CIMARRON, GIANT and SHOW BOAT are all better known Edna Ferber 3-generation family sagas, but it was this relatively quiet self-fulfillment story (with a feminist slant) that got her a Pulitzer Prize. Filmed in ‘24 (now lost); ‘32 & ‘53 (with Jane Wyman), this is the only one to add an Exclamation Mark! And well earned in spite of being the shortest, it’s the Hop, Skip & Jump story continuity version. Barbara Stanwyck, in her first prestige piece, is orphaned, but optimistic as she heads off to teach in a small Midwest farming community. Prospering on her own, with newfangled crop ideas after her husband dies, she watches as her boy (he’s the one who’s ‘So Big!’) grows up sophisticated and slightly embarrassed of Mom. But his eyes are opened (at last!) to Mom’s true qualities just in time by the young commercial artist he falls in love with (Bette Davis*) and a sculptor from abroad he idolizes (George Brent) who has an old connection with (of all people) Mom! Director William Wellman keeps things moving, but his straight-ahead approach comes on too strong, missing any poetic feel for rural verities that, say, Frank Borzage or the Kings (Vidor or Henry) might have brought. Still, Ferber has better luck coming to life when things are a bit awkward & bumpy on screen. Smoother more polished attempts reveal the ginned up convenient plotting. This way, the big sentimental finish lands with surprising emotion.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Davis, playing a sort of Neysa McMein commercial illustrator, doesn't come on till the third act, then takes a couple of scenes to get her makeup right. And what a difference it makes! BTW: she loved this little role, finding it one of the few to reflect her own personality. And speaking of makeup, nice aging on Babs, not the usual overdone routine.
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