Films/DVD Asylum

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Life with Father

Posted by jamesgarvin on July 11, 2005 at 10:53:30:
1947 film starring William Powell, Irene Dunne, and a fifteen year old Elizabeth Taylor. William Powell plays a banker who is married to Irene Dunne, and have four children together. Dunne's cousin comes to visit with a young Elizabeth Taylor in tow, and Taylor and Powell's oldest son, who is bound for Yale, become smitten with each other.
This is really Powell's film, as the events and issues swirl around him, and virtually every scene takes place in their New York City house. Dunne is a Methodist, and is very concerned that because Powell is not baptized, he is going to hell. She likes to spend money, he likes to save it. Their oldest son wants a new suit, because when their son wears father's suit, he cannot do anything father would not do, such as kneel at church. Their second oldest child fancies himself an inventor, and feeds his mother medicine that almost kills Dunne. I am sure the picture is clear.
I found the film enjoyable, largely because after this and recently seeing The Thin Man, I have developed a fondness for William Powell. His character in the former was as a retired cop living as a playboy, without a care in the world, and he carried that role very well. Here he plays a proper banker, to whom everything is serious business, particularly spending money, and he plays his role very well.
Irene Dunne does a very good job of playing off Powell. Based upon some of her work with Cary Grant, she seemed to be able to create a chemistry with multiple leading men. She perfectly runs the line between being a scatterbrain, and being the smartest in the family. She and Powell have a great scene in which she buys a ceramic dog for fifteen dollars. Powell says he will never get baptized as long as the dog is in the house. She tells the eldest son to return the dog. He suggests that he exchange the dog for a suit. She agrees. At dinner, she almost convinces Powell that the suit is free because they exchanged the dog for the suit. Their exchange, his confusion in trying to tell her why she is wrong is very well done and entertaining.
Taylor has a small role, with not much to say or do. She has an enfatuation with the eldest son, but it does not impact the story, and frankly, could have been written out without affecting the film. I suspect she was here because she was a budding star.
I love old New York City style mansions, and so I loved the scenery. Most of the film takes place in the home. The D.V.D. transfer is probably the goofiest I have ever experienced. All the dialog (there is no music) came from surround channels, with a small smattering coming from the left channel. Very disconcerting until I became used to it. In any event, voices could be difficuly to understand. The video was not up to D.V.D. standard, almost like it was taken from a good video recording. The only special feature was a one paragraph "biography" on William Powell. Given that both Irene Dunne and Elizabeth Taylor had pretty good film careers, I not unclear as to their omission.
Very recommended for William Powell and Irene Dunne fans, fans of Elizabeth Taylor when she had promise, and people who like to watch a ligty comedy well played.