Edward, My Son
Edward, My Son is a 1949 British drama directed by George Cukor for MGM-British. It stars Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr, and is based on a 1947 play by Noel Langley and Robert Morley. The title character, Edward, is never shown on screen.
The story follows Arnold Boult, a Canadian-born financier, and his wife Evelyn in London after World War I. They celebrate Edward’s first birthday. Edward becomes seriously ill and needs expensive surgery abroad. Boult plans to burn his building to collect insurance money to pay for the operation and becomes very powerful in the process, determined to protect his son at all costs.
As the years pass, Edward grows into a reckless, alcoholic young man. Evelyn worries about him. Boult’s secretary, Eileen Perrin, has an affair with Boult and later dies of an overdose. A detective threatens to reveal the truth, and Boult tries to keep control. Edward serves as a Royal Air Force pilot in World War II and dies in a plane crash with his crew.
Meanwhile, Boult learns that Dr. Woodhope has a child with Betty Foxley, who is pregnant with Edward’s child. Boult wants to find the child as a family legacy. He is briefly jailed for arson but is released and resumes his search.
The screenplay stays faithful to the play, with the main change that Boult is Canadian so Tracy could avoid an accent. Leueen MacGrath plays Eileen, though Katharine Hepburn was considered for the role. The film did not recoup its budget, and critics found the story gripping but noted some weaknesses in Tracy’s performance. Deborah Kerr received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:42 (CET).