You'll Like My Mother
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Lamont Johnson
Patty Duke
Rosemary Murphy
Richard Thomas
Sian Barbara Allen
Dennis Rucker
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After her air pilot husband Matthew is killed in Vietnam, young, pregnant Francesca Kinsolving takes a three-day bus trip through a driving snowstorm to stay with the mother-in-law she has never met. Despite Matthew's assurances her that she would get along very well with his mother, Francesca finds Mrs. Kinsolving cold and inhospitable upon her arrival at the grand, if gloomy, family mansion. Although determined to depart after her mother-in-law's unfriendly reception, Francesca is forced to spend the night due to the ferocity of the storm. That evening at dinner, served by Mrs. Kinsolving's mentally handicapped teenaged daughter Kathleen, who Francesca did not know existed, Matthew's mother declares she was never told of her son's marriage and is not interested in Francesca or her baby. That night after exploring her room, Francesca discovers a telegram from Matthew announcing their marriage and wonders why Mrs. Kinsolving has lied to her. Later, Kathleen brings Francesca a cup of cocoa and a newspaper clipping about her cousin Kenny, who is wanted for a vicious rape-murder. When Francesca awakens many hours later, she realizes that the cocoa was drugged. Still unable to depart because of the weather and now desperate to learn more about the family, Francesca investigates the library and discovers in the family Bible that Matthew's mother died eleven days after her son. Shock from this news sends Francesca into labor and Mrs. Kinsolving, a trained nurse, helps deliver a baby daughter, who she tells Kathleen, is stillborn. When Francesca has recovered slightly, Mrs. Kinsolving tells her that Kathleen has buried the infant, but later Kathleen secretly takes Francesca to the attic where she has hidden the healthy baby girl, and explains that Mrs. Kinsolving had mistakenly assumed the baby was stillborn. Soon after, Francesca is terrified to learn that Kenny is hiding in the mansion and wonders how she can remove her baby to safety. Through careful eavesdropping, Francesca soon learns that Mrs. Kinsolving is Matthew's aunt and Kathleen and Kenny's mother, and plans to drive Francesca away so that she might claim Matthew's inheritance. When Mrs. Kinsolving discovers that Francesca's baby is still alive, she tells Kenny that their plot has been discovered. The following day when the weather has cleared, Mrs. Kinsolving arranges for Francesca to get a ride to the bus from a mechanic, who is actually Kenny. Panicking, Francesca takes her baby and flees, with Kenny chasing her to the carriage house. Just as Kenny is about to attack Francesca, Kathleen intervenes, stabbing her brother in the back with a pair of scissors, sending Mrs. Kinsolving into deranged despair.
Director
Lamont Johnson
Cast
Patty Duke
Rosemary Murphy
Richard Thomas
Sian Barbara Allen
Dennis Rucker
Harold Congdon
James Glazman
James Neumann
Jessica Rains
Paul Ryan
Sandra Vacey
Charlene Jones
Crew
Edward M. Abroms
Brad Aronson
Florence Avery
Tom Bishop
Mort Briskin
Bob Burton
Jim Coe
Joe Collins
Joe L. Cramer
Gary Daigler
Jack Danskin
William D. De Cinces
Gerry Fischer
Joe Goss
Pete Gregory
Bill Griffith
Jo Heims
Floyd Joyer
Earl Kennedy
Tom Kessenich
Fred Knudtson
Sherman Kunkell
Gail Makowski
Jack A. Marta
Jim Martindale
Al Martino
Gil Melle
Monty Menapace
Melvin M. Metcalfe Sr.
Louis Notto
John E. Pommer
Sylvia Posner
Charles A. Pratt
Forest Rankin
Mark Reedall
Blackie Rosenkrantz
Vincent Saizis
Chuck Sefton
Ron Stafford
Bill Tenny
Frank Thackery
Albert Thomas
Lois Thurman
Pat Toland
George Triandos
George Ward
Waldon O. Watson
Eddie Wayman
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Filmed at the Congdon Mansion in Duluth, MN. After the murder of mansion owner and prominent heiress Elizabeth Congdon in the late 1970s, a movie theatre in Duluth revived the movie at midnight showings (much to the chagrin of the Congdon family).
Notes
Although the film's copyright holder and production company is listed by copyright records as Bing Crosby Productions, Inc., some contemporary sources refer to the company as BCP Productions, Inc. For more information on BCP, please see the entry above for the 1971 picture Willard. You'll Like My Mother, which was the second feature film produced by the company, marked the motion picture debuts of Sian Barbara Allen and Dennis Rucker.
According to reviews, the film was shot on location in and around Duluth, MN. According to modern sources, the film was shot at the Glensheen Historic Estate, completed in 1908 by mining millionaire Chester Adgate Congdon. In 1977, Congdon's daughter, heiress Elisabeth Congdon, was found murdered at the mansion, purportedly at the behest of her adopted daughter, who hoped to receive her inheritance.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1972
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1972
