- Published on
Photoplay, June 1929, p.57
Date of Release: 12 May 1929
Studio: Pathé
Director: Bradley Barker
Screenplay: Gene Markey
Music: Will Collins, Bud Green, James F. Hanley, Sam H. Stept
Leading Actors: Morton Downey, Beryl Mercer, John T. Doyle, Brian Donlevy, Helen Chandler, Osgood Perkins, Lorin Raker, Barbara Bennett, Jennie Moskowitz, Jacob Frank, Louis Sorin, Robert Gleckler, Tyrell Davis, Allen Vincent, Leslie Stowe
Mother’s Boy appears to be a lost film, as it is not held at the Library of Congress or the UCLA Film and TV Archive.
If the reviews are anything to go by, Mother's Boy, described by Photoplay as “Just another Jolson plot, only this time the singer is an Irishman,” is not a film that history is sad to have lost.
Motion Picture News wrote,
Studio: Pathé
Director: Bradley Barker
Screenplay: Gene Markey
Music: Will Collins, Bud Green, James F. Hanley, Sam H. Stept
Leading Actors: Morton Downey, Beryl Mercer, John T. Doyle, Brian Donlevy, Helen Chandler, Osgood Perkins, Lorin Raker, Barbara Bennett, Jennie Moskowitz, Jacob Frank, Louis Sorin, Robert Gleckler, Tyrell Davis, Allen Vincent, Leslie Stowe
Mother’s Boy appears to be a lost film, as it is not held at the Library of Congress or the UCLA Film and TV Archive.
If the reviews are anything to go by, Mother's Boy, described by Photoplay as “Just another Jolson plot, only this time the singer is an Irishman,” is not a film that history is sad to have lost.
Motion Picture News wrote,
This is a perfect example of how not to make a talking picture. The story is weak, the direction and acting terrible, the lighting worse, and the sound recording atrocious."
Mordaunt Hall, in his NY Times Review, found Mother’s Boy overly sentimental, “lachrymose,” with poor sound quality. He stated that “there are some good touches of comedy,” but that the dialogue was “really beneath consideration.”
The Post described the film as “a dull, uneventful and sentimental debauch,” and film historian Edwin M. Bradley called it “wretched.”
Given the wealth of talent behind the scenes, and on screen, it is surprising that Mother's Boy was so universally panned.
DIRECTOR
Perhaps the blame lies with director Bradley Barker, who was more well-known as a silent film actor, appearing in over 70 films over the course of his fifteen year career. He directed a total of seven films, most of which were silent.
WRITER
Writer Gene Markey also wrote Syncopation and Close Harmony. He was well-liked in Hollywood (and was considered quite a ladies’ man). Markey was a prolific and popular novelist who wrote about the jazz age. He later worked as a producer, and, after leaving Hollywood, was heavily involved in horse racing.
The Post described the film as “a dull, uneventful and sentimental debauch,” and film historian Edwin M. Bradley called it “wretched.”
Given the wealth of talent behind the scenes, and on screen, it is surprising that Mother's Boy was so universally panned.
DIRECTOR
Perhaps the blame lies with director Bradley Barker, who was more well-known as a silent film actor, appearing in over 70 films over the course of his fifteen year career. He directed a total of seven films, most of which were silent.
WRITER
Writer Gene Markey also wrote Syncopation and Close Harmony. He was well-liked in Hollywood (and was considered quite a ladies’ man). Markey was a prolific and popular novelist who wrote about the jazz age. He later worked as a producer, and, after leaving Hollywood, was heavily involved in horse racing.
MUSIC
Austrian born Bud Green was a prolific and immensely successful writer who started out in vaudeville, and made his way west in the 1920s to become a staff writer in Hollywood. He wrote hundreds of songs, including “Sentimental Journey,” Oh, Boy, What a Girl,” and “Alabamy Bound.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.
