User Reviews

And then there's the 100 year old granny, too!

I dare you not to want to hug Jessie Ralph after seeing her in this film, stealing every moment as the very feisty matriarch of this huge Canadian farming family. She's a proud, feisty woman, far stronger than she seems and in spite of knowing their secrets and flaws, loves them unconditionally. That being said, the younger members of the family are a complete mess, holding onto grudges with no guilt. Hatred between brothers spills over into their love lives, causing them to marry hastily and create more conflict. That conflict also crosses over into different ideas of family obligations with one grandson desiring a career as a professional poet while his brother feels like they should all devote their lives to the farm. One member of the family will face a tragic ending as a result of their intense jealousy, and another older member of the family will have to reopen their closed heart after old hurts open closed wounds that left psychological scars.

While there are far too many characters for everybody to get a solid storyline in this film's moderate running time, the ensemble is excellent. Veteran actors C. Aubrey Smith, Ian Hunter, Kay Johnson and Peggy Wood stand out among the large ensemble, but don't compare to Ralph, especially when she complains about always getting laced head coverings for Christmas, admitting that she's tipsy after a Christmas toast, and even whacks a grandson with her cane arter he's extremely rude to her. A feisty parrot mimics her every word, including her desire for rum laced mints.

Technically, this film is excellent, with moody photography and lavish if old fashioned sets, turning this saga into a true work of art. The mixture of comedy and pathos mingles beautifully, turning this into something quite special even if it isn't flawless. Then there's the conclusion, giving granny and the lovable parrot the last word, and granny a wave that is indeed something that will remind you of those Beverly Hillbillies.

The "Jalna" books were one of the most popular series of the time. "Jalna", the third book, brought awards and fame to it's author Mazo De La Roche who was inspired by her childhood and home in Ontario and based "Jalna" itself on a farm her family moved to when she was about nine.

There are some pretty familiar faces in this sweeping saga of families at war - even one who was actually born in Canada - David Manners. All presided over by feisty Grandma Whiteoak (Jessie Ralph) the 99 year old matriarch of the clan. The Whiteoaks and the Vaughns have been feuding for 20 years, ever since Meg (Peggy Wood) had been about to marry Maurice Vaughn (Nigel Bruce) and a child was left at Jalna with a note to indicate that Maurice was the father. By now, most of the Whiteoaks are heartily sick of the story and secretly wish that Meg had married Maurice but she will never forgive and forget. The child, Pheasant (Molly Lamont) has been bought up by Maurice and is now a lovely woman and is secretly being romanced by Piers Whiteoak (Theodore Newton) but his secret has just come out at the family dinner table. Another member of the family, Eden (David Manners) also has an announcement - his book of poems has been accepted by a New York publisher.

While in New York he meets sensible and sensitive Alayne Archer (Kay Johnson), the publisher's assistant and the first person to read and believe in Eden's poems and who pushes to get them published. When Eden brings home Alayne as his bride, Piers also announces he has married Pheasant and a shouting match takes place but both Alayne and Renny (Ian Hunter) speak up for her and you just know there are going to be fireworks between them - of a different type!!! Eden proves to be weak, full of his own importance and, ever since his marriage, suffering from writer's block. Alayne, who finds herself falling in love with Renny, desperately wants Eden to return to New York to get their marriage back on track and to recover his self worth with a job at the publishers but apart from wanting to loaf at Jalna, he is finding more sympathy from Pheasant and wants to stay. Pheasant begs Piers not to leave her alone so much but the farm means everything to him so when Eden has a fall and finds he is bed bound for weeks, by the time he is up and about things have come to a head. Piers declares he will kill them both and Alayne and Renny are powerless to stop it, but Eden cooks his own goose. Planning to run away from it all like the coward he is he writes a fake suicide note which he leaves with his coat near a cliff but he is surprised in the act and events take an unusual course.

Like Ann Harding, Kay Johnson had class and warmth and from the start excelled at devoted wife type roles but that was what she wanted to be in real life and in the late 1930s she gave up her career for domesticity and motherhood.