Producer: Clarence Brown. Copyright 18 January 1932 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Distributing Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 5 February 1932. U.S. release: January 1932. 8 reels. 73 minutes. (Available on an excellent Warner DVD).
SYNOPSIS: Emma, who in 1911 is the nanny of a famous inventor's large family by 1931 has married the inventor (Jean Hersholt), to his snobbish children's consternation. The only child who truly loves and understands her, Richard Cromwell, whom she had slapped into life after his existence was despaired of at birth twenty years before, is killed in an airplane accident. Loy is on hand as the meany daughter who tries to rob Dressler of inherited fortune and reputation by claiming in court that she dispatched her father under suspicious circumstances. But of course, Dressler triumphs in the end.
NOTES: Another box-office triumph for Marie Dressler, this one was third at American ticket windows to The Kids from Spain and Grand Hotel in 1932. Miss Dressler was nominated for a prestigious Hollywood award for Best Actress, losing to Helen Hayes in The Sin of Madelon Claudet.
Number 7 in the Film Daily's annual "Best Movies of the Year" poll of U.S. critics.
COMMENT: This weepie was obviously designed solely as a star vehicle for Marie Dressler. If you like Miss Dressler, fine. Otherwise you're left with a rather sudsy story, against which the director's flowing camera-work can make little headway. However, it's unusual to find Myrna Loy as the heavy, even though she was playing such roles at this stage in her career. She plays a murderess who menaces heroine, Irene Dunne, in "Thirteen Women" (1932) for instance. No, I'm not spoiling that excellent movie for you. We know she's a killer in this thriller right from the start!
SYNOPSIS: Emma, who in 1911 is the nanny of a famous inventor's large family by 1931 has married the inventor (Jean Hersholt), to his snobbish children's consternation. The only child who truly loves and understands her, Richard Cromwell, whom she had slapped into life after his existence was despaired of at birth twenty years before, is killed in an airplane accident. Loy is on hand as the meany daughter who tries to rob Dressler of inherited fortune and reputation by claiming in court that she dispatched her father under suspicious circumstances. But of course, Dressler triumphs in the end.
NOTES: Another box-office triumph for Marie Dressler, this one was third at American ticket windows to The Kids from Spain and Grand Hotel in 1932. Miss Dressler was nominated for a prestigious Hollywood award for Best Actress, losing to Helen Hayes in The Sin of Madelon Claudet.
Number 7 in the Film Daily's annual "Best Movies of the Year" poll of U.S. critics.
COMMENT: This weepie was obviously designed solely as a star vehicle for Marie Dressler. If you like Miss Dressler, fine. Otherwise you're left with a rather sudsy story, against which the director's flowing camera-work can make little headway. However, it's unusual to find Myrna Loy as the heavy, even though she was playing such roles at this stage in her career. She plays a murderess who menaces heroine, Irene Dunne, in "Thirteen Women" (1932) for instance. No, I'm not spoiling that excellent movie for you. We know she's a killer in this thriller right from the start!