James F. Hanley was another prolific Broadway composer who wrote a string of hits including “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” and “I’m a Lonesome Little Raindrop.” He contributed to dozens of films, including Glorifying the American Girl (1929), Me and My Gal (1932), and Rose of Washington Square (1939). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Russian born Sammy Stept, later known as Sam Stept, was a highly prolific composer and jazz pianist. He wrote hundreds of songs, including “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me),” “Johnny Get Your Gun,” and “I’ll Always Be in Love With You”. His music appeared on stage and in film, and his songs have been covered by artists such as The Andrews Sisters, the Beatles, Eartha Kitt, Frank Sinatra, and many more.
CAST
The cast featured a roll call of prominent (or soon-to-be-prominent) stage and screen stars, but it seems their talents were not enough to save the film.
Nicknamed “The Irish Nightingale,” tenor Morton Downey was a popular singer and actor. Listed as “a face to watch” in the November 1929 edition of Photoplay, Downey appeared in several films throughout his career. He went on to host radio programs, and later, television shows. He was married to fellow actor Barbara Bennett, and was the father of television personality Morton Downey Jr.
At 4’11”, Beryl Mercer was often typecast in motherly roles. Born in Spain to English parents, Mercer worked as a child actor in London before eventually moving to New York. After performing on Broadway, Mercer moved to Hollywood and appeared in over fifty films including All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Jane Eyre (1934), and The Little Princess (1939).
John T. Doyle appeared in three films, and died in 1935.
Brian Donlevy appeared in over one hundred films over the course of his forty year career in Hollywood. He became famous for playing rough characters with a soft side, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste (1939).
By her early twenties, Helen Chandler was already an established stage actress who had performed with stars such as John and Lionel Barrymore. She appeared in nearly thirty films, but was plagued by drug and alcohol addiction, and was not as successful on screen as she had been on the legitimate stage.
Osgood Perkins was an established stage actor who appeared as a character actor in several films, and was the grandfather of actor and writer Oz Perkins.
Lorin Raker worked on Broadway for over fifteen years before transitioning to film. He worked in Hollywood in film and television until the 1950s, however most of his roles appear to be uncredited.
Barbara Bennett was the middle child of a highly theatrical family, and despite early success as a dancer, she was not as successful or well-known as her two sisters, Constance and Joan Bennett. Barbara appeared in several Broadway shows, and a few unsuccessful Hollywood musicals including Mother’s Boy, and Love Among the Millionaires.
Mother’s Boy is one of just two screen appearances for Jennie Moskowitz, however she was a very well regarded and prominent stage actress. Romanian born, Moskowitz made her stage debut at age thirteen, and was taken under the wing of Sarah Bernhardt. After being bought to New York with a theatre troupe at just eighteen years old, Moskowitz became a well-known feature of the New York stage, appearing in Yiddish and English-speaking theaters. A review of Potash and Perlmutter in 1917 described Moskowitz’s performance as “lovable and most convincing.”
There is scant information about Jacob Frank available online. He also appeared in two films, Mother’s Boy and Zein Weib's Lubovnick.
Louis Sorin was a prominent character actor on stage, screen, and radio, whose career spanned over forty years. He is best remembered for his role in both the stage and screen versions of The Marx Brothers classic, Animal Crackers.
Robert Gleckler was a successful stage and screen actor who appeared in over fifty films including Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938) and Gangs of New York (1938). Just before his death, he began filming for the classic Gone With the Wind, playing the role of the Yankee overseer.
Tyrell Davis was a British actor who appeared in over 30 films.
Allen Vincent was an actor and writer. He was nominated for the Best Writing (Screenplay) Oscar in 1949, and he appeared in over twenty films.
Leslie Stowe was a stage actor who appeared in several silent films. He retired from Hollywood shortly after the advent of talking pictures.
Austrian born Bud Green was a prolific and immensely successful writer who started out in vaudeville, and made his way west in the 1920s to become a staff writer in Hollywood. He wrote hundreds of songs, including “Sentimental Journey,” Oh, Boy, What a Girl,” and “Alabamy Bound.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.
