Story of movie Sarah And Son : Sarah and Son is a 1930 pre-Code American drama film directed by Dorothy Arzner. The screenplay by Zoë Akins was adapted from Timothy Shea's novel of the same name. It stars Ruth Chatterton, Fredric March, Gilbert Emery and Doris Lloyd. It was filmed at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles and released by Paramount Pictures.
| Sarah and Son | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dorothy Arzner |
| Written by | Zoë Akins Timothy Shea (novel) |
| Starring | Ruth Chatterton Fredric March |
| Music by | Oscar Potoker |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Verna Willis |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | March 14, 1930 |
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Screenplay
After years of abusing his Austrian immigrant wife Sarah Storm, Jim Grey, a vaudeville entertainer, disappears with their young son Bobby. He eventually sells Bobby to a wealthy couple, the Ashmores. They refuse to return the boy and attempt to return in his stead the deaf mute son of one of their servants. Bobby, unhappy with the too protective Ashmores, runs away to live with his uncle Howard Vanning, a successful attorney. Years later, Sarah has become an internationally famous opera singer being courted by Howard, who engineers an encounter.
- Ruth Chatterton ... Sarah Storm
- Fredric March ... Howard Vanning
- Fuller Mellish Jr. ... Jim Grey
- Gilbert Emery ... John Ashmore
- Doris Lloyd ... Mrs. Ashmore (Vanning's sister)
- William Stack ... Cyril Belloc
- Philippe De Lacy ... Bobby
Mellish died on February 8, 1930, shortly before the film's release.
The New York Times praised the performances and most of the screenplay, faulting only some aspects of plot development. It offered as praise: "Sarah and Son is one of the few audible pictures which are really good enough to warrant criticism of the development of the story, and no matter what are its minor shortcomings it is an emphatically ingratiating entertainment."
- Ruth Chatterton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sarah and Son. Her character’s evolution from an immigrant with a strong Austrian accent to a successful celebrity with just a trace of an accent appeared alongside Greta Garbo's heavily accented performance in her first talkie.
