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Father of the Bride (1950)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 27
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 2

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 13,006

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Movie Info

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

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Drama, Classics, Comedy

Directed By: Vincente Minnelli

Written By: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1950 Wide

On DVD: Jun 1, 2004

MGM

Father of the Bride Trailer & Photos

Cast

Spencer Tracy
Stanley T. Banks
Elizabeth Taylor
Kay Banks
Joan Bennett
Ellie Banks
Don Taylor
Buckley Dunstan
Billie Burke
Mrs. Doris Dunstan
Russ Tamblyn
Tommy Banks
Leo G Carroll
Mr. Massoula
Moroni Olsen
Herbert Dunstan
Melville Cooper
Mr. Triangle
Taylor Holmes
Warner
Frank Orth
Joe
Tom Irish
Ben Banks
Marietta Canty
Delilah
Richard Alexander
Moving Man
William Norton Bailey
Fay Baker
Miss Bellamy
Oliver Blake
Man
Lillian Bronson
Schoolteacher
Frank Cady
Timid Guest
Aileen Carlyle
Woman
Carleton Carpenter
Usher
Lucille Curtis
Boyd Davis
Chris Drake
Usher
Jacqueline Duval
Peg
Ella Ethridge
Edward Gargan
William E. Green
Sad-faced Man
William Haade
Sherry Hall
Bits
Paul Harvey
Rev. A.I. Galsworthy
Brad Hatton
Florist
Jim Hayward
Moving Man
Thomas Brown Henry
Stranger
Stuart Holmes
Frank Hyers
Duffy
Peggy Leon
Paul Maxey
Heavy Set Man
Mickey McCardle
Philo McCullough
Patricia Miller
Wispy Girl
Gil Perkins
Moving Man
Ralph Peters
Moving Man
Lee Phelps
Motor Cop
Dorothy Phillips
William 'Bill' Phillips
Foreman of Movers
Dewey Robinson
Moving Man
Fred Santley
Douglas Spencer
Organist
Harry Dean Stanton
Willard Waterman
Dixon
John Welsh
Western Union Boy
Dick Wessel
Moving Man
Jeff York
Policeman
Peter Thompson
Usher
Joe Brown Jr.
Moving Man
Gene Coogan
Barman
Estelle Etterre
Betty Farrington
Guest
Anne Kunde
Bits in Dream Sequence
Nancy Valentine
Fliss
Wendy Waldron
Bridesmaid
Walter C. Kelly
Don Anderson
Mickey Golden
Erin Selwyn
Mary Jane Smith
Effie
Frank Richards
Truck Driver
Roger Moore

Critic Reviews for Father of the Bride

All Critics (27) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (2) | DVD (1)

Under Vincente Minelli's crisp direction, the fun rarely lets up.

March 23, 2011 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comment

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

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.

March 23, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

On the critical side: Minnelli could have timed many of the scenes so that laughs would not have stepped on dialog tag lines.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

A honey of a picture of American family life.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

One of the best comedies MGM made in the 1950s.

March 23, 2011 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

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.

March 8, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Nightmarish comedy, about the hunt for a wealthy husband and an expensive wedding.

August 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television

| Comment

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Thoroughly enchanting comedy about the trials and tribulations a middle-aged family man faces when the daughter he dotes on decides to get married.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

First rate Hollywood comedy, with good support from its stars and Elizabeth Taylor at her loveliest.

March 10, 2004 Comment

Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS) Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

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.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4

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Film4

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Father of the Bride

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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.

September 5, 2010

AJ Verser

Super Reviewer

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.

June 30, 2009

Jennifer Xu

Super Reviewer

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