I watched it on TCM last evening; first time I've seen it in thirty years. Enjoyed it even more this time. Though Ms. Hayes turns on the tears a lot, there are also some finely nuanced scenes from her.
"My Son John" is neither mawkish or camp, my opinion. In context of the times, lack of any espionage storyline is easy to understand. Simply being a Commie was John's ultimate betrayal of his family; anything he did as Soviet agent was secondary to that.
A fun thing to watch for in this movie is the wealth of veiled references to Mrs. Jefferson's menopause all through the film. Heck, it even serves as sort of plot device in a climactic scene near the end.
Those seeking anti-Communist camp would be better served with John Wayne's "Big Jim McLain" released the same year.
"My Son John" is only partly a Cold War cautionary tale. It's mostly a family drama of inter-generational estrangement, with some education based class friction thrown in. Oh yeah, and LOTS and LOTS of menopause. I really enjoyed watching it.
"My Son John" is neither mawkish or camp, my opinion. In context of the times, lack of any espionage storyline is easy to understand. Simply being a Commie was John's ultimate betrayal of his family; anything he did as Soviet agent was secondary to that.
A fun thing to watch for in this movie is the wealth of veiled references to Mrs. Jefferson's menopause all through the film. Heck, it even serves as sort of plot device in a climactic scene near the end.
Those seeking anti-Communist camp would be better served with John Wayne's "Big Jim McLain" released the same year.
"My Son John" is only partly a Cold War cautionary tale. It's mostly a family drama of inter-generational estrangement, with some education based class friction thrown in. Oh yeah, and LOTS and LOTS of menopause. I really enjoyed watching it.