In his third and final Oscar nomination, William Powell was nominated for playing the bellowing and lovable 19th century domestic tyrant Clarence Day, Sr. in Life With Father. If he had to lose I'm sure Powell was glad it was to his very good friend in real life Ronald Colman for A Double Life. Still with that strange flaming red hair on top of his familiar features, Powell imprints his own personality on the leading role of the longest running play on Broadway up to that time.

Based on the recollections of Clarence Day, Jr. as played by Jimmy Lydon here, Life With Father ran for eight years on Broadway for 3447 performances. It was brought to the stage by Howard Lindsay and his two partners, writing partner Russell Crouse who adapted Day's work to the stage and life partner Dorothy Stickney who with her husband got their career roles on Broadway. The play ran from 1939 through 1947 taking America right through World War II. The time that it was written and presented to the public may account for its popularity as the public might just have wanted reassurance of American values at that critical point.

As Lindsay and Stickney had no kind of movie box office, Warner Brothers decided to acquire William Powell for the lead and cast Irene Dunne as the wise mother who has learned just the right way to handle her husband and inevitably get what she wants. Powell is a man who thinks when all else has failed, he can bellow his way through any situation. My favorite line in the play is when he tries to hire a maid and that title quote is when he's asked for references.

Warner paid a lot in loan outs for this film. Irene Dunne was not a contract employee of his studio and Elizabeth Taylor was also borrowed from MGM for the small, decorative part of a cousin that gets Jimmy Lydon and Martin Milner's hormones in an uproar. The part that Taylor plays was originated on Broadway by another future film star, Teresa Wright.

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

Edmund Gwenn fresh from an Oscar himself for Miracle on 34th Street plays the Episcopalian minister who is trying to get a large contribution from Powell for a new church. Their discussion is also a highlight of the play and the fact that Powell had never been baptized is also a subject of a lot of humor.

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

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

There was a good deal that made me interested in watching 'Life with Father', despite unfamiliarity with the source material. Namely a great cast, with William Powell and Irene Dunne in particular having always been at least watchable, an interesting idea for the story and my love for classic film. Also that it was recommended to me.

'Life with Father' turned out to be more than worth the watch, as hoped having been so fascinated by the story and the promise of the cast, and recommendation, and if asked as to whether it was a film this viewer would recommend my answer would be yes. Not an absolute must watch, the best work of all involved and perhaps not for all tastes, some may find it too broad and stagy now, but a long way from a film to skip with a lot of great things and the talent involved served very well on the most part.

Its weak points are few, but it comes in two performances that didn't make the grade for me. They were from Jimmy Lydon and Elizabeth Taylor, he being bland and too earnest and she overplaying to the point of being at his most irritating.

Also their chemistry, which was rather dull and sappy and stuck out like a sore thumb somewhat.

Powell however has a plummy role and attacks it with thrilling gusto and, while not having quite as showy a character, Dunne epitomises charm and wit. Her chemistry with Powell sparkles and their dialogue together even more so. Zasu Pitts and Edmund Gwenn are great fun in support. It's all solidly directed by Michael Curtiz (even if it is not among his very best work) and designed and shot with elegance.

Never did to me 'Life with Father' feel dull, and it didn't feel too camp or static from personal perspective apart from with Lydon and Taylor. Along with Powell and Dunne the star of 'Life with Father' is the script which has an adept balance of comedy that's sophisticated and eccentric, appealing charm and moments of poignant emotion. An entertaining film with substance.

Concluding, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is a cute movie that is well worth seeing, though it doesn't have a lot of depth or lasting impact. And, often, that's quite okay as every film doesn't need to be a message film.

William Powell plays father--a rather bombastic but loving father to a large brood of children (gee--this sounds a LOT like Clifton Webb in CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN and Leon Ames in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS--in fact, it's very easy to mix up the three movies). The cast of supporting cast members is very impressive, with Irene Dunn as the loving and long-suffering mother, Liz Taylor and a very young Martin Milner as two of the many kids, AND Edmund Gwen and Zazu Pitts to round everything out.

The film's major controversy turns out to be "why hasn't father become baptized?" and it seems that dad hates organized religion and the family is worried he'll spend eternity in Hell. And, ultimately, being the 1947s, it'd pretty obvious where this will go. However, it's not the plot that is the reason to watch the film--it's the journey itself with all the great characters and writing.