It's hard to judge these early stagy talkie dramas where the camera moves seldomly and the actors often feel like they're screaming to the third balcony. A few early talkies have actors who only made one or two movie appearances, and in the case of Louis Mann who plays the German born patriarch of a struggling family it's because he died after making just this film. On one hand, he's loaded with sympathy, but on the other, he's playing it rather melodramatically, a big heart but bad luck around every corner.
His devoted wife, Clara Blandick, had the luck of playing Aunt Polly in "Tom Sawyer" the same year, and would have a few major supporting roles before being relegated to mainly bits. But she's instantly recognizable as Auntie Em, trademark bun, but having a German accent as well. The story deals with their struggles of an ailing young son and years later, one of the children spending their savings on a bad business deal. This is very creaky, like most early 30's films, but a decent story and consistently good performances including a young Robert Montgomery as a brash rich kid engaged to daughter Leila Hyams and responsible for the son using his dad's savings. Definitely worth seeing for fans of older films, but patience is required.
His devoted wife, Clara Blandick, had the luck of playing Aunt Polly in "Tom Sawyer" the same year, and would have a few major supporting roles before being relegated to mainly bits. But she's instantly recognizable as Auntie Em, trademark bun, but having a German accent as well. The story deals with their struggles of an ailing young son and years later, one of the children spending their savings on a bad business deal. This is very creaky, like most early 30's films, but a decent story and consistently good performances including a young Robert Montgomery as a brash rich kid engaged to daughter Leila Hyams and responsible for the son using his dad's savings. Definitely worth seeing for fans of older films, but patience is required.