Divorce in the Family (1932)

Director:

Charles Reisner

Writers:

Maurice Rapf (story) and
Delmer Daves (story) ...

Release Date:

27 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Accident | Dog | Fog | Fight | Ethnology

Cast

Jackie Cooper	...	Terry Parker
Conrad Nagel	...	Dr. Phil Shumaker
Lewis Stone	...	John Parker
Lois Wilson	...	Mrs. Grace Shumaker
Jean Parker	...	Miss Lucile SmIth
Maurice Murphy	...	Al Parker
Lawrence Grant	...	Kenny
Richard Wallace	...	Snoop Smith
David Newell	...	Sherman, the interne
Oscar Rudolph	...	Spike
Louise Beavers	...	Rosetta, Shumaker's maid

Also Known As:

After Divorce (USA) (review title)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Mojave, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Verree Teasdale was originally cast as "Mr. Grace Shumaker" but developed a severe case of tonsilitis and was replaced by Lois Wilson.

Entertaining fast paced movie showcasing Jackie Cooper

Young Jackie Cooper does his shtick that will be familiar to anyone who has seen his Oscar nominated performance in The Champ.He summons up the emotion by grabbing the air with his fists and sobbing loudly,"Aw shucks, aw shucks."

Here Jackie is the younger brother in a family whose parents have divorced and his mother has remarried a well intentioned but rather cold man, who happens to be a doctor and whom everyone refers to as "the doctor" Jackie's teen age brother is well played by Maurice Murphy, whom I never heard of, but impersonates a teen rather well.The movie has plenty of phony bits including an emergency surgery for the teen brother by "the doctor" who also happens to be an expert surgeon. (he makes his considerable diagnosis by a quick wield of his trusty stethoscope) Up to this point in the movie, "the doctor" is sort of the villain. He even whips Jackie when Jackie is being his bratty self. But then "the doctor" performs the emergency surgery and to further canonize him,his blood is "the right kind" for a transfusion and soon enough Jackie realizes that it's okay to have two Pops. It's even better than okay. "It's slicko , " as Jackie says in his early 30's patois.

This is the kind of movie that I would have loved on the old Wonderful World of Disney Show that I watched when I was a kid. As it is, the movie is fast paced and entertaining in a junky way. And Jackie Cooper is fun to watch. So it's worth catching.