A brauva performance by George Bancroft makes this pre-code drama one of the best films of 1931. He's a business magnate who as the film opens is awaiting the birth of his second child, praying for a son to whom he can leave his company to, just like the past six generations of men before him. So the family has been blessed with strong sons, but that chain has to end some time. That time seems to have arrived as a curse on the family seems to take over.
His wife Dorothy Peterson is too weak to survive, and he's too overjoyed by the arrival of his son to share his grief with daughter Dawn O'Day (later known as Anne Shirley), who desperately wants her father's love and acceptance. The siblings become very close, but the brother isn't as strong as his father hoped, and shows little interest in the business. A shocking moment for the older daughter (now Frances Dee) leaves her scarred for life.
The forgotten Bancroft plays a strong character, not brutish or abusive, but definitely neglectful and obsessive in his goals. He makes you understand the deep pain within his soul, and when he nearly slaps Dee, it's as if his eyes have just been opened to his selfish nature. Joyce Compton comes on late in the film as his gold digging second wife, while Robert Ames plays Bancroft's business rival whom Dee falls in love with.
This film has many themes that the great plays and it's novels have dealt with, and it is presented in glorious fashion. Great representation of what was going on in the business world during the depression adds a bit of reality to the film's conclusion. Bancroft certainly deserve to be nominated for an Oscar for his performance, commanding the film from start to finish, and one of the best acting jobs of the early days of sound films.
His wife Dorothy Peterson is too weak to survive, and he's too overjoyed by the arrival of his son to share his grief with daughter Dawn O'Day (later known as Anne Shirley), who desperately wants her father's love and acceptance. The siblings become very close, but the brother isn't as strong as his father hoped, and shows little interest in the business. A shocking moment for the older daughter (now Frances Dee) leaves her scarred for life.
The forgotten Bancroft plays a strong character, not brutish or abusive, but definitely neglectful and obsessive in his goals. He makes you understand the deep pain within his soul, and when he nearly slaps Dee, it's as if his eyes have just been opened to his selfish nature. Joyce Compton comes on late in the film as his gold digging second wife, while Robert Ames plays Bancroft's business rival whom Dee falls in love with.
This film has many themes that the great plays and it's novels have dealt with, and it is presented in glorious fashion. Great representation of what was going on in the business world during the depression adds a bit of reality to the film's conclusion. Bancroft certainly deserve to be nominated for an Oscar for his performance, commanding the film from start to finish, and one of the best acting jobs of the early days of sound films.