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Life With Father
Lindsay, Howard, Crouse, Russel
72 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 18, 2026
Life With Father by Howard Lindsay was the 1948 Nominee for The Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for William Powell, he was nominated for another three Academy Awards and other trophies, it is also one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find thousands of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other pages, together with reviews of magnum opera from The GOAT and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and YouTube channel
9 out of 10
Life With Father is a very good comedy, I am not sure if it would make it on my Top 1,000 Features, but then it might, one thousand productions seems like a big number – in those years, I have only seen 801 from The NYT 1,000, although there are more than 5k notes on films from other sites on my blogs and YouTube channel
A Voyage Round My Father https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... comes to mind becasue...it has Father in the title, notwithstanding they are so different, one seems so serious and serene, the other quite agitated and not very likely to be made in these days, or maybe MAGA will take it up
The Father is Clarence Day, or else William Powell, nominated for an Oscar for his lead role, seen in other films from some eighty years ago – My Man Geoffrey might be one – and he appears to fit the profile of the extreme right: domineering, harsh, imposing his will, making the help leave in tears, showing no remorse:
‘maximum lethality, not tepid legality’ as one of the macho figures of MAGA and this resurrected extreme right puts it – hey, we have cause to celebrate, one of their champions, Orban, has just lost the elections, only Charlie Wilson’s War https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
Has a good reminder, with the Zen Master story told at the end by late, regretted Philip Seymour Hoffman, where the conclusion is ‘we shall see’, the mujahedeen turned into the Taliban, this new leader, Peter Magyar, does not sound as a role model, what with recording his ex-wife, joining Fidesz, let us celebrate the moment
Clarance Day is very harsh, though altogether he is amusing, and not really the MAGA type – I hope not, who knows what he would vote for now – he is tough on some imaginary interlocutor, but the new maid is scared, tumbles on the stairs and runs for her life, however, he should have been more empathetic, aiming for Anata
They have visitors and Father is again adamant, they must stay in a hotel, he does not like guests, his EQ seems low, and studies have shown that Emotional Intelligence may be twice as important as the traditional IQ https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Daniel Goleman is the ultimate expert on that
Clarence Day is not baptized and that becomes a major point of contention, his wife, Vinnie, insists that he must change this status, or they will not meet in heaven, this is both jocular, but a serious matter, and when she looks like she may be dying, Father promises he will get baptized, only to renege on this later, can he escape? I wonder
9 out of 10
Life With Father is a very good comedy, I am not sure if it would make it on my Top 1,000 Features, but then it might, one thousand productions seems like a big number – in those years, I have only seen 801 from The NYT 1,000, although there are more than 5k notes on films from other sites on my blogs and YouTube channel
A Voyage Round My Father https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... comes to mind becasue...it has Father in the title, notwithstanding they are so different, one seems so serious and serene, the other quite agitated and not very likely to be made in these days, or maybe MAGA will take it up
The Father is Clarence Day, or else William Powell, nominated for an Oscar for his lead role, seen in other films from some eighty years ago – My Man Geoffrey might be one – and he appears to fit the profile of the extreme right: domineering, harsh, imposing his will, making the help leave in tears, showing no remorse:
‘maximum lethality, not tepid legality’ as one of the macho figures of MAGA and this resurrected extreme right puts it – hey, we have cause to celebrate, one of their champions, Orban, has just lost the elections, only Charlie Wilson’s War https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
Has a good reminder, with the Zen Master story told at the end by late, regretted Philip Seymour Hoffman, where the conclusion is ‘we shall see’, the mujahedeen turned into the Taliban, this new leader, Peter Magyar, does not sound as a role model, what with recording his ex-wife, joining Fidesz, let us celebrate the moment
Clarance Day is very harsh, though altogether he is amusing, and not really the MAGA type – I hope not, who knows what he would vote for now – he is tough on some imaginary interlocutor, but the new maid is scared, tumbles on the stairs and runs for her life, however, he should have been more empathetic, aiming for Anata
They have visitors and Father is again adamant, they must stay in a hotel, he does not like guests, his EQ seems low, and studies have shown that Emotional Intelligence may be twice as important as the traditional IQ https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Daniel Goleman is the ultimate expert on that
Clarence Day is not baptized and that becomes a major point of contention, his wife, Vinnie, insists that he must change this status, or they will not meet in heaven, this is both jocular, but a serious matter, and when she looks like she may be dying, Father promises he will get baptized, only to renege on this later, can he escape? I wonder
October 9, 2019
I found this slice of life of a play fascinating. I look forward to reading the original book and viewing the old movie for it that I found at the library as well. The play made for a quick read. I even started reading the next play, Life with Mother.
Modern readers will probably be put off by Father/Clare, but it's my guess that he was a product of his times. He is a commanding bully who gets pushed around quite a bit by his family. What's the phrase?—all bark and no bite? That seems to fit Father to a T.
There is a bit of swearing that seems excessive for the time it's set in. I believe that's for shock value and humor. While I didn't find it funny, it helped to characterize Father.
Modern readers will probably be put off by Father/Clare, but it's my guess that he was a product of his times. He is a commanding bully who gets pushed around quite a bit by his family. What's the phrase?—all bark and no bite? That seems to fit Father to a T.
There is a bit of swearing that seems excessive for the time it's set in. I believe that's for shock value and humor. While I didn't find it funny, it helped to characterize Father.
May 9, 2019
A simple chestnut you read and smile.
March 14, 2015
I liked this play. It was pretty light-hearted and made me laugh. No complaints, really.
September 23, 2017
read for playwriting class
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews