Of Human Hearts (1938) User Reviews (30)

"We can't all do what's right."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 8 August 2014]

Jason Wilkins (James Stewart) grows up poor and resentful towards his minister father Ethan (Walter Huston). Ethan is a good man but stern and rigid in his beliefs. Ethan's self-sacrificing wife Mary (Beulah Bondi) tries to balance his hardness by being as kind and gentle to their son as she can. When Jason is older he leaves home to go study to become a doctor. He's supported through this by money his parents send him from things they sell. After Ethan's father dies, Jason begins to neglect his mother more, writing home less and less except to ask for money. Eventually he stops writing altogether.

This is an interesting one. I expected after reading some of the lukewarm reviews that it would be a stinker but I actually liked it. It's flawed, for sure, but it's also unique. There is a somewhat muddled message I suppose. The first half of the movie, where Jason is a child (excellently played by Gene Reynolds) creates a sympathetic portrait of him and an unsympathetic one of his father. But after Jason has grown up, he's a selfish ingrate who needs to be slapped around. His father, while still a hard-ass, is shown to have a kinder side and a genuine concern for his fellow man. The two halves do not necessarily have to be out of sync with one another. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that Jason's harsh upbringing has led him to being bitter and selfish. The problem is that the film doesn't seem to take this point of view. Once Jason is an adult, the focus is on his faults only and there's never a hint that his father was ever wrong at all. Add to that the shameful treatment of his saintly mother and Jason becomes downright villainous.

Still, it's an interesting drama with a homespun folksy charm and healthy doses of humor sprinkled throughout. The leads are all good. Guy Kibbee, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart, Charley Grapewin, and Sterling Holloway are among the wonderful character actors who brighten things up. Adorable Ann Rutherford is always nice to see, even though she gets little to do here but look pretty. The most famous scene from the movie is where Abraham Lincoln (John Carradine) lays the verbal smack down on Jason. This scene is mocked by many but I loved it. Was it hokey? Sure, but it was also fun and added a nice twist to the movie's climax. A better movie than I think its given credit for being. Stewart and Huston fans should enjoy it.

Gloriously old-fashioned and sentimental

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 8/10 · 10 April 2011]

This is a gloriously old-fashioned and sentimental film. The type that went out of style right around the time of World War II, when the country quickly grew up. But this film gives one quite a good idea of what rural life may have been like in pre-Civil War era America.

To me, the real star of this film is one of the greatest female character actresses of all time -- Beulah Bondi. Here she plays a minister's wife who endures poverty and hardship while living in a dinkwater town along the Ohio River.

Her son is brilliantly played as a boy by Gene Reynolds, and as an adult by Jimmy Stewart.

Another "star" of this film would have to be the horse Pilgrim. What a beautiful animal, and so key to the plot.

Walter Huston is excellent as the minister/father, who is all too strict with his young son to be as likable as he typically is in most of his film roles.

Another welcome feature of this film is rather stunning scenery, with outdoor scenes actually filmed outdoors and in beautiful settings.

The pivotal point in the film comes when the father beats the son one more time, even though he is -- at that point -- a young adult. This leads the son to leave home, much to his mother's distress, and head for medical school. While it's easy to criticize the son for his selfishness in not realizing his mother's sacrifices, a 21st century interpretation of the story would be more sympathetic toward the son whose mother did nothing to stop the physical abuse by the father. Clearly, mores have changed a great deal since this film was made in 1938. However, once he graduates from medical school, his selfishness toward his now widowed mother becomes more unforgivable.

Then comes the Civil War, and his mother even sells Pilgrim to pay for the son's uniform as he becomes a surgeon. This leads to the climactic and famous scene where the son is called to Washington to meet President Lincoln who severely chides him for neglecting his mother. Corny? For sure. But a dramatic tear jerker for anyone with a heart.

And, there are a number of supporting roles here that are well done -- Charles Coburn (not his usual crusty self), Guy Kibbee, John Carradine (as Lincoln), and others.

