Mothers Cry is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Pictures, and directed by Hobart Henley. The movie stars Dorothy Peterson, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Evalyn Knapp and Sidney Blackmer. The film is based on the popular novel of the same name written by Helen Grace Carlisle. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..Mother's Cry Boris Karloff is said to have appeared in this film uncredited, but that is disputed in some sources.Nollen, Scott Allen (1991). Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television and Recording Work. McFarland. ISBN 0-89950-580-5.
Plot The film is focused on the life of widowed mother Mary Williams and her struggles to raise her four children. Daniel, her eldest, torments her and his siblings throughout his childhood and grows up to be a criminal. Younger son Arthur grows up to be a successful architect. Daughter Jennie loves domestic work and homelife and is courted by Karl Muller, a wealthy older gentleman. The other daughter, Beattie, grows up to be an idealistic dreamer.
One day Daniel doublecrosses some gangsters, who beat him up, and he disappears for three years, returning with a moll whom he introduces as his wife. Meanwhile, Jennie has married Muller. Detectives trail Daniel to his mother's house as a suspect in a holdup and he's sent to prison. Daniel's return drives away Beattie, who ends up doing secretarial work at a Palm Beach hotel. There, she is seduced by a married man, who later pays her off to leave. Daniel reappears at the house with a blackmail scheme and ends up shooting and murdering his own sister Beattie. He is convicted of cold-blooded murder and sent to the electric chair. The film ends with Mary finding consolation in her two remaining children.
Cast Dorothy Peterson as Mary Williams Helen Chandler as Beattie Williams David Manners as Arthur 'Artie' Williams Evalyn Knapp as Jenny Williams Sidney Blackmer as Mr. Gerald Hart Edward Woods as Daniel 'Danny' Williams Jean Laverty as Sadye Noonan Williams Patrick H. O'Malley Jr. as Frank Williams Boris Karloff uncredited (disputed in some sources)
Preservation A censored version of this film survives, prepared for re-release after June 1934 to remove pre-code material, which is missing at least two minutes of footage. This version has been broadcast on television and cable. The film has been released on DVD by the Warner Archive Collection.
The Library of Congress has long held a copy of the surviving version of this film.Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress (<-book title) p.121 c.1978 the American Film Institute
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