Father of the Bride (1950) (1950)
-
93% of critics liked it
(27 reviews) -
67% of users liked it
(13,643 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
- Directed By
- Vincente Minnelli
- Written By
- Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1950 Wide
- 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.
-
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.
-
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A honey of a picture of American family life.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Also available on
UltraViolet Retailers
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
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