Another Cinema Treasure

[pdabbs · 7/10 · 3 March 2006]

This movie is a reminder of the treasures we have to enjoy from the early eras of movie-making. Walter Huston portrays a minister who has sensitivity and understanding for his parishioners but is bound by the restrictive morals of his background. The story takes place in the period before and during the Civil War. The minister has moments when he really is an admirable man; he even has the courage to grab and stop a runaway horse. That horse becomes a thread that winds through the rest of the movie. However, his treatment of his young son is a good example of why ministers' children are often described as troubled. Beaulah Bondi plays the saintly wife/mother whose love binds the family. Her unconditional love and sacrifice first console the boy and then elicit a narrow selfishness from the boy when he leaves home and goes to medical school in Baltimore.

There are some wonderful moments in this movie. It is notable that James Stewart could play such a callow young man who takes advantage of his mother's generosity.

Life In the Antebellum Midwest

[telegonus · 7/10 · 2 December 2001]

Antebellum, or pre-Civil War America, is seldom dealt with in movies. In the studio age it was largely ignored. Of Human Hearts is an exception. Set in frontier Ohio it concerns the rebellious son of a decent but inflexible minister who seeks to be a doctor and learn about the world. He get more than he bargained for after the guns fire on Fort Sumter, and the film traces his life from uneasy boyhood to uncomfortable manhood. James Stewart excels in an early lead role; and as his father Walter Huston is suitably starchy and forbidding. The backlot recreation of early small town America is wonderfully realized by director Clarence Brown and Company. There are some splendid supporting performances by, among other, Beulah Bondi, Charlie Grapewin, and especially Charles Coburn, as the village doctor who likes to drink and who becomes Stewart's mentor. As an historical footnote it's worth mentioning that the film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the late thirties, and is an atypical product for them, as they were poaching, as it were, on movie territory that one associates with the more folsky Fox studios of the time, and did a rather good job at it, too.

An enjoyable movie, with a couple of over-the-top scenes

[murkbrown · 18 February 2009]

I really liked the look of this movie, the way the period was portrayed. Charles Coburn's performance was very nicely done, understated.

I had heard about this film for many years, but had not had an opportunity to see it until recently. If you are not someone who watches a lot of early melodramatic movies I can see why this would not be for you, but I wouldn't let it be known that I'd sat through it five times just so I could speak with authority on how awful a movie it is.

Like one of the other writers, I was also puzzled by the loud chirping birds in the background of some of the scenes.I kept waiting for this to be explained but it was not.

And the scene withLincoln, I was sure was going to turn out to be a dream sequence, with Jimmy Stewart's character's guilt having caught up with him. But alas, the filmmakers really did want us to believe the President would pull a doctor off the front lines to scold him for neglecting his mother.

Overall I liked it. I'll have to watch five more times just to enjoy the old man who leads the choir by striking the tuning fork on his shoe, apparently unable to hear it because he hums in another key, and begins singing in still another.

John Carradine's performance stood out for me

[Pearsey · 7/10 · 4 March 2006]

I tuned into this movie at the point where James Stewart's character was summoned from the battlefield to meet with President Abraham Lincoln. I didn't know what had transpired previously in the movie and was waiting to see why the president would take time to speak to him.

I won't divulge all the details of the conversation but I kept thinking during the scene that this is one of the best portrayals of Lincoln I've ever seen. Physically the actor was very convincing and his demeanor was of the type I would except him to have. I finally recognized the voice of John Carradine.

I actually think that Abraham Lincoln could have had a conversation like the one in the movie with a regular soldier. He met with many rank and file people during the war. It was a great scene, well written and produced in my opinion.

Finally an executive order everyone can get behind!

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 26 March 2017]

I'll get to what my title means later, but first, is there anyone creepier than Walter Huston when he's playing self-righteous religious types, like here and in "Rain"? Now Huston's son, Jason Wilkes, as a child is a true brat, always complaining and acting snooty. As an adult though, where James Stewart takes over the role, he is more self-centered, too taken up with his education and then career as a doctor to do more than write his parents when he needs money. Now this requires his parents selling off family heirlooms, and even the family horse which is more a pet than beast of burden, but Jason never seems to give their hardship a thought.

