Mike Lambert, seeking a mining job, instead becomes the patsy for a femme-fatale's schemes. Helen Hayes is the star of this picture as a mother who condemns her own son when she learns that he has been consorting with a girl who is charged with being a spy. My Son John (1952) Plot. My son, John. This film is not available on either VHS or DVD and to my knowledge is never, shown on TV. The irony is that the sort of cultural vigilantism that is currently being forced on Hollywood is made heroic in the person of Dean Jagger, who plays an American Legionnaire. Image from eMoviePoster Kevin… My son, John, got his uniform and went away. When he experiments on a friend's wife, she regresses into an early life--that of Bridey Murphy. Several ... See full summary ». Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Hedda Hopper reported the script "has gotten raves from everyone who's read it. [3], In April 1952, just after the film opened, Bosley Crowther noted that My Son John provided an ironic contrast to all the public outcry about Communist subversion in the film industry on the part of the American Legion and the Catholic War Veterans. The eldest, ... See full summary ». A traditional song that appears under a lot of names, but most prominently My Son John, My Son Tim, and its original title Mrs. McGrath. "[13] McCarey told the magazine Motion Picture that he felt mistreated and hurt. Give up. Terry Diggs, “Our Son John”, Cal Law, 16 January 2002, p. 2, accessed 29 January 2009. Which Is the Most Suspenseful Film of Alfred Hitchcock? Trying to deal with an almost unbearable pain and impenetrable grief brought upon by the brutal death of a loved one, Liz Peterson and her family members are … It has been performed by countless folk musicians, and is widely considered a standard in the folk community. Of all the cinematic depictions of Communism and the Red Menace in Hollywood films, few are as blatant or as infamous as My Son John (1952), which was released when the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) was at the height of its power and Senator Joseph McCarthy was still fanning the flames of a political witchhunt that had already taken its toll on the entertainment industry. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. Directed by Leo McCarey. Klawans hears Connolly's tone in the film's finale, a commencement address warning the young against liberalism. My Son John is an interesting relic from the peak of 1950s American Cold War hysteria. [4], Despite McCarey's "close-mouthed silence" for two months and a public warning to Hayes not to discuss the plot, it was reported that "word has gotten around Hollywood with the authority such wisps of information always have that the son ... is a traitor to his country–an agent of Communist espionage." It grossed under $1 million and failed to make the list of the Top Ninety pictures of the year as compiled by Variety. In conversation with them and their parish priest, John uses humor to make provocative statements and his attitude is resented. Action, Certificate: Passed My Son John Lyrics: My son John was tall and slim / He had a leg for every limb / But now he's got no legs at all / Cos he run a race with a cannonball / With cannonball / He run a race with a No wonder he has no real feelings for his family and shuns the church he once loved!During a high-speed chase, John is killed, but ... Walker on TCM: From Shy, Heterosexual Boy-Next-Door to Sly, Homosexual Sociopath. It's not bad sometimes to have a small point and get the most out of it. And he wrote me a letter, when he had the time. He is also being watched by an FBI agent who comes to the home and greatly disturbs John's mother with his odd questions about him. Directed by Leo McCarey. In My Son John, wrote Stuart Klawans for The New York Times in 2002, "gentleness itself had become a sin". We don't watch movies to seek out their faults and laugh at their foibles: we want to enjoy them. My Son John is a 1952 American drama film directed by Leo McCarey, starring Robert Walker as a suspected Communist spy. This is a place for me to put what is in my heart that I want public. My son john Lyrics: My son John was tall and slim / And he'd a leg for ev'ry limb / But now he's got no legs at all / For he ran a race with a cannon ball / Timmy roo dun da, fadda riddle da / Whack Wholesome American husband and wife Dan (Dean Jagger) and Lucille (Helen Hayes) are disgusted when their son, John (Robert Walker), a government worker, begins exhibiting pro-Communist tendencies. My Son John is een Amerikaanse dramafilm uit 1952 onder regie van Leo McCarey. [22], An assessment of McCarey's extraordinary sympathy for his characters found that the director had lost that feeling by the 1950s, or at least failed to have succeeded in maintaining it consistently. Crime, Certificate: Passed [15] Others have interpreted John's character as homosexual. This film article is a stub. My son was born still at approximately 37 weeks gestation. [5], Hayes called it "a natural, human part" where she didn't have to worry about her appearance. Dr. Ron Schwartz, Manhattan Read more. [21], Patricia Bosworth, writing about a festival of blacklist-era films in 1992, characterized My Son John as "hysterical", "the anti-Communist movie to end all anti-Communist movies". The film was based on an idea by Leo McCarey, and developed into a script by John Lee Mahin. It depicts a family who rapidly come to suspect one of their sons of being a *gasp* communist and the ensuing mess. But even though it is old, it is still used in schools and preschools. [3], According to the Blacklist the film "embraces a world view that veers on fascism — a love of the military and church-going, a suspicion of sophistication and education, a patronizing view of women (they love their kids too much, they’re