Edward, My Son (1949)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Thanks to TCM I discovered this gem of a movie and watched it with a couple of late actors I adore, Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The first movie I saw Deborah Kerr in was with Carey Grant in "An Affair to Remember." I did not enjoy Kerr's performance because she and the movie seemed stuffy and dated. I watched Deborah Kerr in the late 1960s spoof of James Bond, "Casino Royale." This movie was made some 12 years or so after "An Affair to Remember." Although older, Kerr seduced me and I fell in love with her and began to appreciate her acting talents. In this particular movie with Spencer Tracy, I was completely floored by the range Kerr demonstrates. She is simply perfect and believable as the young wife who morphs into a broken down, despondent, alcoholic later in her life. Wow! I read that she was nominated by the Academy for her performance but why she did not win is beyond me. Deborah Kerr makes this a powerful movie.Then there is lovable Spencer Tracy. I love Tracy and once again I am not disappointed by him. Tracy does a good job of portraying a man deluded by himself. He listens to no one but only follows his warped conscience and in the end he loses everything but keeps trudging along in his misguided ways. The supporting cast from the disgraced business partner who commits suicide, to the the doctor who delivers their son and pines for but never ends up with Kerr and finally, to Tracy's secretary whom he has a long love affair but casts aside once the affair becomes public were all superb. I strongly recommend this movie.

In Cukor's "Women" (1939) the heroines talked about men we never saw cause it was an all-female cast.In "Edward My Son" ,the character of the title ,"Edward" never appears either.It may be interesting but it's also a bit infuriating cause we know him only through the others' conversations .It takes all the talent of the cast to make the movie worthwhile :Spencer Tracy ,whose love for his spoiled child knows no bounds and leads him to become selfish,tyrannical and even crooked;Deborah Kerr,who for the first and last time in her career is compelled to overplay in her last scenes :the aristocratic Kerr as an alcoholic shrew,it has to be seen to be believed! The movie is a long flashback:Tracy appears in the first sequence and tells the audience he just lost his only child ;he owns almost everything a man can ,and perhaps the theater where you are watching this film;he will come back for the epilogue.Although not entirely satisfying,it's an interesting way of telling a story,which ventures off the beaten track.

Spencer Tracy stars as a ruthless man who spoils his son, Edward, and sacrifices everything else only to have the boy die during WW II.Bitter story is so sad it's hard to watch BUT for the brilliant performances of Tracy and Deborhah Kerr (Oscar nominee) as the wife. Also great writing and direction from George Cukor.Neat plot device is that we never see Edward, just a parade of birthday cakes and bits and pieces of his life as he grows up and how his parents react to his disturbing behavior. Story is clever and heartbreaking.Good supporting cast includes Felix Aylmer as the headmaster, Mervyn Johns as Simpkins, Ian Hunter as the physician, Leueen McGrath (excellent) as Miss Perrin, Tilsa Page as Foxley, James Donald as Bronton, and Colin Gordon as Ellerby the teacher.The film has overtones from Citizen Kane but is nothing like that great film except in its theme of corrupting power..... Worth a look

This unusual offering from M-G-M recalls the days of the short-lived M-G-M British Studios, which produced "A Yank at Oxford", "The Citadel", and the original "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", all in the 1930's. "Edward, My Son", based on a successful British play, was filmed entirely in England, using an entirely British cast,except for Spencer Tracy, and an almost entirely British production staff (the sole exceptions are the producer, the director, and the composer of the music). The familiar M-G-M production gloss is much more subdued here, perhaps in an effort to lend atmosphere.Spencer Tracy gives an outstanding performance in what is very likely the most unsympathetic role of his career, save for perhaps a few very early gangster roles which I have not seen. Here he is Arnold Boult, a ruthless, driven man who seemingly just wants to make sure that his only child Edward always has the best in life. At first, Boult wins our sympathy by secretly trying to give his son medical care he desperately needs, but we quickly learn what he is really like as he resorts to every dirty trick in the book, short of actual murder, to insure his son's happiness, and showing an amazing insensitivity and callousness to those around him in the process. As the film proceeds, his behavior shocks us more and more, until he finally alienates and disgusts us completely.Matching Tracy's performance every step of the way, though she has far less time on screen, is Deborah Kerr in the role of Boult's victimized and emotionally scarred wife. Kerr was nominated for an Oscar for this performance, and her portrayal of a woman who goes from adoring wife to a totally embittered woman with a severe problem, is wrenching. Mervyn Johns, whom many will immediately recognize as Bob Cratchit to Alastair Sim's Scrooge in the 1951 film, also gives a touching, heartbreaking performance as Tracy's exploited and totally broken business partner.The supporting cast here has quite a different flavor from those in the usual M-G-M film. Although Ian Hunter plays his usual sympathetic role, the other actors are all culled from the British theater, and give their roles an unusual depth missing from the typical Metro supporting cast. Tracy, though, occasionally seems miscast--one wonders what an actor with more bite, such as Orson Welles, might have brought to the role.In spite of this, the film is quite good, and Tracy's final monologue (he talks straight to the audience at times, a technique taken from the play) packs quite a punch.