Episcopalian minister who is trying to get a largecontribution from Powell for a new church. Their discussion is also ahighlight of the play and the fact that Powell had never been baptizedis also a subject of a lot of humor.

Father still had life well into the Fifties with a television seriesadapted from the play that starred Leon Ames as dear old dad.

The play, the film still have a lot of character in it.

4) This film’s excellent cast brings interest to a story of otherwise routinefamily events. Almost all of the performers are nicely matched with theircharacters, especially William Powell and Irene Dunne as the parents. Theperiod piece setting works well most of the time, and although it isoccasionally stagy, "Life With Father" is a pleasant movie to watch, withmany good comic moments.

Powell is perfect as Mr. Day. The character in himself is not especiallydistinctive - an autocratic, mildly eccentric, often oblivious patriarch -but Powell gives a fine performance that makes him a worthy center ofattention. Dunne is, if anything, even better as the charming and patientMrs. Day, who is much more clever than she appears, and who in most respectsactually runs the household. The rest of the cast includes some finesupporting actors like Zasu Pitts and Edmund Gwenn, with Jimmy Lydon addinga good performance as Clarence, Jr. There is not that much to the actualplot, but the acting, writing, and careful production (including attractiveTechnicolor 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 athoughtful look at family life. If you enjoy classic cinema, take alook.

5) Life With Father, the story of an eccentric, excitable 1880s gentleman andhis continually exasperating family is the perfect showcase for theunder-appreciated talents of William Powell. Powell, best know for hisworkwith Myrna Loy in the "Thin Man" series of films. Powell uses every secondof this plum role to display his charming style and verbalacuity.

The story is simple: Powell and his wife, played by Irene Dunne, face aseries of calamities, some serious and some ridiculous, mostly brought onbytheir four rambunctious, red-headed sons. After a visiting cousin bringsalong fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, events are put into motion whichthreaten to turn Powell’s neatly-ordered world upside down.

The performances are uniformly fine, and Powell and Dunne are absolutelysterling. A supporting cast that includes Zasu Pitts, Edmund Gwenn andearly appearances from Martin Milner and Elizabeth Taylor round out thepicture quite well. If there is anything to detract from the completeenjoyment of the film, it is Taylor’s performance, which can get grating,but hey, she’s just a kid, and when you look at her, you can already seetheamazing beauty still to come. The exceptional visual style of the filmmakes you long for the day when people rode in horse-carts to Delmonico’sfor dinner.

Watch for some classic dialogue between Powell and Dunne over the cost of anew coffee pot, between Powell and his son about "the facts of life wherewomen are concerned," and the nonsensical wordplay over the return of aPorcelain Pug-Dog.

6) William Powell IS Clarence Day, Sr. And Irene Dunne isutterlyhis match in every way as Vinnie. The days show you lifeinthe Gay ’90’s in New York as you always wished it to be. And theinterplaybetween cute Jimmie Lydon and young Elizabeth Taylor is priceless. If youwant to utterly enjoy yourself for two hours, watch thisfilm.

7) I have always liked this movie.

Clarence Day was the son of Clarence Day Sr. and Vinnie Day. Hischildhood (with three brothers) was a privileged one, as his father wasa successful broker in New York City during the Gilded Age. Day becamea humorist and autobiographer, writing three books that remain veryentertaining: GOD AND MY FATHER, LIFE WITH FATHER, and LIFE WITHMOTHER. Day died in the 1930s, but a play by Howard Lindsay and RussellCrouse was produced from the books entitled LIFE WITH FATHER. It playedfor nearly a dozen years or so, and for many years had the record ofBroadway performances before the coming of the super musical hits fromOKLAHOMA onward.

LIFE WITH FATHER is set in 1885 (the historical reference that setsthis date is the rant by Mr. Day at the newspaper, where he refers tothe then Mayor of New York, "Honest Hugh Grant" and Tammany BossRichard Croker). The story line is actually quite straightforward - thesenior Day (William Powell) faces the daily problems of his household,thinking he is running things but constantly being out-witted by hisdearly loved wife Vinnie (Irene Dunne) who insists on having an uglyceramic pug dog for awhile. Accidentally Mr. Day reveals that hisfree-thinking parents have never had him baptized, and this horrifieshis wife and their local minister (Edmund Gwenn). Being a man in hislate forties now, Powell thinks it is absolutely foolish to make himget 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 inscience (he has wired up the parlor to cause a bell to go off, thatconfuses Mr. Day no end), has gotten involved selling a patentmedicine. This will have ill-effects on Mrs. Day and Mr. Day,culminating in an oath that Mr. Day will end up regretting. Finallythere are some marvelous examples of home economics from Mrs. Day thatbaffle and confuse Mr. Day no end - watch how she takes back the pugdog (which was charged) and gets a "free suit" for Clarence ("THEYDON"T GIVE AWAY FREE SUITS!", Mr. Day insists.]

