Edward, My Son (1949)

The Worst Film Ever

Sick Product of a Sick System

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Edward, My Son has become an overlooked, unheard of classic over the years, but it really should reclaim its place on must-see lists. Based off of Robert Morley and Noel Langley's play, it's a very emotional script about a father's relationship to his son, and the sacrifices and ruinations he made all in his son's name. Spencer Tracy plays Edward's father, and while I don't usually think he's a very good actor, he's very menacing in this film. I give credit to Deborah Kerr, who plays Edward's mother and Spence's wife. They start the film young, happy, and in love, and as the years pass, they age. They argue and scream at each other, and with fantastic lines to say, and a great actress to say them to, it's no wonder Spencer Tracy had such fire and ammunition behind his words.But it's really Deborah Kerr who steals the show. She was very young in 1949, but when she ages, it's remarkably lifelike. While Spence turns to another woman to ease his pain, Deborah turns to alcohol, and in old movies, playing an alcoholic was tricky. Most actors played an over-the-top drunk, but young Deborah was very realistic. Rent this emotional drama to see just how fantastic her performance was.

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.

When it was originally presented on the London stage, Robert Morley starred and wrote Edward My Son and I believe he had Lord Beaverbrook in mind. If that is the case Edward My Son was as daring in its way as Sweet Smell of Success was in America taking dead aim at Walter Winchell.Lord Beaverbrook for those on this side of the Atlantic was a Canadian industrialist Max Aitken who settled in the UK and purchased a string of tabloid like newspapers. He was a very powerful force in the post World War I United Kingdom and served in the War Cabinet of Winston Churchill. He was every bit as cunning and as ruthless as we Sir Arnold Boult made out to be. And to accommodate Spencer Tracy's North American speech, Sir Arnold is made Canadian. That was making it more daring. Beaverbrook was not a man to cross.We never see Edward at any time in the film, the picture we form of him is through the eyes of the other characters. A kid spoiled rotten by his ever indulgent father. Boult, ruthless in business and finance, is just as ruthless at getting whatever for his son, giving him everything but a decent set of values to live by.Tracy's portrayal rings true for me because I actually knew someone like Arnold Boult in my life. He was a political person who spoiled his son absolutely rotten, used up favor after favor for him. When the son developed a drug problem he never tried to deal with it, but actually schemed to give him jobs he couldn't handle. I look at Tracy as Sir Arnold Boult and see this man staring right back at me.Deborah Kerr is Tracy's wife and Edward's mother and Leueen McGrath is his secretary and mistress. They are the major female roles in Edward My Son and both are captured well. Others to look for in the cast are Felix Aylmer as the prep schoolmaster, Mervyn Johns as Tracy's tragic former business partner, and Ian Hunter as Tracy's friend and eventual second husband to Kerr.Look at Tracy's methods in dealing with his personal and professional life and it's small wonder Edward turned out to be the spoiled brat he was.

Some have commented that they felt that Spencer Tracy was miscast in this film, playing a character very different to the altruists that he typically plays, and being the only American among the principle cast. However, I believe that this perhaps is Tracy's strongest performance, partly because it is so different to his usual roles. Tracy plays a determined and unrelenting man with real strength, although as his wife, Deborah Kerr also has a number of strong scenes, particularly in the final half hour. The two lead performances are however the bulk of what makes this a good film. It is reasonably engaging, with gimmicks of the title character never on screen, and Tracy speaking to the viewer, to keep it interesting, but the plot is not too great in itself, and the story tires before the end. It is also a bit too stagy, which limits how involving it is to an extent. Nevertheless, despite any possible shortcomings, the powerhouse of acting, not only from Tracy and Kerr, but some of the supporting cast too, make this a film worth checking out.