Then Jason's father dies, Jason joins the Union army as a surgeon when the Civil War breaks out, and is able to save many lives and limbs at a time when most doctors just amputated. But then an executive order comes from Abraham Lincoln demanding a meeting with Jason. This is where my title comes from. I had no idea presidents issued executive orders 150 years ago. Jason thinks it is perhaps to recognize his performance as a military surgeon, but it turns out this audience is because Jason hasn't written home in two years, his mother thought he was dead and wrote Lincoln to find out where he was buried! Honest Abe gives Jason the tongue lashing he has long deserved. Will he see the light? Watch and find out.

At first I thought this looked and felt like a 20th Century Fox film since it is so picturesque and unpretentious. With the mid 19th century rural setting, and John Carradine as Abraham Lincoln (he's very effective, even with that mask-like makeup), it was easy to get confused. Bondi is very convincing as the long suffering impoverished widow. Guy Kibbee believably hard nosed as general store proprietor. Charles Coburn is wonderful and mischievous as the alcoholic, warm hearted doctor. And it's wonderful seeing James Stewart on the brink of stardom, here all earnest and sensitive, with a lot of his boyish mannerisms coming to the fore. The movie always threatens to turn mawkish, but never does.

The two children who played Jason as a child and Jason's childhood sweetheart also had interesting stories. They were Gene Reynolds and Leatrice Joy Gilbert, respectively. Reynolds would be a successful TV director and producer working on shows such as Lou Grant, M.A.S.H, Room 222, Hogan's Heroes, and My Three Sons. Leatrice Joy Gilbert was John Gilbert's daughter and played a big part in championing her dad's work and having him being better remembered than just the guy whose squeaky voice got him thrown out of talkies.

Are there some over the top melodramatic moments? Of course there are. But this is the kind of small family film that MGM excelled at making at the time. I'd therefore recommend it.

Mom's Unconditional Love

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 28 December 2005]

Though both Walter Huston and James Stewart were billed above her, Of Human Hearts is really about Beulah Bondi and what she does for her small family. It's probably her best performance on screen.

The setting is ante-bellum Ohio and the Wilkins family has just arrived. Walter Huston is to be the new minister for the town. It's a poor place he's been sent and the family lives on hand me downs, castaways, and the charity of the community.

In the pious tradition of his profession Walter Huston accepts this as part of the price for his calling to the ministry. Son Gene Reynolds who grows up to be James Stewart cannot accept this. He's a bright kid and gravitates towards Charles Coburn, the town doctor. His mind turns towards medicine and he makes up his mind to become a doctor.

That puts him in conflict with Huston and poor Beulah is caught in the middle between them.

Walter Huston played three preachers on screen, the uptight Reverend Davidson in Rain, the satirical Sin Killer Jubal Crabby in Duel in the Sun and Reverend Ethan Wilkins here. Of the three of them, Ethan Wilkins is the best man and the best performance.

The conflict is generational and what gets the audience involved is that they can absolutely see both points of view. Huston is not some bible thumping clown, he feels his call very deeply and he's not stupid. One of my favorite scenes is Huston outsmarting Guy Kibbee and Charley Grapewin when try to sell him a defective horse.

James Stewart gives voice and interpretation to every young man who wants to go out in the world see something more and accomplish more than he would in staying in a backwater town. Very similar to his performance in It's A Wonderful Life. Come to think of it, Beulah Bondi was his mother there too.

Beulah is the star. In How Green Was My Valley the adult Hugh Morgan says that while Dad was the head of the house, Mother was it's heart. It could be applied here even better. After Huston dies, Bondi sacrifices everything and lives as a pauper for her son to go to medical school and become a doctor. Stewart graduates, but the Civil War begins and he enlists.

Bondi doesn't hear from him for almost three years and she writes to President Lincoln to find out about him. For what happens and how Lincoln deals with the situation you'll have to see the film. But her performance will tug at you if you are made of stone.

John Carradine plays a very good Lincoln. He certainly has the lean,tall body, angular features, and deep voice to be a convincing one. I'm surprised he was never again cast as Lincoln.

The other performance of note I would single out is Guy Kibbee. He's the town Babbitt, a part he was certainly familiar with. It's a pleasure to see how Huston deals with him.