I doubt, unfortunately, that a book, play, or movie like LIFE WITHFATHER would last today. And I think we are the poorer for that. It isof a long dead world, with a fierce devotion to order and stratifiedsocial life in our homes and in our cities and nation. But it was notwithout it's charms. Catch the sweetest moment in this wonderful movie,when Mr. Day and Vinnie are singing "Sweet Marie" together in theirparlor, on a summer afternoon.

I was a bit skeptical about this film at first. In general, Hollywoodperiod pieces from the 40’s and 50’s can be a bit too cornball for my tastes(not that that’s a BAD thing, it just depends on what kind of mood you’rein). But I gave this film a shot and I was pleasantly surprised. There aresome genuinely hysterical moments here. And while the introductorystoryline tends to drag just a bit, the true comedy soon emerges from theintermingled sub-plots. I think that the reviewers who have panned the film may have missed thepoint of it entirely. The character portrayals of the parents arecartoonish for a reason. Did you notice how the children are drawn in aslightly more three-dimensional light? It’s because this film is,essentially, a satire. The reason the "folks" are so nutty is because thestory is being told from the perspective of Clarence Day Jr. (at least,that’s how it was originally written). What this movie attempts to do, and accomplishes in spades, is to pokea bit of fun at the uptight, button-down aristocracy of 19th centuryAmerica. We have the excitable, self-absorbed, and completely delusionalpatriarch, and the neurotic, long-suffering, and religiously impressionablemother. This film rips the facade right from its hinges, and shows us whatpeople were really like. The firm and omnipotent father is actually astubborn but hen-pecked hypocrite. And his wife is no better! She schemes,plots, and manipulates to constantly gain control of her heel of a husband. And, quite admittedly, she usually succeeds. The kids are the only *normal*ones (except for an EXTREMELY annoying Liz Taylor, who plays her role likeshe’s in a High School production of Guys & Dolls). Overall, a very funny film. Some of the dialogue is sparkling andhysterically clever, a model that modern-day Hollywood would do well tostudy and live up to. There were several laugh-out-loud moments here, and Iwasn’t even in a good mood! If you like the old obscure Hollywood gems,check this one out! Just make sure you’re looking at this film familythrough the right size lens. If it could make a believer out of me, it willhook anyone!

9) One of the longest running comedies in Broadway history is brought to thescreen in a lovely adaptation, with beautiful sets and a wonderfulcast.

William Powell and Irene Dunne are simply superb as Mr. and Mrs. ClarenceDay, a couple who have been married for twenty years. They have fourchildren, all red-headed boys, and an ever changing number of maids (whofail to be able to satisfy Mr. Day).

Mr. Powell and Ms. Dunne work extremely well together. Their scenes arefirst rate. While he tends to treat her as a second class citizen, it iseasy to see who runs the house and who has the upper hand in theirrelationship. It’s also very clear that after being married for as long asthey have, that they genuinely are crazy about each other.

The movie only gets bogged down in the scenes between Elizabeth Taylor andJimmy Lydon.

7 out of 10

10) Unusual family movie set in the 1880s. DVD review.

A wealthy family (Powell, Dunne) have the usual family squabblesinvolving their four sons: two sell a health potion, one falls for thevery irritating Taylor, one needs a new suit, and Powell has never beenbaptised.

Theatre-like movie that goes on for too long. Although made in the1940s (by the GREAT Michael Curtiz) this movie feels like a TV seriesomnibus where each episode runs seamlessly into the next. Much jest ismade of Powell's character but a lot of what he says is correct. He waswithin his right to question Taylor's staying in the house as a guest.He was right to question the big fuss about having never been baptised.He constantly has his decisions overruled by Dunne.

Life with father is a watchable but dated family comedy drama.

Connie Lee (orig

• This was the first film in the series that did not use the character of Alvin Fuddle. The child actor who portrayed him, Danny Mummert, was appearing in Frank Capra’s It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Mummert would return as Alvin in the next entry in the series, Blondie Knows Best (1946).
• The sixteenth of twenty-eight Blondie movies starring Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead and Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead.

Daisy becomes a dog photographer's model, getting all the attention inthe household with Blondie (Penny Singleton) becoming the dog'smanager. Husband Dagwood (Arthur Lake) is stuck with the householdchores by taking care of the children, Alexander (Larry Simms) andCookie (Marjorie Kent). One amusing scene that echoes "fear" comedy,finds Dagwood, unable to get a sitter for his daughter, taking Cookieto the office with him to look after her and do his project assignmentat the same time. Later when Dagwood is with his boss, Mr. Dithers(Jonathan Hale) going over some blueprint plans in another room,Cookie, left alone in Dagwood's office to entertain herself, decides towalk outside the window ledge, having no concept of fear on how high upshe is. Dagwood and Dithers see her outside the window waving at them,causing the two men to become frantic. But Dagwood succeeds in openingthe window to quietly grab his daughter before any slips could occur.Later Daisy becomes the attention of a gangster's moll, Hazel (Veda AnnBorg) who wants the dog all for herself. When she has her gangsterboyfriend get his thugs to kidnap Daisy, they hide her out at the KitKat Club, where they make plans on having the pooch go through plasticsurgery operation so that they can sneak her out of town unrecognized.But of course Dagwood comes to save the day, followed a somewhatcartoonish fighting brawl at the club amongst Dagwood and visitingsailors brought in by Blondie, who happen to be big fans of Daisy, thepin-up pooch. And see what happens when Blondie is confronted by Hazelwho demands Daisy be given back to her.

