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IMDbPro

Pilgrimage

  • 19331933
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
717
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
69,344
12,277
Heather Angel and Norman Foster in Pilgrimage (1933)
Drama
A possessive mother pushes her son into World War I service rather than see him get married.A possessive mother pushes her son into World War I service rather than see him get married.A possessive mother pushes her son into World War I service rather than see him get married.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
717
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
69,344
12,277
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • Barry Conners
      • Henry Johnson(uncredited)
      • Philip Klein
    • Stars
      • Henrietta Crosman
      • Heather Angel
      • Norman Foster
    Top credits
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • Barry Conners
      • Henry Johnson(uncredited)
      • Philip Klein
    • Stars
      • Henrietta Crosman
      • Heather Angel
      • Norman Foster
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 13User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos10

    Heather Angel, Henrietta Crosman, and Norman Foster in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Marian Nixon in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Marian Nixon and Jay Ward in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Norman Foster and Marian Nixon in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Norman Foster and Marian Nixon in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Heather Angel, Henrietta Crosman, and Norman Foster in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Henrietta Crosman, Norman Foster, and Marian Nixon in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Henrietta Crosman in Pilgrimage (1933)
    Heather Angel, Henrietta Crosman, and Norman Foster in Pilgrimage (1933)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Henrietta Crosman
    Henrietta Crosman
    • Mrs. Hannah Jessop
    Heather Angel
    Heather Angel
    • Suzanne
    Norman Foster
    Norman Foster
    • Jim 'Jimmy' Jessop
    Lucille La Verne
    Lucille La Verne
    • Mrs. Kelly Hatfield
    Maurice Murphy
    Maurice Murphy
    • Gary Worth
    Marian Nixon
    Marian Nixon
    • Mary Saunders
    Jay Ward
    • Jimmy Saunders
    Robert Warwick
    Robert Warwick
    • Maj. Albertson
    Louise Carter
    Louise Carter
    • Mrs. Rogers
    Betty Blythe
    Betty Blythe
    • Janet Prescot
    Francis Ford
    Francis Ford
    • Mayor Elmer Briggs
    Charley Grapewin
    Charley Grapewin
    • Dad Saunders
    Hedda Hopper
    Hedda Hopper
    • Mrs. Worth
    Frances Rich
    • The Nurse
    Mary Bracken
    • Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Ann Brody
    Ann Brody
    • Woman with Mrs. Goldstein
    • (uncredited)
    William Burgess
    William Burgess
    • Mr. Goldstein
    • (uncredited)
    André Cheron
    • Shooting Gallery Proprietor
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • Barry Conners
      • Henry Johnson(uncredited)
      • Philip Klein
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film had its world premiere showing at the Gaiety Theatre on Broadway on 12 July 1933. (New York Sun, 12 July 1933)
    • Connections
      Featured in Becoming John Ford (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      Dear Little Boy of Mine
      (uncredited)

      Music by Ernest Ball

      Lyrics by J. Keirn Brennan

      Played as background music

    User reviews13

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Gold Star Mother
    PILGRIMAGE (Fox Films, 1933), directed by John Ford, is an early but memorable sentimental story featuring Henrietta Crosman in a very rare leading role. Not quite a retelling of the Pilgrims voyaging to America on the Mayflower in 1620 as one might be made to believe, but a drama about an elderly woman with a hold on her son's life, only to live to regret it.

    Opening title: "The Jessop Home, Three Cedars, Arkansas." Hannah Jessop (Henrietta Crosman) is a widowed farm woman who works hard in both her daily chores and the upbringing of her young adult son, Jim (Norman Foster). However, Jim is unhappy with his life and wants to leave his existence to enlist in the Army as his friends are doing during the World War. Hannah refuses at first, but agrees to let him go to battle rather than having Jim leaving home to marry Mary Saunders (Marion Nixon), a farm girl living just over the fence with her drunkard father (Charley Grapewin). Having told Mary, "I'd rather see Jim dead than married to you," Hannah signs a waver with permission for him to go. She also disinherits Jim for leaving her to be with Mary. Before he's to leave with the other soldiers by train, Jim is told by Mary that she's pregnant. In spite of the news to his superior, Jim is denied temporary leave to marry her. During a stormy night, Hannah awakens from her sleep calling out Jim's name the very moment he is killed in battle, also the very night Mary gives birth to his son. Ten years pass and Hannah still holds a grudge against Mary, even to a point of avoiding any contact with her grandson, Jimmy (Jay Ward), who takes a liking to his late father's dog, Susie. Mayor Elmer Briggs (Francis Ford) and others in his committee select Hannah to go on a pilgrimage to France along with other "Gold Star Mothers" to visit the graves of their military sons. While in France, Hannah refuses to go to the cemetery until she encounters a troubled youth named Gary Worth (Maurice Murphy), drunk, confused and wanting to jump off a bridge to suicide. After taking him to his apartment, Hannah learns the young man is going through the same issues with his domineering mother (Hedda Hopper) over the love of a girl named Suzanne (Heather Angel), the same situation that occurred years before between her and her son, thus, seeing herself for the first time to whom she really was as seen through the eyes of little Jim.

    PILGRIMAGE is a good film, a very good film that has been underrated and forgotten throughout the years. In spite the fact that it's directed by four-time Academy Award winning John Ford, possibly one of the reasons for it never to be selected as one of Ford's top ten best films is due to the fact of having any top marquee names as Marie Dressler, for example. Granted, had PILGRIMAGE been filmed only a few years later, it probably would have featured, for example, Janet Gaynor as Mary; May Robson as Hannah; and Henry Fonda as Jim. Other capable actresses as Louise Dresser or Marjorie Rambeau might have handled the role just as well, but Henrietta Crosman, a theater actress with limited movie roles dating back to the silent film era, was chosen to carry the entire 96 minutes, and she does it quite well. Aside from her strong performance, her scene walking through the cemetery in France to visit her son's grave is both heartfelt and noteworthy. Others featured in the cast are Robert Warwick (Major Albertson); Betty Blythe (Janet Prescott); Louise Carter (Mrs. Rogers, the other mother who shares the cabin with Hannah); and Jack Pennick (The Sergeant). Lucille LaVerne, best known for playing old hags dating back in the silent movie days of D.W. Griffith, nearly steals it with her small performance as Mrs. Hatfield, another Gold Star mother of three deceased sons who not only befriends Hannah, but causes raised eyebrows by smoking a pipe in public. She and Crosman have lighter moments together to an otherwise dramatic story where they show how good there are at a shooting gallery. Marion Nixon and Jay Ward are equally unforgettable as both mother and son longing to connect with Hannah.

    A worthwhile story that has had limited television broadcasts throughout the years: WFSB, Channel 3, Hartford, Connecticut (1974); WNET, Channel 13, New York City (1992); and cable channels as BRAVO (1987-88); American Movie Classics (August 1999 as part of its John Ford tribute); Fox Movie Channel and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 10, 2007). Aside from availability on DVD with John Ford's BORN RECKLESS (Fox, 1933) on the flip-side, PILGRIMAGE remains very much an obscure film that needs to be observed and studied, not for the directorial style of John Ford, but for the best movie performance ever given by the long forgotten Henrietta Crosman. (****)
    helpful•2
    1
    • lugonian
    • Nov 25, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 18, 1933 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Hodočašće
    • Production company
      • Fox Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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