A really fine and poignant tale that I can't recommend too highly.

pretty good

[KyleFurr2 · 6/10 · 27 September 2005]

This was directed by Clarence Brown and stars Walter Huston and Jimmy Stewart. The movie starts out with Huston arriving in a small Ohio town before The Civil War with his wife and son. The people agreed to pay Huston $400 dollars a year but Guy Kibbee talks them down to $250 but Huston doesn't seem to mind and his son does. Kibbee tries to take advantage of Huston but he knows how to take care of himself and he is pretty tough with his son. His son becomes friends with Charles Coburn who is the town doctor but is a drunk and his father doesn't like it. The son then grows up to become James Stewart and he is interested in becoming a doctor but his family is poor and can't afford to send him. Stewart eventually becomes a doctor during the Civil War and John Carradine has a cameo as Abraham Lincoln, even though you can't recognize him.

This poignant, honest and sometimes heart-wrenching film is a rare, 4 star gem about real life.

[Condor-2 · 10/10 · 12 September 1998]

This is a story about family relationships, set in the time before and during the American Civil War. Ethan Wilkins is a poor and honest man who ministers to the human soul, while his son Jason yearns to be a doctor, helping people in the earthly realm. It is a compelling story about striving for excellence, the reality and tension fathers and sons can experience when a son comes of age, and the love of a mother that can never die.

While both inspiring and at times reminding us of our own failures, it provides a message of hope as well. There is a richness here that is timeless. This film develops its characters at the beginning, not rushing to get to the point. You get to know them. The Civil War elements are very much in the background and clearly secondary to the main theme. This is not a war movie. It is a story about real people.

The surprise at the end of this drama is both forceful and full of genuine emotion. A absolute must see for John Huston and Jimmy Stewart fans, and deserves to be a classic in its own right. Easily one of Stewart's best.

Sweet, and a little lackadaisical

[marcslope · 6/10 · 19 February 2020]

A Clarence Brown special from 1938, meaning it's well-crafted, placid, and determinedly mainstream, this family drama is most interesting in its detailed portrait of small-town pre-Civil War life. We're in rural Ohio circa 1850, where the new preacher (Walter Huston, excellent as always) has arrived with his rebellious son (Gene Reynolds, later James Stewart) and loving wife (Beulah Bondi). They're living off the charity of the impoverished community, and the father-son conflicts never end. We proceed through the son's struggle to become a doctor, and his distinguished service in the Union army, and his neglect of his mom. It's over-sentimental and unsurprising, but it does have some beautiful set pieces (the acquiring of the family horse, the conversations between the son and the local drunken doctor, the battle montage), and the supporting cast is pretty amazing: Charles Coburn, John Carradine, Guy Kibbee, Ann Rutherford, Leatrice Joy Gilbert (she's charming), Sterling Holloway, Charley Grapewin, a feisty Leona Roberts. Plot threads are left hanging (the Stewart-Rutherford romance doesn't develop at all), and Herbert Stothart's score is a bit intrusive, telling you how to feel when it doesn't have to. But it's good MGM product of the day, and yes, by the end you'll have the sniffles.

5. Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

[jatodog · 10/10 · 30 January 2006]

Of Human Hearts is one of those poignant family dramas remembered fondly by older audiences but neglected by DVD marketers who shun religious themes. It's a film that tells a story, rather than just a bunch of stuff that happens - a story about austere Reverend Ethan Wilkins, played perfectly by Walter Huston (Rain, Dodsworth, The Devil and Daniel Webster) who takes a position as the new preacher in Pine Hill Ohio, bringing his wife Mary, played by Beulah Bondi (On Borrowed Time, So Dear To My Heart) and young son Jason, portrayed as a boy by Gene Reynolds (who appeared in many movies as a boy, including In Old Chicago, Boys Town, and Love Finds Andy Hardy, and went on to direct many TV episodes including Leave It To Beaver, MASH, Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, and Touched By An Angel).

Ethan is humble but strict, emphasizing courtesy and generosity while denouncing pride and selfishness with stern discipline. Jason is practical and wants to become a doctor. His curiosity provokes his fathers wrath, and as he grows into a young man, later portrayed by James Stewart (It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc.), he continues to defy him, at one point declaring "I'd rather save bodies than souls any day!" He runs away to medical school, often sending for money from his mother, who gradually sells her personal possessions to fund him, though he never returns to visit.

