"Now what I say about children is this: Have 'em, Love 'em. And then leave 'em be."
The pre-Code era is full of villains and gangsters, but none are more evil than this woman so wonderfully played by Laura Hope Crews, though she is a monster of a very different sort - a smothering, manipulative mother who deliberately sabotages the romantic relationships of her two sons.
We see that we're not just dealing with a mother struggling to accept a new phase in life when she talks to her younger son (Eric Linden) with his head in her lap. She tells him that he and his fiancée (Frances Dee) don't love each other and that he should leave her, a suggestion the milquetoast young man passively accepts , and then she says "I won't have to be lonely now" before leaning down to kiss him fully on the lips. It's an extraordinary moment, even considering the custom of the period, when it wasn't uncommon for a parent to kiss their child on the mouth (and note earlier we see the two prospective sisters-in-law doing it in a way that would raise eyebrows today, but which was clearly innocent then). Later she lays a smooch on the older son (Joel McCrea) as he's about to go to bed, and it's telling that the peck he gives his wife (Irene Dunne) afterwards is shorter in duration. There's a real mental illness here, one that has the sons under her sway, and ultimately we find that she's displaced the romance missing from her marriage onto her sons.
The women in this film truly shine, starting with Laura Hope Crews of course, but also Irene Dunne and Frances Dee, each of whom have some fantastic moments confronting her. In addition to the main theme of a possessive parent, the film also points out that women can be brilliant and have a career in addition to being a wife and mother (and a research biologist no less). Meanwhile, as the mother clings to her sons, she pathetically voices the fear of the older generation, that women having careers is putting motherhood "in some danger of vanishing from the face of the earth."
The film is a little infuriating because of how weak the two sons are, but this is a script which has no wasted scenes, great dialogue, and great pace - and with the psychological manipulation taking place on top of it, it all feels very modern. It's an example of a film I love finding out about from the pre-Code era, as it seems to be lesser known and feels so alive, despite its age.
The pre-Code era is full of villains and gangsters, but none are more evil than this woman so wonderfully played by Laura Hope Crews, though she is a monster of a very different sort - a smothering, manipulative mother who deliberately sabotages the romantic relationships of her two sons.
We see that we're not just dealing with a mother struggling to accept a new phase in life when she talks to her younger son (Eric Linden) with his head in her lap. She tells him that he and his fiancée (Frances Dee) don't love each other and that he should leave her, a suggestion the milquetoast young man passively accepts , and then she says "I won't have to be lonely now" before leaning down to kiss him fully on the lips. It's an extraordinary moment, even considering the custom of the period, when it wasn't uncommon for a parent to kiss their child on the mouth (and note earlier we see the two prospective sisters-in-law doing it in a way that would raise eyebrows today, but which was clearly innocent then). Later she lays a smooch on the older son (Joel McCrea) as he's about to go to bed, and it's telling that the peck he gives his wife (Irene Dunne) afterwards is shorter in duration. There's a real mental illness here, one that has the sons under her sway, and ultimately we find that she's displaced the romance missing from her marriage onto her sons.
The women in this film truly shine, starting with Laura Hope Crews of course, but also Irene Dunne and Frances Dee, each of whom have some fantastic moments confronting her. In addition to the main theme of a possessive parent, the film also points out that women can be brilliant and have a career in addition to being a wife and mother (and a research biologist no less). Meanwhile, as the mother clings to her sons, she pathetically voices the fear of the older generation, that women having careers is putting motherhood "in some danger of vanishing from the face of the earth."
The film is a little infuriating because of how weak the two sons are, but this is a script which has no wasted scenes, great dialogue, and great pace - and with the psychological manipulation taking place on top of it, it all feels very modern. It's an example of a film I love finding out about from the pre-Code era, as it seems to be lesser known and feels so alive, despite its age.