Well, not really, but I think it's adorable that Joel McCrea and Frances Dee met during this film and were married for 57 years.
The Silver Cord from 1933 has been compared to The Double Door because they are both about horrible, domineering women. The comparison ends there. The Double Door is a far superior film.
Joel McCrea plays a David Phelps, a young man who brings his pregnant bride Christina (Irene Dunne) to the family home to meet his mother. That was his first mistake. Already in the house is the beautiful fiance Hester (Frances Dee) of his younger brother Robert (Eric Linden). Laura Hope Crews is the Mother from Hell.
Under the guise of being oh so sweet, Mrs. Phelps weaves her web. It's obvious from the first that Robert is an emasculated wimp. It takes his mother five minutes to convince him that he's too good for Hester. Christina sees through the old bat right away, causing dissension between her and David.
This is a forthright film about incest, plain and simple. Mrs. Phelps was unhappy in her marriage and devoted herself to her two boys. She has no intention of losing them to other women. This includes feigning ill health and trying to discourage David from going to New York to work. She won't even permit Christina and David to sleep in the same room. David gets into his own bed, Mommy tucks him in, and Christina walks in while she's kissing him - on the lips. In her big monologue, Christina tells her mother-in-law just what she thinks of her.
The only problem with this and The Double Door is how clueless are these boys, that they can't see through their mother and stand up to her a little faster.
The acting from Crews and Dee by today's standards is over the top, but I'm sure it played well in the '30s. Good to see for its frank dialogue. Dee is so beautiful, it's no wonder McCrea fell for her - and vice versa.
The Silver Cord from 1933 has been compared to The Double Door because they are both about horrible, domineering women. The comparison ends there. The Double Door is a far superior film.
Joel McCrea plays a David Phelps, a young man who brings his pregnant bride Christina (Irene Dunne) to the family home to meet his mother. That was his first mistake. Already in the house is the beautiful fiance Hester (Frances Dee) of his younger brother Robert (Eric Linden). Laura Hope Crews is the Mother from Hell.
Under the guise of being oh so sweet, Mrs. Phelps weaves her web. It's obvious from the first that Robert is an emasculated wimp. It takes his mother five minutes to convince him that he's too good for Hester. Christina sees through the old bat right away, causing dissension between her and David.
This is a forthright film about incest, plain and simple. Mrs. Phelps was unhappy in her marriage and devoted herself to her two boys. She has no intention of losing them to other women. This includes feigning ill health and trying to discourage David from going to New York to work. She won't even permit Christina and David to sleep in the same room. David gets into his own bed, Mommy tucks him in, and Christina walks in while she's kissing him - on the lips. In her big monologue, Christina tells her mother-in-law just what she thinks of her.
The only problem with this and The Double Door is how clueless are these boys, that they can't see through their mother and stand up to her a little faster.
The acting from Crews and Dee by today's standards is over the top, but I'm sure it played well in the '30s. Good to see for its frank dialogue. Dee is so beautiful, it's no wonder McCrea fell for her - and vice versa.