Civil War ensues, and Jason is one of the Union's best doctors, trying to save limbs rather than amputate whenever possible, though still neglecting his own parents. He's finally shamed by the President himself, Abraham Lincoln, played excellently by John Carradine (The Grapes of Wrath, House of Frankenstein, Bluebeard, Peggy Sue Got Married, etc. etc. etc.).

This is still a great movie for the whole family, probably even more to the point in modern times, with relevant demonstrations of selfishness, pride, humility, courtesy, and transient material values. It's one of the first and best of those poignant family classics like A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, I Remember Mama, Friendly Persuasion, etc., and a bit of a tear-jerker.

The terrific cast include a number of great character actors including Guy Kibbee (Little Lord Fauntleroy, Captain January), Charles Coburn (The Devil and Miss Jones, Kings Row), Ann Rutherford (Annie Laurie, Gone With The Wind, Andy Hardy series), Gene Lockhart (A Christmas Carol, That's The Spirit, Miracle On 34th Street, Going My Way, etc. etc.), Charley Grapwin (The Wizard of Oz, Grapes of Wrath, Ellery Queen series), Clem Beven, Sterling Holloway (Remember the Night, Meet John Doe, Dumbo, Bambi, Peter and the Wolf, Winnie The Pooh, etc. etc.), Minor Watson, Ward Bond, and others.

This one is not to be missed, and should be on DVD.

some big actors, but not much of a script.

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 21 February 2020]

Some pretty HUGE names in this one from MGM in1938. Walter Huston, is Reverend Wilkins. Beulah Bondi (Mrs. Wilkins) was nominated for supporting actress for this role. Jimmy Stewart is Jason, and had only been in hollywood a couple years. Charles Coburn is Doc Shingle. Guy Kibbee is "Ames". Sterling Holloway did the voice for Winnie the Pooh SO many times! the Reverend is so disappointed that Jason wants to be a doctor, but as we know, we can never live up to our parents' expectations, and can really only please ourselves. (and honestly, what's so wrong with wanting to be a doctor ?? these days, they usually make pretty good money.) it's okay. a whole lotta religion and lessons to be "learnt". Huston was the perfect authoritative figure; he was the stern missionary in Rain, he was Abe Lincoln several times, he played doctors, judges, and mayors. always the serious, driven character. Directed by Clarence Brown, who worked with ALL the big names at 20th Century and MGM. he was nominated SIX times as best director, but didn't get a win. the film itself is no big deal, but sure has some great actors in the cast! it's all just okay.

Not really a tearjerker

[HotToastyRag · 4/10 · 29 September 2018]

It's ironic that Beulah Bondi was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for performances in films from 1936 and 1938, when her shining hour could be found in a 1937 film that was completely ignored. Of Human Hearts is a movie with a very large target audience: mothers. Beulah Bondi plays James Stewart's mother, and her long suffering, sacrificing role will tug at the heartstrings of every mother in the audience.

The beginning of the film shows Beulah and young Jimmy, played by a wonderful Gene Reynolds, being brought to a poor, small town because the patriarch of the family has a new position as the minister. Take a guess as to who plays the pious, stern father, and if you guess Walter Huston, give yourself three points. No one plays a pious, stern father like Walter Huston, and even though you'll want to cringe when he takes Gene out to the barn for a whipping, he makes himself sympathetic. He puts the leather strop down and instead uses his hand, both because it will be gentler on his son, and because he'll feel pain as well. Director Clarence Brown pans the camera away so the audience doesn't see the violence, and the horse's reaction is very effective in the scene.

Once Gene grows up and becomes James Stewart, the movie goes downhill fast. Jimmy plays such an ungrateful scoundrel, it's impossible to like him. And while you really want to like Beulah, she doesn't put enough into her performance to make you cry. Charles Coburn, in a supporting role, gives the audience the only lump in their throats in a scene when Beulah sells her wedding ring to merchant Guy Kibbee. The rest of the movie just isn't good enough to make it another Stella Dallas, even though most mothers will enjoy watching it.

Of Human Hearts

[Stormy_Autumn · 23 December 2005]

This is a pre-civil war and civil war movie.

It stars Walter Huston, Beulah Bondi and Jimmy Stewart as a minister's family with little money and a number of misunderstandings between Father Ethan and son, Jason. The mother, Mary, ends up trying to be the constant peace keeper.

