The Family Secret

This movie was horrible. I couldn't even get through it. It's about a young man that supposedly kills his best friend in self defense. He claims the friend was drunk and starting attacking him so he had to defend himself and accidentally kills him. John Derek plays the man who commits the murder. And his dad, played by Lee J. Cobb, just happens to be an attorney.

This is cookie-cutter soap opera drama. The acting is horrible, except for the gal that plays John Derek's secretary, played by Jody Lawrence. At one point, she is relaying phone messages "from your harem", to Derek's character. But she does it by taking on the accents and mannerisms of each of the callers. It's hilarious! But there's nothing else here worth watching.

The beginning of The Family Secret immediately hooks you in: John Derek, the teenage son of Lee J. Cobb and Erin O'Brien-Moore, comes home early from a night on the town. He washes mud off his tires and changes his clothes before greeting his parents and their dinner guests. We find out soon why he's so morose and cryptic: he's just killed his childhood friend. It was self-defense and accidental, but he still fled from the scene and tampered with evidence. Lee, an upstanding citizen and prominent lawyer, knows his son will do the right thing and confess immediately. Erin wants to cover it up. John's entire life would be ruined, she argues, and it wouldn't bring the dead boy back. As you can tell from the title, John decides to take his mother's advice.

With exception to the jazz music played in some scenes, this feels like a noir from the 1940s. There's a lot of voice-over narration explaining things that don't need explaining, and the scene construction and direction feel very much a part of the silver screen rather than the golden age. Plus with solid character actors from that era like Whit Bissell (who will tug win your sympathy as he struggles with his weak heart), Henry O'Neill, Carl Benton Reid, and Harry Cheshire, it sets the mood of the late 1940s. I rented it to see a solid, fatherly performance from Lee (but I didn't mind the eye candy of John either) and it was nice to see him in a good-guy role, unlike On the Waterfront and The Trap. If you like this one, check out a similarly themed drama also starring John Derek, Knock on Any Door.

Taut Indie Produced by Bogart's Short-Lived "Santana-Studio".

An Intimate Family Conflict Brought On by John Derrick (at 25 playing young) and his Revelation to HIs Family of a "Self-Defense" Killing (a friend) and Subsequent Fleeing the Scene.

The Drama Heats Up When Lee J. Cobb (in a very unusual laid-back mode), the Father, and an Attorney, Advises His Son to Turn Him-Self In, while the Mother (Erin Moore) Thinks He Should Lay-Low and Forget it, even though the Victim is Her Best Friend's Son.

A Fever-Pitch is Reached when an Innocent Man (Whit Bissell) is Arrested and Put on Trial for the Crime.

Then There's a Big Twist.

A Brooding, Simmering Story that is Familiar but Given Enough Gravitas from the Players and some Surprises.

John Derrick Plays the "Playboy" Girl-Magnet with Ease, and Reaches Deep for some Angst, Regret, Conflict, and His "Better Angels".

Overall, Somewhat Compelling "Little" Movie with "Big" Life-Lessons on its Mind.

Directed by the Prolific but Inconsistent Henry Levin.

It Succeeds with some Melodramatic Ways that Makes it a Borderline Film-Noir and...

Worth a Watch.

Twenty five year old john derek. When david may be in serious legal trouble, his parents (lee cobb and erin obrien moore) can't agree on what to do. Dad is an attorney, and certainly knows the law inside and out. To make matters worse, it involves their best friends. Small role for familiar face whit bissell. Some heavy issues in this suspense drama.... having the courage to do the right thing, as well as damaged family communication. Right versus wrong tackled in the 1950s in films. It's very well done, although they could have left out the over the top drunk scene where david acts like a total jerk. Cobb was nominated for two films in the 1950s, and appeared in the HUAC congressional hearings. Directed by henry levin. Directed a couple biggies, but looks like he never got the oscar. Check out john derek's story on wikipedia; he sure covered a lot of ground.

If you really want to expose a bad actor's badness then put him or her up against a great actor. Like Ava Gardner opposite Bogie in "Contessa". Or Natalie Trundy juxtaposed with Dean Stockwell in "Careless Years". Or John Derek, in this snorer, next to Juror #3.