Helen Hayes as the sympathetic mother along with Dean Jagger's husband image as well as the all-American patriot doesn't really work in this basically 1952 American propaganda film extolling the American way of life while denouncing Communism. With the McCarthy era at its height, a better film couldn't have been made. Yet, what went wrong with this film?
Unfortunately, am not surprised that Robert Walker died suddenly during the filming of this movie. He looked awful, especially in later scenes.
Hayes, who always gave a superb performance, is whining here and you would think she was Mildred Dunnock in the way the latter acted in 1951's "Death of A Salesman."
I had it with the writing,especially when Walker kept saying mother and father over and over again. We realized that Dean Jagger was his father and Helen Hayes his mother. Enough already.
Interesting to see Van Heflin and Helen Hayes in this film. 18 years later they would both co-star in "Airport," where Hayes' Ada Quonsett, the unauthorized airplane passenger caught up in a plane bombing, earned her a supporting Oscar.
How coincidental that Jagger's car goes into FBI agent's Van Heflin. Too coincidental at that.
Didn't it strike you that in order to deal with Walker's death, the reading of the tape reveals that he had changed his tune so fast and was now ready to denounce the Communist way of life. McCarthy must have been jumping up and down with joy. The speech delivered at a Commencement was way too preachy.
Nevertheless, Hayes still is remarkable as the conflicted mother, who of course by film's end chooses the American way. She had to. After all, she had 2 sons fighting in Korea! Dean Jagger, as the patriotic schoolteacher, acts like he came right out of uniform in "12 O'clock High." This was certainly not one of his better performances.
Unfortunately, am not surprised that Robert Walker died suddenly during the filming of this movie. He looked awful, especially in later scenes.
Hayes, who always gave a superb performance, is whining here and you would think she was Mildred Dunnock in the way the latter acted in 1951's "Death of A Salesman."
I had it with the writing,especially when Walker kept saying mother and father over and over again. We realized that Dean Jagger was his father and Helen Hayes his mother. Enough already.
Interesting to see Van Heflin and Helen Hayes in this film. 18 years later they would both co-star in "Airport," where Hayes' Ada Quonsett, the unauthorized airplane passenger caught up in a plane bombing, earned her a supporting Oscar.
How coincidental that Jagger's car goes into FBI agent's Van Heflin. Too coincidental at that.
Didn't it strike you that in order to deal with Walker's death, the reading of the tape reveals that he had changed his tune so fast and was now ready to denounce the Communist way of life. McCarthy must have been jumping up and down with joy. The speech delivered at a Commencement was way too preachy.
Nevertheless, Hayes still is remarkable as the conflicted mother, who of course by film's end chooses the American way. She had to. After all, she had 2 sons fighting in Korea! Dean Jagger, as the patriotic schoolteacher, acts like he came right out of uniform in "12 O'clock High." This was certainly not one of his better performances.