Hitchcock's first 'malignant mother'

.... appeared in, I believe, 'Easy Virtue' (1928) and was played by
Violet Farebrother (1888-1969).

The character is named Mrs. Whittaker and is mother to the young man
named John, whom Larita, the film's main protagonist, seems to have
fallen in love with while living in France.

Reasons for the mother being so suspicious and unwelcoming towards
Larita have mainly to do with the fact that (1) John was already in a
relationship with another woman, one who Mrs. Whittaker had obviously
grown to approve of and (2) Larita seems quite a bit older than John
(.. indeed, the two actors have ten years between them).

Fergal #.

Another interesting point to be made about this film is the way the
Mother and Daughter search together to find out exactly who Larita is.
Perhaps it was because they feared that John has married a gold-digger?

"Easy Virtue" is a favorite of mine because of the final scene.

Rich

sawakatoome wrote:
> ... appeared in, I believe, 'Easy Virtue' (1928) and was played by
> Violet Farebrother (1888-1969).
>
> The character is named Mrs. Whittaker and is mother to the young man
> named John, whom Larita, the film's main protagonist, seems to have
> fallen in love with while living in France.
>
> Reasons for the mother being so suspicious and unwelcoming towards
> Larita have mainly to do with the fact that (1) John was already in a
> relationship with another woman, one who Mrs. Whittaker had obviously
> grown to approve of and (2) Larita seems quite a bit older than John
> (.. indeed, the two actors have ten years between them).
>
> Fergal #.