The Sins of the Children (1930)

A German immigrant to a small American town is a widower with four children and a barber. He has saved enough money to invest in a partnership in a savings-and-loan company with a friend. ... See full summary »

Writers:

Elliott Nugent (story), J.C. Nugent (story),

Stars:

Louis Mann, Robert Montgomery, Elliott Nugent

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Louis Mann	...	Adolf
Robert Montgomery	...	Nick Higginson
Elliott Nugent	...	Johnnie
Leila Hyams	...	Alma
Clara Blandick	...	Martha Wagenkampf
Mary Doran	...	Laura
Ralph Bushman	...	Ludwig (as Francis X. Bushman Jr.)
Robert McWade	...	Joe Higginson
Dell Henderson	...	Ted Baldwin
Henry Armetta	...	Tony
Jane Reid	...	Katherine
James Donlan	...	Bide Taylor
Jeane Wood	...	Muriel Stokes
Lee Kohlmar	...	Dr. Heinrich Schmidt

Storyline

A German immigrant to a small American town is a widower with four children and a barber. He has saved enough money to invest in a partnership in a savings-and-loan company with a friend. But a son has been stricken with tuberculosis, and the investment money goes to pay for the son's treatment in Arizona. The man continues to be a barber. Twenty years later, the wastrel son of the now-rich man who was to have been his partner, falls in love with the barber's daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

barber | son | children | tuberculosis | widower | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

28 June 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Father's Day

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 87 min (copyright length) 86 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht"
(1818) (uncredited)
("Silent Night, Holy Night")
Music by Franz Gruber
Lyrics by Joseph Mohr
Sung a cappella in German by the entire Wagenkampf family at the end

User Reviews

Louis Mann Performance

Interesting to see others speak highly of Louis Mann in his one and only sound screen performance. Hence the only visual/aural record of his work. But for those writing why they've never heard of Mann, the reason is that he spent a very full career on the New York stage where he was very well known(www.ibdb.com). Born April 20 1865(six days after Lincoln was shot)Mann spent his youth in the theater during the 1890s-1900s. This is obviously before sound films were invented so no record of his early work is preserved. To 1930s film audiences he would have been familiar and especially to New York film audiences. Mann, like many high brow theater stars, opted to make a sound film as an 'experiment'. Not always for the money but to test the waters of a new medium. His one other film, a 1914 silent, may indicate he did not like the film medium and preferred theater acting & writing plays. Perhaps as the technology & prestige of films got better and he got older he had a change of heart. Also Mann's actress wife of many decades, Clara Lipman, was one of the dialogue writers on Sins of the Children. They were a well known stage couple coming to the big screen in a way similar to George & Florence Arliss in "Disraeli". SoTC is a good candidate to serve as a Christmas classic along with "If I Had A Million". If only MGM/Turner would release SoTC in their 'Glorious Black & White' video series. **Many fascinating pictures of Mann & Lipman can be found in Daniel Blum's "Pictorial History of the American Theater"