Ethan wants his son to be a preacher. The dream of Jason's heart is be a doctor. Mary loves her husband but wants to see their son happy in the life's work he desires to do. Jason is to self-centered to see what his bickering with his father is doing to his mother.

In anger Jason runs off. Goes to school and then war. His mother doesn't hear from him for several years and she finally contacts President Lincoln (John Carradine) to learn where her son is and if he's alright.

Lincoln's reaction is predictable since we must remember Lincoln lost his mother, Nancy, at a young age. Now a decision must be made on what Jason will do. How much has he grown up? Will he realize he has broken his mother's heart?

It's at least a big box of hankies movie for all of us.

an old fashioned soap opera

[jaybob · 6/10 · 7 January 2001]

I first saw this weepy when I was 10 years old & except for Gene Reynolds (Jimmy Stewart as a lad) I was bored stiff, I have seen it about 5 times since & still cant take it as it is pure hokum. The last scene with a very over acted portrayal of Lincoln was & is still laughable . Beulah Bondi as the mother was her usual magnificent self, she excelled in playing older women. Both Huston & Stewart have had many many better roles.

A thumbs down for me.

tells of self centeredness of kids and strange behaviors of fathers

[arun_singh300-1 · 7/10 · 10 June 2007]

i had read a lot about the film and recently got the chance to see it on TCM .BELULAH BONDI is really good and essays the role of a mother to perfection.the father's role is strange and scenes of corporal punishment avoidable.the old custom of giving the beating on the ass seems homosexual and incestuous today.he seems too strict and less practical.the father and son fight is quite interesting.

the son on his part is insensitive and self centered and doesn't care for his mother's feelings which is evident from the scene where he throws away harper's magazines which his mother had subscribed for by selling two silver spoons.while his mother lives in poverty he squanders money on uniforms.

the film is quite good.

An excellent story about human behavior.

[manemu · 10/10 · 5 January 2000]

The author touches the heart with old story that relates to today's "me" society (which in many cases is without gratitude for the contributions of others). The acting is superb and conveys the emotions of the story without special effects needed. Recommend this movie highly to everyone, should be mandatory for those under 25.

A mothers love is unconditional

[lois74 · 10/10 · 12 November 2005]

I found this movie very heartwarming as I am a big fan of Jimmy Stewart. I wish movies were still made like this - with heart. It can be all to true to raise a son or daughter who grow up and they kind of forget about their parents. While I admit there are some rather cheesy parts I'd rather watch that than some of the crap that comes out of Hollywood these days! As a mother myself, the parts where she is basically giving her very last dime to send to her son were all too true. What mother would not give everything she had to give her children if she though they needed it? When the son talks to Abraham Lincoln (yes, I believe that was a little far fetched) but I could see a mother writing, believing her son dead, as that could be the only explanation as to why he has not written. All in all this movie was very heartwarming!! I guess to watch it you have to have a heart!

Great Movie

[rareed63 · 9/10 · 18 May 2013]

First off I love most Jimmy Stewart movies Its a wonderful life,Harvey,The Man that shot Liberty Valance just to name a few. I first saw this movie on a classic channel but only got to watch the first 45 minutes or so and I had to leave. I didn't even catch the title so it took me awhile to run it down going through IMDb. Like one of the other reviewers said its whats wrong with America today. Do yourself a favor and watch this Movie excellent story keeps your attention all the way through.I just wish they made more movies like this today,The Guy that plays President Lincoln was excellent. I managed to find it only on VUDU which is Wal Marts PPV service, searched Amazon its only on VHS I sure hope somebody transfers this to DVD and some other old Titles I've been searching to find.

'Are you an Indian?'

[marthawilcox1831 · 4/10 · 9 August 2014]

There is a scene in this film where the doctor asks James Stewart 'are you an Indian?' It is a ridiculous question, and it even takes Stewart by surprise, but it is the sort of question a non-white English person would be asked. Some English people of Caribbean origin are asked: 'Are you West Indian?' This makes Stewart accessible to all races and ethnic groups because he goes through a universal human experience.

