The Late George Apley (film)

The Late George Apley is a 1947 film about a stuffy, upper-class Bostonian who is forced to adjust to a changing world. It starred Ronald Colman in the title role and was based on John P. Marquand's novel of the same name and the subsequent play by Marquand and George S. Kaufman.[1][2]

The Late George Apley
Directed byJoseph L. Mankiewicz
Produced byFred Kohlmar
Written byJohn P. Marquand (novel and play)
George S. Kaufman (play)
Philip Dunne
StarringRonald Colman
Vanessa Brown
Richard Haydn
Charles Russell
Richard Ney
Music byCyril J. Mockridge
CinematographyJoseph LaShelle
Edited byJames B. Clark
Distributed byTwentieth Century-Fox
Release date
  • March 20, 1947 (1947-03-20)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

It is 1912, and George Apley (Ronald Colman) is a stuffy, self-satisfied member of Boston's upper class, supremely confident of the superiority of his hometown and his family. He is fond of quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson at every opportunity. For 18 years, he has hosted Thanksgiving dinners at his home, but the dinner that opens the film marks an irrevocable change. His comfortable, predictable world is overturned when he learns, to his horror, that both his son and his daughter have fallen in love with non-Bostonians instead of with the partners Mr. Apley and the family have arranged. Son John, always intended for his cousin Agnes, a shy girl who adores him, has fallen for Myrtle, the daughter of a successful manufacturer who lives in Worcester. Daughter Eleanor is in love with Howard Boulder, a lecturer at Harvard who eventually loses his position through George's interference. Among Boulder's offenses, besides coming from New York and attending Yale, is his teaching that Emerson was, for his time, a radical (a truth that George has accepted by the end of the film). George really begins to see himself through others' eyes when he is rejected for President of the bird-watching club because of his refusal to allow an undesirable relative to be buried in the family plot and because of his actions to separate the young lovers.

Mrs. Apley divulges to Agnes that George had once been in love with a vivacious local Irish girl, and was sent abroad to recover. When he returned, they were married and, she says, found some happiness. Roger Newcombe, George's brother-in-law and friend, reminds George of how he felt all those years ago when he was separated from the girl he loved. George does try to change, and he invites Myrtle's father to his club to discuss planning the careful introduction of their family to Boston society in preparation for announcing John and Myrtle's engagement. But Myrtle's father surprises him by saying that he knows his daughter and he knows John, and neither would be happy living in the other's world. He plans to send Myrtle away to California for a year or two, to forget.

Time passes, and Eleanor returns from her own long trip abroad in time to be a bridesmaid at John and Agnes' wedding. She is afraid that Howard has forgotten her, not knowing that George has stopped their letters. Eleanor and Agnes talk during the fitting of Agnes' wedding dress, a family heirloom that smothers her in antique lace. A forlorn Agnes, who knows about Myrtle, confesses her lack of confidence, and Eleanor tells her to “fight.” Agnes vows that she can at least give John a good-looking wife, and she convinces George to take her shopping in New York City. George is persuaded to let her buy the charming modern clothes she desires, and the day seems a success until they meet Howard Boulder and his friends on the street. Boulder, who is bitter at the loss of Eleanor, introduces George to his friends with scathing sarcasm.

At the wedding, John is nervous because he hasn't seen Agnes and is afraid she will not show up. George takes Eleanor out to the street in front of the church, where Howard is waiting. George gives them the steamship tickets that were for John and Agnes' honeymoon and tells them the Captain will marry them. Eleanor embraces him, and the lovers drive away. Back in the church, everyone is ready to begin. Agnes comes down the aisle, a vision in a lovely gown and a tulle veil that sets off her beautifully dressed dark hair. John beams; George and Catherine link arms and smile at their son's happiness.

Despite the film's title, unlike the book and play, George Apley does not die in the film.[3]

Cast

Reception

The New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther panned the film, writing "The Late George Apley has been botched on the screen -- but good!"[4] Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader was less severe, stating "The movie wears its literary origins on its sleeve; virtually all the action is dialogue driven, and that dialogue tends to be dry and rhetorical...Few Hollywood filmmakers had his [Joseph L. Mankiewicz's] flair for staging verbose conversation; this remains effervescent and visually elegant even when the material verges on stodginess."[5] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes The Late George Apley has an audience score of 82%[6]

gollark: No?
gollark: It's waaaaay easier to survive on a somewhat climate-damaged Earth than Mars or something.
gollark: Could you not just pick a high frequency which doesn't overlap with WiFi/phones?
gollark: Over here and probably other places, most of what is taught is defined by the curriculum specification.
gollark: And why are they still "acids"?

References
  1. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Late George Apley
  2. Broadway production of The Late George Apley November 23, 1944-November 17, 1945;Lyceum TheatreRetrieved September 15, 2016
  3. "Not So Late Mr. Apley". Variety. February 5, 1947. p. 12.
  4. Bosley Crowther (March 21, 1947). "The Screen in Review; ' The Late George Apley' Based on Novel by Marquand, New Bill at Radio City Music Hall -- Ronald Colman Is Starred'". The New York Times.
  5. Ben Sachs. "The Late George Apley". Chicago Reader.
  6. "The Late George Apley (1947)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
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