In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

1939 film:
My Son is Guilty (1939)

Release date:
Dec. 28, 1939

Cast:
Harry Carey, Bruce Cabot, Julie Bishop (billed as Jacqueline Wells), Glenn Ford, Bruce Bennett, Wynne Gibson, Don Beddoe, John Tyrrell, Dick Curtis, Edgar Buchanan
Themselves: The Nicholas Brothers

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Charles Barton

Plot:
Ritzy Kerry (Cabot) is released from prison, returning home to his policeman father, Tim Kerry (Carey), with a chip on his shoulder believing his dad could have stopped his imprisonment. Ritzy’s girl, Julia (Bishop), also has a new beau (Ford), which Ritzy doesn’t take kindly to. While Tim wants his son to get a good job, Ritzy once again gets involved with another mob, which results in robberies and deaths around the city. Tim unfortunately realizes, he has to stop his son from causing more destruction.

1939 Notes:
• By the numbers:

Actor	Number of Films Released in 1939
Bruce Cabot	6
Harry Carey	6
Glenn Ford	2
Julie Bishop	6
Wynne Gibson	2
Bruce Bennett	5

Other trivia:
• Julie Bishop is billed under her real name, Jacqueline Wells
• Working title was “Cop from Hell’s Kitchen.”
• Glenn Ford’s second film.

My review: Searching for the “1939 feature”:
Throughout the 1930s, an abundance of films detailing prison reform and what happens to people when they are released from prison were out in theaters. Particularly in 1939, several films were released about post-prison life, from INVISBLE STRIPES to THEY ALL COME OUT.

MY SON IS GUILTY is another one of those films. Instead of focusing on the difficulties of acclimating to daily life and having troubles finding jobs after incarceration, MY SON IS GUILTY takes a look at the cycle of continuing a life of crime after being released from jail.

In the film, Bruce Cabot plays Ritzy Kerry, who is released from jail. After being away for two years, he’s welcomed home by his father, Tim (Harry Carey), who is a police officer and his girl, Julia (Julie Bishop). Both have hopes that he will “go straight” and get a job, but Ritzy falls in again with a different gang of criminals. Ritzy’s crimes with this new racket lead to deaths. While Ritzy also believes Julia is still his girl, she is more interested in the more stable relationship she has with writer, Barney, played by Glenn Ford in his second film role.

One interesting, but not unusual, plot point in this film is that father and son are on opposite sides of the law: Harry Carey playing a police officer and Bruce Cabot, a criminal.

While Bruce Cabot may be the star of this film, for me, it’s Harry Carey who steals the picture. As the policeman father, he doesn’t play a blowhard or a lecturing dad. Instead, Carey plays a nuanced character. He is a weary, sad figure who feels responsible for the way his son’s life turned out, wondering if he was too involved with his own career.

This is also an interesting film, because it is Glenn Ford’s second film role. Ford remembered this film fondly, because he met actor Edgar Buchanan during the filming, who became a longtime friend.

Another highlight is the Nicholas Brothers dancing in a brief nightclub scene.

While this brief, hour long movie may not be at the top of anyone’s “Best of 1939” list, it does feature an excellent performance from Harry Carey, and an interesting installment in the “life after incarceration” films of this time period.

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