The Late George Apley (1947)

The "Apley" family have been part of the Bostonian establishment since God was a boy, and the head of the household "George" (Ronald Colman) is keen to ensure that with his wife "Catherine" (Edna Best) his son and daughter follow firmly in their establishment footsteps. Thing is, his daughter "Eleanor" (Peggy Cummins) and his son "Richard" (Richard Ney) are rather more independently spirited than that, and their definition of conformity is not quite that of their father! What now ensues is a rather nicely paced comedy that offers us the principle of coming of age - but in this case it's the grown ups who have to come to an age in which their traditions are important, but not all-so. It's based on John Marquand's original, quite satirical, story that casts gentle aspersions on snobbery and elitism, but also acknowledges some of the values those eschewed as a bedrock for a solid and decently evolving society. Colman is on good form in a role I imagined might have suited George Arliss too, and there is the always reliable Mildred Natwick amongst a supporting cast of the sympathetic and not so amongst this family that simply has to adapt to survive. This is an enjoyable ninety minutes of social observation and is well worth a watch.