I like the scene where his father, Ethan Wilkins, eats a meal that contains a frog. Stewart thinks this is disgusting, but Ethan states that if he brought this to the woman's attention it would offend her and not do her any good. There are people who are living in situations that are offensive to others, but if you offend them by criticising them and pointing out their faults then you do more harm than good.

Unfortunately, my DVD was faulty and the picture stopped 69 minutes into the film.

Have a box of Kleenex handy

[blanche-2 · 10/10 · 11 November 2015]

Walter Huston, Beulah Bondi, and James Stewart star in "Of Human Hearts," a film from 1938.

In other hands, this film could have been a piece of sentimental claptrap. In the hands of Clarence Brown and this wonderful cast, this is a beautiful film that pulls at the heartstrings.

Huston plays a preacher who comes into a poor community and has to take what little money, food, and hand-me-downs they give him for himself, his wife (Bondi) and his young son Jason (Gene Reynolds). Jason always resents it and has an uneasy relationship with his strict father. When he grows older, he realizes he can't stay there, and, desiring to be a doctor, he leaves.

Jason, with the help of money his mother sends him and working his way through school, succeeds in becoming a doctor. While he is in school, his father dies, and he returns home, losing time at school.

Once he gets back to school, he constantly writes to his mother asking for money, and little by little over the years, she sells everything she has. After not hearing from him for several years and the Civil War going on, she is afraid that he might be dead.

This is the story of a family, told with honest emotion that at times is almost painful to watch. Huston plays his role with great dignity and a no-nonsense Puritan spirit. Bondi, as the warm, sympathetic mother, devoted to her husband, is fantastic.

James Stewart gives a multilayered performance - though he plays an ingrate, he is likable and sincere. The character's ingratitude is not from lack of love -- it comes from being self-involved and also unaware of the sacrifices his mother is making.

Guy Kibbee, John Carradine, Gene Reynolds, and Ann Rutherford, are all wonderful. And might I mention, Pilgrim the horse is a real standout.

Gene Reynolds, who plays the young Jason, became the producer of shows such as M*A*S*H and is also a director. The child actress who played the young Annie Hawks (who becomes Ann Rutherford) was Leatrice Joy Gilbert, the daughter of John Gilbert. I had the pleasure of speaking with her once - a lovely woman.

Don't miss this touching film.

Fine Performances But Pretty Bad Story

[Michael_Elliott · 26 April 2011]

Of Human Hearts (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This MGM film starts off as melodrama then moves to soap opera before eventually crashing as something completely cornball. Thankfully we have a terrific cast delivering fine performances or else this thing wouldn't work at all. It tells the story of a preacher (Walter Huston) who is constantly battling his son (James Stewart as adult, Gene Reynolds as child) who eventually wants to go in a different direction and become a doctor. The son goes off to medical school and constantly has to write home asking his poor mother (Beulah Bondi) for money and never really giving her the time or credit she deserves for her sacrifice. OF HUMAN HEARTS offers up a terrific cast but the story turns so incredibly cornball during the final fifteen-minutes that you can't help but throw your hands up in the air and wonder what the studio, writer and director were thinking. This is certainly far from a bad movie but this is due to the terrific cast including Huston who turns in another strong performance. He plays the part in the typical Huston fashion, which means integrity and stern. Stewart is also very good in his part as he manages to really make you believe how naive and rather stupid his character is when it comes to what his mother is doing for him. Reynolds plays the part as a child and he too is wonderful and works extremely well with Huston as the two are constantly going against one another. Bondi deserved her Oscar-nomination as her role doesn't feature too many lines but we get to know everything we should by her simple body movements and some extremely strong work with her eyes, which tells so much. The supporting cast includes good bits by Guy Kibbee as a cheap store owner, Gene Lockhart as a janitor, Ann Rutherford as Stewart's girlfriend and Charles Coburn as the town doctor/drunk. One of the best performances in the film comes from John Carradine who is only here for about four-minutes as he plays President Lincoln. The performance by Carradine is very striking because of how he plays the part. The actor comes off incredibly strong and you can't help but feel as if you're watching a real president. I was really shocked at how close Carradine looked like Lincoln so you have to give the make-up department a lot of credit. However, this scene is extremely bad as Lincoln calls Stewart in from the Civil War to jump on him for not writing to his mother!! This scene is so incredibly bad and it leads to an even worse conclusion that you can't help but wish Carradine had gotten a separate movie where he could have played this part. It also doesn't help that the screenplay doesn't make the preacher or the son characters you really care about because both of them seem way too self-centered. With that said, if you're a fan of any of the cast members then you might want to check this out but sadly it's yet another MGM that contains way too much sugar for its own good.

