The Silver Chord is a beautifully directed version of Sidney Howard's play, written by Jane Murfin, who started in the silent era but, like many women directors and writers, was marginalized as the studios gained power and control. It's a pre-code film about a manipulative widowed mother, Laura Hope Crews, who thinks no women are good enough for her sons (Joel McCrea and Eric Linden) and tries to break up their relationships with McCrea's wife (Irene Dunne) and Linden's betrothed (Frances Dee). What makes it pre-code of course is that Louis B. Mayer would never have allowed such a critical view of motherhood.
The film also represents a battle of generations. Dunne is a successful research scientist and Crews mocks the idea of a woman having a profession, saying that "science is not really a profession, it's more of a hobby," while insisting that McCrea stay with her rather than going to work as an architect in New York. Meanwhile Crews wants to take Linden away from Frances Dee and take him to Europe, where he could learn to be an interior designer (code term for gay, which was once thought to be an affliction caused by a domineering mother). Dunne asserts herself magnificently, calling Crews a "self-pitying tigress" and planning to leave by herself, if necessary, for her appointed post in New York. Meanwhile, Frances Dee can no longer take Crew's belittling and her attempts to get Linden to break up with her and runs out in the snow and jumps in the pond.
Cromwell's direction, with cinematographer Charles Rosher, is marvelously fluid, as the five protagonists roam throughout the house, arguing and reconciling all day and into the night. Max Steiner's score is a highlight, emphasizing the rises and falls of the conflicts.
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