The Prodigal
Brief Synopsis
A wealthy southern boy takes to the road as a hobo.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Harry Pollard
Director
Lawrence Tibbett
Jeffry [Farraday]
Esther Ralston
Antonia [Farraday]
Roland Young
Doc [Somerset Greenman]
Cliff Edwards
Snipe
Purnell B. Pratt
Rodman [Farraday]
Film Details
Also Known As
The Southerner
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Religion
Release Date
Feb
21,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "The Southerner" by Bess Meredyth and Wells Root (publication undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 16m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
10 reels
Synopsis
When Jeffry Farraday, the black-sheep son of an aristocratic Southern family, returns to his family's plantation after five years of being a hobo, his loving mother directs him to the bathtub and then burns his soiled clothes. Jeffry's inimical brother Rodman and his discontented wife Antonia live at the Farraday estate, as does his sister Catherine, her husband George and their two children, Peter and Elsbeth. Antonia does not love Rodman and is having an affair with Carter Jerome, who sneaks into her bedroom and, after swearing his love for her, begs her to elope with him. Fearing that Rodman will discover them, Antonia tells Carter to leave, but Carter shows little concern and insists that the last place he would expect to find Rodman would be in her bedroom. Though she is not in love with Carter, Antonia decides to flee with him after Rodman strikes her. In addition to the long-standing animosity between him and his brother, Jeffry is also given a cool reception by Catherine, who reminds George that Jeffry is a jailbird and tries to keep Peter and Elsbeth from coming into contact with him. Soon after they meet for the first time, Jeffry and Antonia, both free spirits, become fast friends. Realizing that he is unwelcome at the Farraday house, Jeffry decides to leave with his hobo friends, Somerset "Doc" Greenman and Snipe, who have come to visit him. When Jeffry sees Antonia boarding a train with Carter at the train station, he removes her and tells her that she will be throwing her life away if she leaves. After Jeffry tells her that "a man can be a tramp, but a woman can't," he convinces her to return to Rodman and attend the foxhunt and ball that she is to host with him. During the foxhunt, Antonia happens upon Jeffry, Snipe and Doc, who are fishing in a nearby lake, and talks with them until Carter shows up and accuses Jeffry of being Antonia's lover. Later, after Jeffry and Antonia, who have indeed fallen in love, kiss, he bids her farewell because he cannot betray his brother. Before Jeffry leaves, however, his mother, who believes that he is the more worthy of her two sons, instructs him to marry Antonia once she and Rodman are divorced.
Director
Harry Pollard
Director
Cast
Lawrence Tibbett
Jeffry [Farraday]
Esther Ralston
Antonia [Farraday]
Roland Young
Doc [Somerset Greenman]
Cliff Edwards
Snipe
Purnell B. Pratt
Rodman [Farraday]
Hedda Hopper
Christine
Emma Dunn
Mrs. Cynthia Farraday
Stepin Fetchit
Hokey
Louis John Bartels
George
Theodore Von Eltz
Carter Jerome
Wally Albright Jr.
Peter
Suzanne Ransom
Elsbeth
Gertrude Howard
Naomi
John Larkin
Jackson
H. B. Warner
Crew
Paul Bern
Supervisor
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop
Composer
Margaret Booth
Film Editor
Arthur Freed
Composer
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
René Hubert
Wardrobe
Howard E. Johnson
Composer
Bess Meredyth
Dial cont
John Howard Payne
Composer
Harry Pollard
Company
Wells Root
Dial cont
Harold Rosson
Photography
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
Herbert Stothart
Composer
Oscar Straus
Composer
Jacques Wolfe
Composer
Vincent Youmans
Composer
Film Details
Also Known As
The Southerner
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Religion
Release Date
Feb
21,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "The Southerner" by Bess Meredyth and Wells Root (publication undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 16m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
10 reels
Articles
The Prodigal (1931)
A wealthy southern boy takes to the road as a hobo.
The Prodigal (1931)
A wealthy southern boy takes to the road as a hobo.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was copyrighted as The Southerner, and was reviewed as such in Motion Picture Herald and Hollywood Reporter. According to the Variety review, Bess Meredith and Wells Root wrote the original story with Lawrence Tibbett in mind for the lead. Variety also speculates that although five writers are credited for six musical numbers in the film, "perhaps a lot of it went on the cutting room floor, either before or after the usual coast preview." While Film Daily called the film "so meaningless that it doesn't look like an M-G-M film," Hollywood Reporter praised almost every aspect of the film, and stated that "there is not a foot of film to spare...every moment of it holds you." The Hollywood Reporter review also indicates that because of its "unique" and "daring" theme, the story encountered some difficulty in making its way to the screen. According to modern sources, The Prodigal contains remnants of Pollard's abandoned 1930 film Great Day, including the song "Without a Song."
