The Late George Apley (1947)

Set in 1912 Boston, a member (Ronald Colman) of Boston's upper class finds it difficult to adjust to a changing world when his daughter (Peggy Cummins) and son (Richard Ney) both fall in love with people outside their "class". Based on the novel by John P. Marquand (H.M. PULHAM ESQ.) by way of a Broadway adaptation and directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz (ALL ABOUT EVE). Perhaps the most literate of Hollywood film makers, Mankiewicz' dialog driven film is on the dry side. A movie about a pompous stuffed shirt who believes people should stick to their own kind (or class if you prefer) and attempts to control his adult children's lives can set your teeth on edge. Colman is the perfect actor for the part (not necessarily a compliment) but his beginning to "see the light" at the film's end seems rushed rather than organic. With Vanessa Brown, Richard Haydn, Edna Best, Mildred Natwick and Charles Russell.