Edward, my son
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Edward, my son |
| Original title | Edward, My Son |
| Country of production | UK , USA |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1948 |
| length | 98 (German version) minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | George Cukor |
| script | Donald Ogden Stewart |
| production | Edwin H. Knopf |
| music | John Wooldridge |
| camera | Freddie Young |
| cut | Raymond Poulton |
| occupation | |
| |
Edward, mein Sohn (Original title: Edward, My Son ) is a film drama produced by MGM in Great Britain from 1948. The model was based on the British play of the same name by Robert Morley and Noel Langley , which was very successful at the time . The eponymous Edward , son of the main character Arnold Boult, can never be seen in the film.
action
1919: Insurance clerk Arnold Boult, a London-based Canadian, and wife Evelyn celebrate their son Edward's first birthday. The family doctor Dr. Larry Woodhope, who adores Evelyn, and Harry Simpkin join the party. They all drink to the well-being of the offspring. Arnold wants to enter the hire purchase business with Harry. Evelyn doesn't really trust the business partner because he's fresh out of prison.
1924: Doctors diagnose Edward with hip disease. Since Arnold's company is bankrupt, he gets the money he needs through insurance fraud and sets a fire.
1930: Arnold made money with unscrupulous tricks, he is now a millionaire. Edward attends an exclusive boarding school but is about to be kicked out. His father takes care of it in his own way, he blackmailed the principal Mr. Hanray with promissory notes from the boarding school, which he had bought when his son started school.
1935: Evelyn is on the way to the train station, she wants to go skiing with Edward in Switzerland. Dr. Woodhope comes over and they talk about the boy. He is now 16, reckless, with a preference for port wine. Evelyn and the doctor admit their love, but she stays with Arnold out of concern for her son. Arnold has now become lord. Simpkin, who was back in prison, goes to see him and asks for help. But he receives only excuses and finally falls to his death in desperation. Arnold is just concerned that he might be linked to the suicide.
In order to bind his private secretary Eileen Perrin more to himself - she knows too much about his business - Arnold makes her his lover. When he learns after a year that Evelyn is being shadowed by a detective and wants to divorce him, he ends the relationship. Eileen can't take it and kills herself with an overdose of pills. Evelyn, in turn, is determined to part with her husband. Arnold is against it and uses his well-known strategy: He blackmailed his wife. He wanted to cause a huge scandal because of her love for Dr. Woodhope. He had meanwhile risen to the head of a hospital and would be compromised by the scandal. Evelyn gives in.
1939: Dr. Woodhope comes back to the Boult's house after a long time. He meets an Evelyn who has started drinking. Edward's fiancée is just saying goodbye. But the young man doesn't take it too seriously, he also has a girlfriend who is pregnant by him. Arnold would like to settle the matter with money as usual, but the young woman proudly refuses.
1941: It's war, and Edward, as a pilot, tore his crew to their deaths in a risky flight maneuver. Evelyn looks sick, only the alcohol has remained. Arnold, however, is still proud of his son and believes the empty phrases of his commander, who spoke of a "born leader personality".
1946: Evelyn has been dead for a year. Lord Arnold Boult feels alone in his big house. He found out that Edward's girlfriend gave birth to her child healthy at the time. She gave birth to Dr. Woodhope. He now seeks him out to find out where his grandson is and to bring him home, but the doctor is silent. Finally the past catches up with Arnold again. He has to go to jail for the arson and he is also threatened with legal proceedings for falsifying accounts. But he thinks that he has always done everything right in his life.
background
Robert Morley , one of the writers on the play, was also an actor. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Marie Antoinette in 1939 . When his play was performed on the London stage, he had great success in the lead role.
The shooting took place in the summer of 1948. However, the film's premiere in London was delayed for almost a year. Meanwhile, Morley was also able to achieve success with the play on Broadway in New York . In Germany, the film was first shown on television on August 18, 1982.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films called Edward, my son, "a family drama suffering from obscurity and an excess of tragic effects". The film, however, is "attractive in terms of acting".
Romano Tozzi said in his book Spencer Tracy. His films - his life , that the film was a "gross blunder" in Tracy's career, and spoke of a "bombastic drama". Compared to Morley's play and performance on Broadway, the film and Tracy would "not do too well." Only Deborah Kerr has "[survived] the debacle".
Awards
Deborah Kerr received her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 1949 for Edward, My Son . However, Olivia de Havilland received the Oscar for The Heiress . Kerr was also nominated for a Golden Globe .
literature
- Robert Morley , Noel Langley : Edward, my son . German by M. Annunziata Jahn. Marton, Vienna a. a. 1948, 84 pages [stage manuscript].
- Romano Tozzi: Spencer Tracy. His films - his life . Heyne Film Library No. 9. German by Alfred Dunkel . 2nd Edition. Heyne, Munich 1990, 191 pages, ISBN 3-453-86009-8 .
Web links
- Edward, My Son in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Edward, my son. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 2, 2020 .
- ^ Romano Tozzi: Spencer Tracy. His films - his life . Heyne Film Library No. 9. German by Alfred Dunkel . 2nd edition, Heyne, Munich 1990.