An under-appreciated mother inherits a fortune and abandons her family.An under-appreciated mother inherits a fortune and abandons her family.An under-appreciated mother inherits a fortune and abandons her family.
Photos
Edward Keane
- Truant Officer
- (as Ed Keane)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAllen Jenkins was less than a year younger than Aline MacMahon, who played his mother in the film.
- Quotes
Hattie 'Mom' Frink: If you lose this job, its curtains. There isn't another paper in town that will take you back, and I mean that Joe.
Joe 'Poppa' Frink: Yeah, well, maybe somebody will start a new paper!
- SoundtracksShe'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played and sung on the radio
Featured review
watch the bickering family try to work things out
The Frinks are a family of non-stop bickering, drink-sneaking, school skipping folks, and all before breakfast! Viewers with recognize (or hear) the nasal Allen Jenkins as the dad Emmet Frink - always played the new york cab driver, or small time thug. Also look for Louise Beavers, who starred in "Imitation of Life" the same year. Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert are along for the vaudeville bits. Not a lot of other big names in this Warner Brothers 68 minute piece, but very entertaining and more realistic than all those sweet, soapy clean, rich, society movies of the late 1930s and 1940s. Kind of a strange moment when the rough, tough-talking son does a mocking, swishing walk across the room, just as the Hays Code was started being enforced. Also, about 20 minutes in, there are film quality issues on the TCM version I saw. Hattie, the mom, is the central figure (played by Aline MacMahon), and has to make big decisions in her life that will affect her whole family. She sometimes says "Noooorman" in a long, shrill, up-swooping voice at the end, Psycho-style. Has the feel of a film made from a play, since most of the action takes place in their kitchen. Produced by Jack Warner and Hal Wallis - (what a wide range of movies Wallis had done - this in 1934, Casablanca in 42, then half of the silly Elvis movies in the 50s and 60s) Fun, realistic, fast paced. Very plain and simple plot. Doesn't get bogged down with long scenes.
helpful•62
- ksf-2
- Mar 7, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Happy Family
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 8 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content