Studio: Warner Brothers
Running time: 118 minutes
Life with Father (1947)
New York stockbroker Clarence Day (William Powell) considers himself the master of his household—but it’s really his wife, Vinnie (Irene Dunne), who runs the show. When Clarence’s casual admission that he has never been baptized sets Vinnie on a mission to save his soul, his domestic authority is put to the test. Elizabeth co-stars as Mary Skinner, a young houseguest whose budding romance with the Days’ eldest son—and whose presence is one more source of irritation for Clarence—adds to the family chaos.
Cast
Father (Clarence Day): William Powell
Vinnie: Irene Dunne
Mary Skinner: Elizabeth Taylor
Reverend Dr. Lloyd: Edmund Gwenn
Cora: ZaSu Pitts
Clarence: James Lydon
Margaret: Emma Dunn
Dr. Humphries: Moroni Olsen
Mrs. Whitehead: Elisabeth Risdon
Harlan: Derek Scott
Whitney: Johnny Calkins
John: Martin Milner
Annie: Heather Wilde
The Policeman: Monte Blue
Nora: Mary Field
Maggie: Queenie Leonard
Delia: Nancy Evans
Miss Wiggins: Clara Blandick
Dr. Somers: Frank Elliott
Scrubwoman: Clara Reid
Milkman: Philo McCullough
Corsetière: Lois Bridge
Salesman: George Meader
Mr. Morley: Douglas Kennedy
Clerk: Phil Van Zandt
Stock Quotation Operator: Russell Arms
Hilda: Faith Kruger
François: Jean Del Val
Twins: Michael and Ralph Mineo
Father of Twins: Creighton Hale
Mother of Twins: Jean Andren
Ellen: Elaine Lange
Perkins (Clerk): John Beck
Chef: Jack Martin
Girl in Delmonico’s: Arlene Dahl
Crew
Director: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Robert Buckner
Screenwriter: Donald Ogden Stewart
Based on the Play by: Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Cinematographers: Peverell Marley and William V. Skall
Art Director: Robert Hass
Sets: George James Hopkins
Special Effects: William McGann
Sound: C. A. Riggs
Musical Score: Max Steiner
Editor: George Amy
Costumes: Milo Anderson
Technical Advisor: Mrs. Clarence Day
Did You Know?
Life with Father is the screen adaptation of the 1939 stage play based on Clarence Day's book about his fastidious father. The play delighted audiences, running for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks, making it the longest-running non-musical play in Broadway history.
Elizabeth was loaned out to Warner Bros. from MGM at the request of Clarence Day’s widow for approximately three months at a rate of $3,500 a week—five times the amount she was making at her home studio. (MGM would pocket the difference.) Further proof of 15-year-old Elizabeth’s growing popularity as an actress and commodity, MGM stipulated that “no other member of the cast can be billed in as large-sized type, which is 75% of the size for Dunne and Powell.”
The film’s director, the legendary Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Mildred Pierce) concluded that “Elizabeth is the most promising dramatic ingenue in years.” Given a rare opportunity to display her underutilized flair for comedy, she more than holds her own against the film’s powerhouse cast.