Quite amusing and very cute "sit-com" movie that should entertain bothfans of the series and the kids, especially those who love dogs, namelythat of Daisy. Also featured in the cast of character actors are ErnestTruex as Theodore Glassby; Marc Lawrence and Douglas Fowley as thegangsters, Pete and Blackie; Bobby Larson as Alexander's new friend,Tommy Cooper (filling in for Danny Mummert as Alvin Fuddow); EddieAcuff as Mr. Beasley, the neighborhood postman; and Jack Rice as Ollie,an employee rival who is usually after Dagwood's job whenever fired byDithers, etc.

LIFE WITH BLONDIE is 70 minutes of non-stop old-fashioned entertainmentthat formerly played each Sunday morning on American Movie Classicsfrom 1996 to 2001. Formerly available on video cassette but currentlyout of print. (**1/2)

2) Daisy gets away from the dog catcher again, now safe in the Bumstead house. A new neighbor, Tommy Cooper (Bobby Larson) comes by to meet the Bumsteads,including Blondie (Penny Singleton), Alexander (Larry Simms), Cookie(Marjorie Kent) and Dagwood (Arthur Lake). While Daisy gets in some troubleagain by chasing a cat up a tree, someone gets an idea to make Daisy apin-up/covergirl. She ends up on the cover of a magazine. Then she gets adeal for Daisy soap. Now that Daisy is a model, they make Dagwood a modelfor a bathing suit company. Guess who knocks down the postman this time? It’s not Dagwood! Ernest Truex plays "Theodore Glassby". Danny Mummert wasnot in this one because he was committed to another film. Marjorie AnnMutchie, "Cookie", is now credited as Marjorie Kent. The next film in theseries is BLONDIE’S LUCKY DAY.

John Frizzell (writer)

Billy Stafford is killed at the beginning of the movie and the true story of this family is told by flashing back to life in his house for his wife, and children. This is split with telling us about to the life, investigation, and trial, of his wife. There are very disturbing scenes of spousal, and child, abuse, but, thankfully, the horrific tales of sexual abuse are given at the trial and not shown. This guy got what he deserved (Hell, he got better than he deserved!), but will his wife get what she deserves? The mystery here is not who killed Billy, but what will happen to his killer.

(this was originally posted on realmoviereview.com)

2) It is a rare treat that such a movie comes along that hits it hard rightathome on such a real and common problem… abuse.I first caught this movie in High School shown to students in a Career andLife Management class. I was not only amazed at how great the movie was,buthow real it seemed. To those that might not be aware of it, this movie wasbased on a ‘real life event’ that happened earlier on.After the movie, we were shown a short documentary titled ‘Life AfterBilly’. It showed us how the survivors of the real incident are, and whatthey are doing. I highly recommend this movie to anyone that either liveswith, or had lived through abuse.

3) I have read the book and watched the movie of Life with Billy. Firstupon reading the book, I was very shocked!! The abuse that Jane Whynotsuffered from him was awful, not to mention the abuse her childrensuffered. After reading the book I decided to rent Life with Billy andI must say it was a good thing they left a lot of things out of themovie. However, the movie is very powerful, I would highly recommendwatching it. I would see this movie as being possibly a helpful tool orguideline to other women who are abused by their husbands. Shootingyour husband is not the answer, however, do not let yourself go thatfar either! Life with Billy makes you think about the world we live intoday. Why would this man do this to his own family, to only meet hisdeath in the end. I am from Nova Scotia and I live one hour and a halfhours away from where Life with Billy took place. Scary? yes it is!

4) let me introduce myself I am the niece of Jane Stafford who was my auntand Billy Stafford was my uncle. My father Merle Stafford was hisbrother. This was a very turbulent time in our lives growing up and Imust say this movie has brought back many memories of growing up.It isnot something I talk a lot about. We did not spend a lot of time withthis part of my family as you can see why. However my sister and myselfwere named after Jane and she was a very loving mother and lived a lifeof fear.I can tell you alcohol was a very aggressive factor in ourlives and affected the lives of all concerned.When a individual livesin a life of fear and violence and endures the suffering inflicted onthem daily how much do you think you could endure? I'm not saying shewas right in shooting my uncle but I don't believe she committedsuicide either.Sometimes a silent cry for help goes unheard…….