I love Lucille La Verne. She supplied the voice for the Evil Queen in the animated Disney film, "Snow White". She is always a delight to see. And this time, she gets to play a loving mother and even dresses up in nice clothes and looks elegant as her son does well in business.
This film is on my list of a good classic because it made me think. The film deals with a moral dilemma. And it makes you the judge of what should be done and what happens after the film ends.
Richard Barthelmess is an adopted son to La Verne. Her real son and he are going to medical school. He is also engaged to Marian Marsh. Her real son gets into trouble and performs surgery on a girl while he is drunk and does not have his license yet. To protect him, Barthelmess takes the blame saying it was him and not his brother because he knows how much his adopted mother wanted her son to be a doctor. It is her dream and she put them both through school even though she is poor.
The girl who was operated on dies and Barthelmess is banned from a license and even has to go to jail for several years.
When Barthelmess has served his time in jail, he comes home to find out his adopted brother has now died. Before dying, he tells his mother and sister the truth. Before he can try to clear his name, there is an emergency and he is forced to operate on a little boy pretending to be his "licensed" brother.
La Verne sees this as a way to have her dream of a son who is a successful doctor. He becomes a huge success and does most of his work without charging the poor and he saves many lives. But Marion Marsh still longs to be with Barthelmess and when they try to meet they realize, to the outside world, it will be looked on as incest.
There is a great scene between La Verne and Marsh where the mother is begging Marsh to give him up to help keep the charade going. But Marsh declares she is going to go to him and live with him in sin - not married and not caring if it appears as incest.
At some point in the film, all the truth must come out. When it does, the viewer is asked what should happen? Barthelmess is a successful and very talented surgeon. He has saved thousands of lives including those who could never afford a surgeon. But he is unlicensed and living a lie.
Nothing La Verne or Barthelmess have done has been done out of malice. They really wanted "the best" for all around them, but at what price? Are deception and lies justified if "good" is the result?
The movie ends very quickly and stops. At first, I thought this was an editing mistake, but now I feel it was done to leave the end up to me. It was abrupt in order to put the moral question in my hands.
So, this film will present you a morality play. It will, or should, make you think. Do "two wrongs make a right"?
Check out this Classy Classic and let me know how you judge what happens after the film ends.
This film is on my list of a good classic because it made me think. The film deals with a moral dilemma. And it makes you the judge of what should be done and what happens after the film ends.
Richard Barthelmess is an adopted son to La Verne. Her real son and he are going to medical school. He is also engaged to Marian Marsh. Her real son gets into trouble and performs surgery on a girl while he is drunk and does not have his license yet. To protect him, Barthelmess takes the blame saying it was him and not his brother because he knows how much his adopted mother wanted her son to be a doctor. It is her dream and she put them both through school even though she is poor.
The girl who was operated on dies and Barthelmess is banned from a license and even has to go to jail for several years.
When Barthelmess has served his time in jail, he comes home to find out his adopted brother has now died. Before dying, he tells his mother and sister the truth. Before he can try to clear his name, there is an emergency and he is forced to operate on a little boy pretending to be his "licensed" brother.
La Verne sees this as a way to have her dream of a son who is a successful doctor. He becomes a huge success and does most of his work without charging the poor and he saves many lives. But Marion Marsh still longs to be with Barthelmess and when they try to meet they realize, to the outside world, it will be looked on as incest.
There is a great scene between La Verne and Marsh where the mother is begging Marsh to give him up to help keep the charade going. But Marsh declares she is going to go to him and live with him in sin - not married and not caring if it appears as incest.
At some point in the film, all the truth must come out. When it does, the viewer is asked what should happen? Barthelmess is a successful and very talented surgeon. He has saved thousands of lives including those who could never afford a surgeon. But he is unlicensed and living a lie.
Nothing La Verne or Barthelmess have done has been done out of malice. They really wanted "the best" for all around them, but at what price? Are deception and lies justified if "good" is the result?
The movie ends very quickly and stops. At first, I thought this was an editing mistake, but now I feel it was done to leave the end up to me. It was abrupt in order to put the moral question in my hands.
So, this film will present you a morality play. It will, or should, make you think. Do "two wrongs make a right"?
Check out this Classy Classic and let me know how you judge what happens after the film ends.