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      Their Own Desire

      Released Dec 27, 1929 1h 5m Drama List
      Reviews 41% Audience Score 50+ Ratings When pretty young Lally Marlett (Norma Shearer) discovers that her father, Henry (Lewis Stone), is leaving her mother, Harriet (Belle Bennett), for another woman, she effectively disowns him. Later, Lally falls for the dashing John Douglas Cheever (Robert Montgomery), but is dismayed to find out that he's the son of Beth Cheever (Helene Millard), her father's intended second wife. Can Lally reconcile with her father and continue her relationship with John? Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Louisa E The story was implausible but also heartwarming. I felt Norma and Robert over-acted a bit too much but Lewis Stone was at his magnificent best as usual. The costumes were great and while the effects were a bit unrealistic, at least they tried. The movie kept me engaged throughout most of it and I liked the ending. Pretty obvious that the age difference between mother and daughter wasn't realistic. A good watch. 6.95/10 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Their Own Desire is a melodrama. Youv'e got to keep in mind that talkies were new, otherwise you'll never get past the overacting. Women will cover their mouths as they exclaim, "What shall I do?" There are not title cards but there might as well be. Norma Shearer stars as a daughter caught in the middle of her parents divorce. Her father left her mother for another woman. Belle is distraught and attempts suicide and Norma takes her side. It's hard on her since she and her dad were close. Norma meets a handsome man and falls in love. Just as they become engaged, they find out Bob is his father's new girlfriends son. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member It's instructive to know this is an early talkie movie. That would account for the overly emotive acting and double-takes. Dialog is overwrought as well. Probably good for its time, it's hard for me not to think of it as one of those good-bad movies with the gee-whillikers romance talk and melodramatic plot twists. Johnny C sez check it out for all that. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review steve d Simple but entertaining. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The plot is pretty simple and this 65 minute film is in general pretty average, with one exception - Norma Shearer, who is so charming I rounded my review score up a bit. She's the epitome of the 1920's flapper - playful, adventurous, and in control of her own destiny. She's also smart, sexy in a natural way, and has an infectious laugh - truly a delight to watch. She plays the spunky daughter of a couple who divorce, and later finds herself unknowingly falling in love with Robert Montgomery, the son of her father's new wife, setting up inner conflict. I love how we see her character playing polo, diving from a high board, and canoeing in a storm - and also how we see her romantic, and in control of how far she wants to take things. She occasionally overacts but is so natural and spontaneous otherwise that I'm not surprised she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member I potentially did not appreciate this film due to the terrible quality of the copy that I saw. I have liked Shearer in other roles but couldn't adequately get into this one. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Their Own Desire

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis When pretty young Lally Marlett (Norma Shearer) discovers that her father, Henry (Lewis Stone), is leaving her mother, Harriet (Belle Bennett), for another woman, she effectively disowns him. Later, Lally falls for the dashing John Douglas Cheever (Robert Montgomery), but is dismayed to find out that he's the son of Beth Cheever (Helene Millard), her father's intended second wife. Can Lally reconcile with her father and continue her relationship with John?
      Director
      E. Mason Hopper
      Distributor
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Production Co
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 27, 1929, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jul 7, 2010
      Runtime
      1h 5m