MovieChat Forums > A Free Soul (1931) Discussion > Weird Father/Daughter relationship

Weird Father/Daughter relationship

posted 18 years ago by Eva1-1
21 replies | jump to latest

Did anyone else get the idea that there was maybe something more going on between daughter Norma and papa Lionel? Norma Shearer's character is constantly calling her father, Lionel Barrymore, "darling" and "dear" and "sweetheart." She's also extremely affectionate with him, rubbing and petting him all the time, like when they were camping and he had his head in her lap and she is rubbing his hair VERY lovingly and calling him "darling." He doesn't appear to reciprocate, however, maybe because he's totally loaded throughout the film. Also, what was the deal in the opening scene where she was in the bathroom naked and called her drunk daddy to bring her "a complete outfit" and he walks in the bathroom bring only various forms of slinky panties and bras? Not that there's anything wrong with this, but as much as I loved my dad, we were never quite THIS affectionate! She wasn't even this romantic with her lover, Gable. I mean, I know this was "pre-code" and all (which I love and I guess was the reason all this was allowed, especially the fact that her character is opening having pre-marrital sex with Gable, on HER terms, without wanting to get married) but jeesh! And she won an Oscar for this?? I guess with her being a silent screen actress for so long, she was still used to acting with the Big jestures and ridiculously over done facial expressions. Loved Gable, though. Poor Leslie, her scorned fiancee was, as usual, an effeminate pansy. No wonder she choose Clark!

[–] littgn 18 years ago

The Oscar was for "The Divorcee", not this movie, and yes, the relationship was a little strange.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] we2 16 years ago

did not see that relationship as you saw it at all. nothing unnatural btwn them.

my favorites are Harlow and Garbo. I guess I'm just an old fashion guy

[–] R0G3RZ 15 years ago

I agree, it was kinda creepy

http://freemoviestube.com

[–] netshopper-2 15 years ago

I agree and plus the opening scene with the lingerie was uncomfortable for a father of that era.

[–] TheClevelandShow 15 years ago

Same thing with 'Shadow Of A Doubt' (1943) by Alfred Hitchcock involving Charlotte aka Charlie and her uncle Charlie, to which she chose the nickname.

Neither Lionel nor Norma particularly shined and Clark, too. Better casting would have helped the enjoyment of the story more, which wasn't all that great.

Claudette Colbert is one of my most favourite Silver Screen actresses. I would have chosen her.

[–] digitaldiva 15 years ago

I'm watching the film now. Metro didn't start making talkies until 1929 has many of the issues of the early talkiing pictures - no musical score, static movement and stilted dialogue and delivery but in my opinion, it still works.

I don't have an issue with the father and daughter since it ws the warmest thing in the movie. When you compare it to Shearer's erotic interest in Gable, it seems geniune at least to me. Regarding Colbert - She was a marvelous actress but a Paramount player. It wouldn't have made much difference who you cast - films from this period (1928 to 1931) had the same issues. Movies didn't really regain the fluidity of the silent era until 1932.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] digitaldiva 15 years ago

Crawford hadn't moved into sophisticates yet and was still playing shop girls. Thalberg didn't see her as a dramatic actress yet and Norma was a bigger star. Pesonally, I think Norma was fine for the role. The problem was that the scenario was dated and the acting stilted like most films from 1931.

[–] J. Spurlin 14 years ago

The movie goes out of its way to suggest this pseudo-incestuous relationship. In the opening scene, it deliberately tricks us into believing Lionel Barrymore and Norma Shearer are lovers, not father and daughter. When Shearer jokingly says, "Tired of me after only one night?" we're supposed to assume the salacious worst. The punchline arrives when Shearer finally calls him "father" and we realize the relationship is innocent—or is it?

The theme is as old as mythology, but introducing it as a gag seems cheap and tasteless.

...Justin

[–] timlin-4 13 years ago

Probably just looking for a "daring" opener. There is going to be sexual tension wherever there is a single girl waiting for a husband.

[–] TheLightFantastic 12 years ago

Sexual tension between characters who are supposedly father and daughter? Um, no thanks.

I like Norma Shearer. When she was good, she was great but when she was bad, she was downright terrible. I just never liked her acting when it was opposite actors with whom she was suppose to have a familal relationship. She always laid on the schmaltz and it came off as either very forced and fake (like in The Women with Little Mary) or oddly sexual and creepy (like in this film with Barrymore).

I really don't get why she was weak in that area. She could play bitchy, confident or even friendly well but being a mother or daughter just didn't work well for her.

[–] aldiboronti 11 years ago

I don't find the father/daughter relationship creepy at all. The lingerie scene neatly serves to demonstrate what is referred to in the dialogue, ie that this branch of the family are not the stuffshirts that their relatives are.

Just to add ...... Wow! Norma Shearer is so hot in this movie she sizzles through the screen. What a doll!

[–] 8tangerines 9 years ago

I agree, I saw it this way too. They are less stuffy, which, in the context of 1931, means they are modern people not saddled with the Victorian prudery of the father's youth. A fact which has both good and bad consequences, as the story unfolds.

[–] marktayloruk (2556) 2 years ago

Pity the Code tore the guts out of the movies!

[–] MidnightThud 11 years ago

I must admit that it took me a good 15 minutes to work out what the hell she was! - Wife, Trophy wife, mistress or daughter.

[–] hka-3 11 years ago

Thank you. I definitely was asking, "Are they really father/daughter?!!!" More often than not their interaction was more like what I expect from a man and woman who are not related.

[–] ilahilda 10 years ago

I didn't find it creepy.