Father of the Bride (1950)

93% of critics liked it
(27 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(13,262 ratings)

Spencer Tracy received an Oscar nomination for his performance in this classic comedy. Stanley T. Banks (Tracy) is a securely middle-class lawyer whose daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) announces that she's going to marry her beau Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor). From that point on, everything in… More Spencer Tracy received an Oscar nomination for his performance in this classic comedy. Stanley T. Banks (Tracy) is a securely middle-class lawyer whose daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) announces that she's going to marry her beau Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor). From that point on, everything in Stanley's life is turned upside down. His wife Ellie (Joan Bennett) wants Kay to have the kind of formal wedding that she and Stanley never had, and between meeting his soon-to-be in-laws, the socially prominent Herbert and Doris Dunstan (Moroni Olsen and Billie Burke), his man-to-man talk with the groom, hosting the engagement party, financing the increasingly lavish wedding, and wondering if Kay and Buckley will resolve their differences before arriving at the altar, Stanley barely has time to deal with his own considerable anxieties about his advancing age and how his "little girl" became a grown woman. Director Vincente Minnelli reunited with the principal cast a year later for a sequel, Father's Little Dividend; and the movie was remade in 1991 with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.
Directed By: Vincente Minnelli
Written By: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
Genres: Drama, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1950 Wide
On DVD: Jun 1, 2004
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
Under Vincente Minelli's crisp direction, the fun rarely lets up.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
This ostensibly lighthearted film about Spencer Tracy's Kafkaesque attempts to bring off his daughter's wedding is one of the bleakest films of a bleak decade.
Variety Staff, Variety
On the critical side: Minnelli could have timed many of the scenes so that laughs would not have stepped on dialog tag lines.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A honey of a picture of American family life.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
One of the best comedies MGM made in the 1950s.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Spencer Tracy gives a wonderful, Oscar-nominated performance in the titular role of this popular Minnelli- MGM comedy, which reflected the zeitgeist of post-WII America.
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Nightmarish comedy, about the hunt for a wealthy husband and an expensive wedding.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Thoroughly enchanting comedy about the trials and tribulations a middle-aged family man faces when the daughter he dotes on decides to get married.
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
First rate Hollywood comedy, with good support from its stars and Elizabeth Taylor at her loveliest.
, Film4
Tracy is at his comic best in the title role -- the father torn by jealousy, devotion, pride and irritation as the problems mount in the run-up to his daughter's wedding.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

Spencer Tracy, as the grumpy, titular father, puts this film on his back and carries it. Incredibly dated, but still a loveable film, and one that features a very young Elizabeth Taylor. Interestingly skewers wedding conventions and the wedding industry in a way that I wish more films… More
Spencer Tracy, as the grumpy, titular father, puts this film on his back and carries it. Incredibly dated, but still a loveable film, and one that features a very young Elizabeth Taylor. Interestingly skewers wedding conventions and the wedding industry in a way that I wish more films did. Sure, all can't help but work out in the end, but the journey is blackly funny and enjoyable.
AJ V

Yes, this movie has a theme which remains relevant to us today, and it has it's funny scenes, but I found it mostly boring. Not bad, not good, but it's okay. You'd like it more if you could relate to the characters.
Jennifer X

It's not terrible, but sometimes Spencer Tracy is such a HAM. Maybe it's because I watched it first, but I thought Steve Martin's character was much more convincing! Liz Taylor is radiant as always, but frankly I was BORED. Drunkenness is passe.
Sunil J

It's okay but I think it works better as a comedy. The remake was a lot more fun.
Sarah P

A very funny and relatable film, even today!

Cast

            Spencer Tracy as Stanley T. Banks

            Elizabeth Taylor as Kay Banks

            Joan Bennett as Ellie Banks

            Don Taylor as Buckley Dunstan

            Billie Burke as Mrs. Doris Dunstan

            Russ Tamblyn as Tommy Banks

            Leo G Carroll as Mr. Massoula

            Moroni Olsen as Herbert Dunstan

            Melville Cooper as Mr. Triangle

            Taylor Holmes as Warner

            Frank Orth as Joe

            Tom Irish as Ben Banks

            Marietta Canty as Delilah

            Richard Alexander as Moving Man

            William Norton Bailey
            
            Fay Baker as Miss Bellamy

            Oliver Blake as Man

            Lillian Bronson as Schoolteacher

            Frank Cady as Timid Guest

            Aileen Carlyle as Woman

            Carleton Carpenter as Usher

            Lucille Curtis
            
            Boyd Davis
            
            Chris Drake as Usher

            Jacqueline Duval as Peg

            Ella Ethridge
            
            Edward Gargan
            
            William E. Green as Sad-faced Man

            William Haade
            
            Sherry Hall as Bits

            Paul Harvey as Rev. A.I. Galsworthy

            Brad Hatton as Florist

            Jim Hayward as Moving Man

            Thomas Brown Henry as Stranger

            Stuart Holmes
            
            Frank Hyers as Duffy

            Peggy Leon
            
            Paul Maxey as Heavy Set Man

            Mickey McCardle
            
            Philo McCullough
            
            Patricia Miller as Wispy Girl

            Gil Perkins as Moving Man

            Ralph Peters as Moving Man

            Lee Phelps as Motor Cop

            Dorothy Phillips
            
            William 'Bill' Phillips as Foreman of Movers

            Dewey Robinson as Moving Man

            Fred Santley
            
            Douglas Spencer as Organist

            Harry Dean Stanton
            
            Willard Waterman as Dixon

            John Welsh as Western Union Boy

            Dick Wessel as Moving Man

            Jeff York as Policeman

            Peter Thompson as Usher

            Joe Brown Jr. as Moving Man

            Gene Coogan as Barman

            Estelle Etterre
            
            Betty Farrington as Guest

            Anne Kunde as Bits in Dream Sequence

            Nancy Valentine as Fliss

            Wendy Waldron as Bridesmaid

            Walter C. Kelly
            
            Don Anderson
            
            Mickey Golden
            
            Erin Selwyn
            
            Mary Jane Smith as Effie

            Frank Richards as Truck Driver

            Roger Moore
            
See full cast