My Son John

Synopsis: John Jefferson comes home from a trip overseas a strangely changed man. His already nervous wreck of a mother is distraught by the way he seems to be feigning feelings for her and his father that he no longer has. Plus, his odd refusal to accompany the family to church on Sunday not only disturbs her but their priest as well. He also seems to be making fun of and smirking at his father's jubilant expressions of patriotism. His poor mother cannot imagine what could have caused such a change in her favorite son, who used to be loving and church-going and now seems remote from both. He also gets strange calls and goes off to strange "meetings" with no explanation. He is also being watched by an FBI agent who comes to the home and greatly disturbs John's mother with his odd questions about him. Eventually the horrible truth comes out: John is a Communist spy! No wonder he has no real feelings for his family and shuns the church he once loved!During a high-speed chase, John is killed, but h
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Leo McCarey
Production: Paramount Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.
 
IMDB:
5.6
Rotten Tomatoes:
60%
NOT RATED
Year:
1952
122 min
231 Views


What's the matter, pop?

You're gettin' kinda clumsy,

huh, boy?

Don't forget,

I didn't handle the ball,

I was a tackle.

That's right, pop.

They always went through you.

Is that so?

Mother, we're waiting.

Lucille, will you

please hurry up?

We're going to be late.

Dan Jefferson!

Please be quiet,

the baby's asleep!

I'm sorry.

Don't lose your temper, pop.

You know today's Sunday.

Yes, I know,

but this happens every Sunday.

Every Sunday, I...

see what I mean?

Five minutes to.

Don't get impatient, Dan!

I'll only be two minutes.

Why don't you start the motor

or something?

Bring the car around front.

Have I time to wash it?

Hahaha-ha-ha,

that's very funny.

I think I better drive, dad,

you're a little nervous.

I'll drive.

I'm not nervous.

Boys, I love your mother,

but when I think

of all the man-hours

that I've lost waiting for her,

I... I could have...

you could've painted the house.

Good morning.

Good morning to you.

Good morning.

Hello, Joe.

Good morning.

Well, Chuck and Ben.

It seems only yesterday

that I baptized you two boys.

That's right, Bob.

Our prayers go with you,

you know that.

Thank you, father.

Where's John?

Isn't he coming today?

Oh, uh, well, he...

he was, uh, detained.

He'll probably be

at the house for dinner.

May your guardian angels

be right alongside your boys.

And if the going gets rough,

I hope they're a little out

in front of us, father.

Yeah, doing a little

blocking for us.

I'm going to miss you.

I'll drop by the house

and pick you two up later.

Where's your car?

We're just around the side here.

Well, I'll go

around there with you.

Little more wine.

Oh, no, Dan, no...

now, now, this is not

gonna hurt you at all.

Hey, take it easy there, pop.

We don't want to leave

with our mother under the table.

Yeah, she oughta stay sober.

Well, we've drunk

to everything else,

let's, uh, let's have

a toast to, uh,

well, to John

in absentia.

John'll show up, pop.

Don't get worried.

- There.

- Sure.

He's probably down

at the station now.

Yes?

It's Western union.

All right, I'll take it down.

Oh.

Not coming.

Mmmm.

Ten cents a word.

Not him.

He uses $2 words.

Thank you.

He can't come at all.

Aw, that...

that's tough.

"Due to sudden official business

am indeterminately

detained here.

Try to make it next week.

Good luck to Chuck and Ben

and love to mother

and dad."

I'd like to see that.

That "love to dad."

He really said it, Dan.

I sw...

believe me.

He said love, he meant

for everybody.

Well, that's that.

Well, anyway,

you fellas could make it.

Would have been so nice

if we'd all been together

on this...

On their last...

Oh.

What time, what time?

Bet it's the padre.

Yes, or it'sa station wagon.

Oh, hello, father.

Is it that time?

Well, uh, if I were

to drive the boys

all the way to asheville...

how are you, boys?

I think... I think

we better be getting started.

This is the first time

you haven't been glad to see me,

but I understand.

I understand.

Well.

Write, you two.

Sure.

Sure, mom.

We'll send you an opium pipe.

So long, sweater girl.

You all right?

I'm fine.

Ouch.

Oh, Dr. carver.

Hello, Lucille.

Did you say,

"come on in?"

Oh, yes.

Well, I was just going to.

Hi, doc.

Hello, Dan.

Come on in.

Well, who's sick?

Maybe he is.

Oh, I wanted to tell you

how sorry I am that I missed

Ben and Chuck last week.

But half the county

is having a baby binge.

Well, there's nobody sick here.

Well, there's nobody

going to be.

Sit down and pay attention.

Well, what on earth?

Now an old back talk.

Mm-hmm.

With the boys off

fighting a war,

a woman at your time of life

is going to be under

a bigger strain

than she is already.

Now, these are good.

Proven it.

I want you to take

three every day.

Go and take one right now.

And when they're gone,

call me up.

I'll be seeing ya.

Now, you listen here.

You listen to him.

You have dizzy spells, don't ya?

Listen to the doctor, will ya?

Look at him.

Look, doctor,

if anything is happening to me,

wouldn't you say

that it's just about

what's been happening

ever since wars and women began?

All I know is

that women your age

sometimes bust up

with far less reason.

Well, I'm not going

to bust a bustle.

I'm not mentioning any names,

but I have two wrapped up

in the rest home right now.

I bet I can guess

who one of them is.

- Is it...

- never mind.

Never mind.

Well, don't you let her

get away with that.

I went to school with her.

You know, Lucille,

I admire your attitude

and I agree with you.

What God intended.

She used to go to school

on Saturdays.

Lu, will ya...

will you do

what the doctor says?

Go take one of these right now.

All right, all right.

Good.

The frail little woman

will do his biddin'.

Happy?

Doc.

What do you

really think it is...

oh, now, Dan, Dan.

If anything ever

happened to her, I...

don't worry.

You are!

Finally!

Hello, mother.

It's been almost a year now.

Let me look at ya.

Oh, I feel fine, mother.

Now wait a minute!

This is supposed to be

a happy occasion!

Oh, here's your father.

Well, well, John.

Welcome home.

Thank you, father.

Ah, taller than a lamp post.

Well, you haven't changed much

that I can see, father.

I feel about the same.

John looks

a little tired though,

don't you think?

Uh, no.

Looks good to me.

It's so good you could

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Leo McCarey

Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 movies, the most well known today being Duck Soup, Make Way for Tomorrow, The Awful Truth, Going My Way, The Bells of St. Mary's, My Son John and An Affair To Remember.While focusing mainly on screwball comedies during the 1930s, McCarey turned towards producing more socially conscious and overtly religious movies during the 1940s, ultimately finding success and acclaim in both genres. McCarey was one of the most popular and established comedy directors of the pre-World War II era. more…

All Leo McCarey scripts | Leo McCarey Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "My Son John" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/my_son_john_14384>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    My Son John

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.