always late for church, they drink, they need drugs because they’re too silly), the defense of “bromides”, a dislike of bachelors unless they’re priests. John makes sarcastic remarks about the Legion and his father questions his loyalty. It was reported that he died less than a week after completing work on the film,[12] though in fact McCarey had to alter the film's ending because of Walker's unfilmed sequences and insert a shot of Walker from Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train. "If you don't like your Uncle Sammy," thunders Dean Jagger, former Doughboy, thumping his chest and marching around the living room, "Go back to your home o'er the sea!" [10][11], It was the last film role of Robert Walker. (1952). Name names." With Robert Walker, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Dean Jagger. Sam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. "[8], Ten days into shooting, the plot's unknown elements continued to garner press coverage. His already nervous wreck of a mother is distraught by the way he seems to be feigning feelings for her and his father that he no longer has. In the New York Herald Tribune, Ogden Reid, later a Congressman, wrote: "McCarey's picture of how America ought to be is so frightening, so speciously argued, so full of warnings against an intelligent solution to the problem that it boomerangs upon its own cause. A review of the 1952 political, family drama ‘My Son John’ starring Robert Walker, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin and Dean Jagger. The Jeffersons are the ideal picture-perfect all-American family in a small town, but their eldest son John returns home after a long absence spouting views that cause them to worry he may be a Communist. Propaganda films are always very interesting to me. Add the first question. Eventually the horrible truth comes out: John is a Communist spy! Title: They had no education. De familie Jefferson, een ideaal, kleinsteeds, typisch Amerikaans gezin ziet hun oudste zoon John na lange afwezigheid terugkeren met standpunten die de verontrustende indruk wekken dat hij een communistische spion is. The FBI finds his tape-recorded confession and play it at his college's commencement exercises.[1][2][3]. View production, box office, & company info. John Jefferson comes home from a trip overseas a strangely changed man. The Jeffersons, a picture-perfect, small town, all-American family see their eldest son John return home after a long absence spouting views that cause them to worry he may be a Communist spy. He is also being watched by an FBI agent who comes to the home and greatly disturbs John's mother with his odd questions about him. Wheeler Street sang My Son John on their 2009 album Roodumdah. When the family physician (Minor Watson) explains that research scientists are guided by Divine Inspiration while searching for cures to diseases and John sneers, "I see - He hides things and then He helps us find them!" He offered this:[10]. "[24], "Helen Hayes Returns to Films in 'My Son John, "Presenting Annual Catholic Press Awards Yesterday", "List-o-Mania: Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love American Movies", "Daughter of a Blacklist That Killed a Father", "Essential Political Films: Stephen Vagg on MY SON JOHN", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=My_Son_John&oldid=1014698162, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, James Young as Ben Jefferson, younger brother to John Jefferson, This page was last edited on 28 March 2021, at 16:34. My Son John - John C. Reilly Rogues's Gallery : Pirate Ballads, Seasongs & Chanteys [7] The same month Dean Jagger signed. Amid all this turmoil, an irony is that one of the latest films from Hollywood, My Son John, is a passionate endorsement of the relentless pursuit of American Communists to the extent that the acceptance of "guilt by association" is espoused. Paul Harrill, “Leo McCarey”, Senses of Cinema, September 2002, p. 8, accessed 29 January 2009. But it's difficult, if not impossible, to take this silly, pedantic film seriously. Made in 1952 at the height of the McCarthy era Red Scare when studio chiefs were scurrying to prove their patriotism and disavow rumors of Communist infiltrators in their midst while members of the Senate's House Un-American Affairs Committee (HUAC) were clamoring for their heads, this unintentionally hilarious howler rivals "Reefer Madness" and "The Green Berets" in its sanctimonious dissemination of moralistic disinformation. In uniform, Chuck and Ben Jefferson, strapping blonds who played high school football, attend Sunday Mass with their parents before leaving for army service in Korea. Was this review helpful to you? [20], In 1998, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100. Endnotes. MY SON JOHN is not an easy film to buy, but I did find it at amazon and it was recorded from a very good print. He spends hours with one of his college professors leaving his parents feeling short-changed. Dr. Ron Schwartz, Manhattan Read more. When you tire of scoffing, you will lament the waste of talent: Helen Hayes was the First Lady of the American Theater; Robert Walker was one of the finest up and coming young actors of his generation, equally gifted in both drama and comedy; Dean Jagger, Frank McHugh, and Minor Watson were top notch supporting players for over 40 years, from the early talkies well into their old age; and the legendary Leo McCarey, whose long list of screen credits includes "Duck Soup" with the Marx Brothers, and "Going My Way" with Bing Crosby, for which he won the Best Director Oscar in 1945, was also the genius who introduced Mr. Laurel to Mr. Hardy. Free printable and easy chords for song by John C Reilly - My Son John. Written by Myles Connolly. 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