Life with Father is a gentle comedy based on a long-running Broadway play which was based on a semi-autobiographical novel about growing up in 1880s New York City.  William Powell stars as the stockbroker patriarch who tries to run his household with the efficiency of his office. It was directed by Michael Curtiz, who had directed Casablanca five years earlier, with his customary perfect timing and dry wit.

Leonard Maltin gave the movie a perfect 4 stars, calling it “utterly delightful”. Powell was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, and it’s nice to see him perform a different character than his typical suave modern man of the world. Look for a very young Elizabeth Taylor as the young girl who flummoxes the author’s character. Take my word for it, along with that of over 3,000 IMDb voters, that this film belongs in the top ten of the Internet Archive Top 100.