James F. Hanley was another prolific Broadway composer who wrote a string of hits including “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” and “I’m a Lonesome Little Raindrop.” He contributed to dozens of films, including Glorifying the American Girl (1929), Me and My Gal (1932), and Rose of Washington Square (1939). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Russian born Sammy Stept, later known as Sam Stept, was a highly prolific composer and jazz pianist. He wrote hundreds of songs, including “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me),” “Johnny Get Your Gun,” and “I’ll Always Be in Love With You”. His music appeared on stage and in film, and his songs have been covered by artists such as The Andrews Sisters, the Beatles, Eartha Kitt, Frank Sinatra, and many more.
CAST
The cast featured a roll call of prominent (or soon-to-be-prominent) stage and screen stars, but it seems their talents were not enough to save the film.
Nicknamed “The Irish Nightingale,” tenor Morton Downey was a popular singer and actor. Listed as “a face to watch” in the November 1929 edition of Photoplay, Downey appeared in several films throughout his career. He went on to host radio programs, and later, television shows. He was married to fellow actor Barbara Bennett, and was the father of television personality Morton Downey Jr.
At 4’11”, Beryl Mercer was often typecast in motherly roles. Born in Spain to English parents, Mercer worked as a child actor in London before eventually moving to New York. After performing on Broadway, Mercer moved to Hollywood and appeared in over fifty films including All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Jane Eyre (1934), and The Little Princess (1939).
John T. Doyle appeared in three films, and died in 1935.
Brian Donlevy appeared in over one hundred films over the course of his forty year career in Hollywood. He became famous for playing rough characters with a soft side, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste (1939).
By her early twenties, Helen Chandler was already an established stage actress who had performed with stars such as John and Lionel Barrymore. She appeared in nearly thirty films, but was plagued by drug and alcohol addiction, and was not as successful on screen as she had been on the legitimate stage.
Osgood Perkins was an established stage actor who appeared as a character actor in several films, and was the grandfather of actor and writer Oz Perkins.
Lorin Raker worked on Broadway for over fifteen years before transitioning to film. He worked in Hollywood in film and television until the 1950s, however most of his roles appear to be uncredited.
Barbara Bennett was the middle child of a highly theatrical family, and despite early success as a dancer, she was not as successful or well-known as her two sisters, Constance and Joan Bennett. Barbara appeared in several Broadway shows, and a few unsuccessful Hollywood musicals including Mother’s Boy, and Love Among the Millionaires.
Mother’s Boy is one of just two screen appearances for Jennie Moskowitz, however she was a very well regarded and prominent stage actress. Romanian born, Moskowitz made her stage debut at age thirteen, and was taken under the wing of Sarah Bernhardt. After being bought to New York with a theatre troupe at just eighteen years old, Moskowitz became a well-known feature of the New York stage, appearing in Yiddish and English-speaking theaters. A review of Potash and Perlmutter in 1917 described Moskowitz’s performance as “lovable and most convincing.”
There is scant information about Jacob Frank available online. He also appeared in two films, Mother’s Boy and Zein Weib's Lubovnick.
Louis Sorin was a prominent character actor on stage, screen, and radio, whose career spanned over forty years. He is best remembered for his role in both the stage and screen versions of The Marx Brothers classic, Animal Crackers.
Robert Gleckler was a successful stage and screen actor who appeared in over fifty films including Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938) and Gangs of New York (1938). Just before his death, he began filming for the classic Gone With the Wind, playing the role of the Yankee overseer.
Tyrell Davis was a British actor who appeared in over 30 films.
Allen Vincent was an actor and writer. He was nominated for the Best Writing (Screenplay) Oscar in 1949, and he appeared in over twenty films.
Leslie Stowe was a stage actor who appeared in several silent films. He retired from Hollywood shortly after the advent of talking pictures.
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