My Son John (1952)
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60% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
25% of users liked it
(72 ratings)
Filled with the kind of Red Scare propaganda that must have delighted members of McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee, this drama chronicles the attempts of two All-American parents to save their son from the temptations of Communism. Unfortunately, they are too late. The arrogant… More Filled with the kind of Red Scare propaganda that must have delighted members of McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee, this drama chronicles the attempts of two All-American parents to save their son from the temptations of Communism. Unfortunately, they are too late. The arrogant and intellectual young man, a worker in a federal agency, returns home from a long absence spouting pro-Ruskie doctrine and deriding the beliefs of capitalism and US at every opportunity. Enraged at his son's mocking ways, he beans him with the family bible. Things get worse when an FBI agent shows up to tell the horrified parents that their son is an enemy spy. The mother blows a gasket and flies to Washington, DC where her son works to make him swear on the same book that the FBI agent is wrong. The son does so, but its a lie. The mother soon finds this out. She also learns that her treacherous son's girlfriend is a Commie. What's a mother to do? Fortunately, before it is too late, her son realizes the error of his ways and tries to double-cross his Pinko superiors. Unfortunately, it is too late and they shoot him and just before he gaspingly dies upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he tapes his final confession and gives American youth everywhere a potent message about honor. The star of the film, Walker, best remembered for his gripping portrayal of a psychopath in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, died before production finished and so scenes from that film were spliced into My Son, John. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Leo McCarey
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1952 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Paranoiac emotionally overwrought Red Menace drama.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The movie is swathed in very thoughtful shades of gray almost throughout.
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Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Leo McCarey's sociopolitical hysterectomy finally hits home video in a Blu-ray that appears downright ashamed of its contents.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Leo McCarey (better known for his screwball comedies) has made an agit-prop, an overtly political film that reflects the fear and paranoia generated by McCarthy in the 1950s.
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Dan Callahan, House Next Door
Robin Wood has written about how McCarey loves romantic couples but seems to loathe families, and this point is borne out most harrowingly in My Son John, the skeleton film in his closet, and one of the most personally revealing.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Helen Hayes
as Lucille Jefferson
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Van Heflin
as Stedman of the FBI
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Robert Walker
as John Jefferson
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Dean Jagger
as Dan Jefferson
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Minor Watson
as Dr. Carvey
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Frank McHugh
as Fr. O'Dowd
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Richard Jaeckel
as Chuck Jefferson
- David Bond
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Jimmie Dundee
as Taxi Driver
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Douglas Evans
as Government Employee
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Nancy Hale
as Nurse
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Todd Karns
as Bedford
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William McLean
as Parcel Post Man
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Frances Morris
as Secretary
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David Newell
as FBI Agent
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Erskine Sanford
as Professor
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Margaret Wells
as Nurse
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Irene Winston
as Ruth Carlin
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Gail Bonney
as Jail Matron
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Eghiche Harout
as College Professor
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James Young
as Ben Jefferson
- James R. Young