Required Viewing for Mother's Day

[evanston_dad · 8/10 · 22 May 2023]

This movie should be required viewing for Mother's Day.

It's all about Beulah Bondi putting up with an uptight preacher husband and a spoiled brat son and getting no thanks from either until one dies and the other one gets yelled at by Abraham Lincoln and told to appreciate his mother or get court martialed.

Beulah Bondi received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for this film, and she deserved it. She gives a lovely performance and anchors the film, and her presence manages to be felt even in the parts of the film where she's not on screen. Walter Huston plays the preacher husband, and he's really good as always, but I can't say I was sorry to see him go around the film's half way point. James Stewart is the son, and he's good too before he was known as a major star. And I was struck by the naturalistic acting of the young boy who plays Stewart as a child, a far cry from the cringey performances of most child actors from this time period.

Grade: A.

One of Jimmy Stewart's Earliest Dramatic Roles

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 16 December 2023]

Actor Jimmy Steward, known for his highly dramatic scenes in domestic situations, had yet to show his dynamic range in his first three years in Hollywood. In February 1938 "Of Human Hearts," Stewart made up for lost time in his role as Union Army surgeon Jason Wilkins.

"Of Human Hearts" is a story of a mother who supports her son while his ornery preacher father, Rev. Ethan Wilkins (Walther Huston), applies strict discipline when Jason was a boy (Gene Reynolds). Jimmy Stewart arrives on the scene 42 minutes into the motion picture as director Clarence Brown zips forward to show Jason now as an adult who goes off to medical school in Baltimore, leaving his poverty-stricken parents behind in a small Ohio town. To pay for tuition, his mother, Mary (Beulah Bondi), sells much of her personal possessions after her husband dies. Jason enlists in the Union Army when the Civil War breaks out, and to pay for his $70 Army surgeon officer's uniform mom has to sell her son's beloved horse Pilgrim

Bondi gives a heartrending performance as the abandoned mother who never hears from her son for two years while the war rages. Says James Stewart's biographer Gary Fisgall, the actress "was never better. Her simple, good-hearted woman, torn between a stubborn husband and a callow son, provided the picture's solid core." Bondi earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, her second after nominated in the same category in 1936's "The Gorgeous Hussy." Bondi was earlier named as May Robson's last minute replacement as Aunt Polly in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but Robson made a miraculous recovery from her illness, allowing Bondi to appear in "Of Human Hearts." This was the first of four movies Stewart and Bondi paired up, including two roles as Jimmy's mother in both "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" and in 1946's "It's A Wonderful Life."

Based on an actual incident during the Civil War, "Of Human Hearts" has Jason summoned by Abraham Lincoln when he received a letter from Mary lamenting she hadn't heard from her son for two years and was worried he died. History showed Lincoln had reprimanded a young soldier who was recalled from the battlefield because he failed to correspond with his mother. Stewart's biographer Donald Dewey claims this was the actor's best early performance. "His emotional persuasiveness in a monologue to Bondi that veers back and forth from contempt for the family's living conditions to a wonder at the mysteries contained by human bones, rates as one of his best screen moments before World War II." "Of Human Hearts" also is the first time Stewart, who played in a series of Westerns, is seen riding a horse, in this case on Pilgrim.

"Of Human Hearts" was given the green light by MGM after Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel "Gone With The Wind" became a runaway best seller. Previous movies about the Civil War were box office poison. Director Clarence Brown had long wanted to produce a film based on the Willsie Morrow 1917 novel 'Benefits Forgot,' but was rejected at every turn. As the motion picture was about to be released, MGM conducted a contest to name the movie, with the winning entry "Of Human Hearts." Greenville, South Carolina high school student Ray Harris won $5,000, and the studio premiered the film in his hometown. Stewart, Bondi and the rest of the cast attended the big event surrounding the picture's release in the South Carolina city.