jarrodmcdonald-1 There are some very humorous and poignant moments sprinkled throughout EMMA, though it is largely a drama. Myrna Loy is good in a supporting role, just before she shot to stardom with THE THIN MAN series. And so is Richard Cromwell as Ronnie. But this is Marie Dressler's film all the way.Miss Dressler received an Oscar for Min and Bill (which she deserved), but the actress is even better in this film. She was nominated for Emma and in this writer's opinion should have had a second Oscar. The courtroom scene is truly spectacular. And the ending is sublime.I am surprised MGM never turned this one into a weekly television series.

blanche-2 I saw "Emma" as a child over 50 years ago. I only remembered three scenes in it and never knew the names of the stars or the name of the film, for that matter. Thanks to IMDb, I was able to go on one of the message boards and find out the name of the film and that the star "who was a Marie Dressler type" as I recalled was indeed Marie Dressler (what instincts I had, even in childhood). I was just able to actually see the film on TCM. I'd love to know why it is we remember certain phrases and scenes growing up - the parts I remembered in "Emma" were exactly as I recalled them."Emma" is the story of a housekeeper who cares for a motherless family, actually raising the youngest, Ronnie (Richard Cromwell) when his mother dies in childbirth. The entire family is very dependent upon her. Mr. Smith (Jean Hersholt) over the years becomes very wealthy as an inventor, so his kids grow up in wealth and, with the exception of Ronnie, become horrific, ungrateful brats. Emma, of course, thinks they're wonderful and is blind to their faults. When Emma leaves for her first vacation, Mr. Smith accompanies her to the station, buys an extra ticket for Niagara Falls and proposes. The two enjoy their time there, but it's to be their only time as man and wife. Mr. Smith's chronically bad heart gives out, and he dies. All of his money is left to Emma with the proviso that she take care of the children, who would squander every cent unsupervised. The children (Myrna Loy, Kathryn Crawford and George Meeker) assume Emma is going to take all of the money for herself. To break the will, they accuse her of murdering their father. Emma is put on trial for murder. Ronnie is away in the wilds of Canada and doesn't learn about this until the trial is underway.This is such a sweet story, buoyed by the magnificent performance of Marie Dressler. What an actress! Warm, strong and honest, she pulls at your heart. The very handsome Richard Cromwell, Angela Lansbury's first husband, is the adorable and adored Ronnie, and he gives an energetic performance. Cromwell had an interesting life. Not only did he enjoy some years as an actor in A productions, but he was a successful artist his entire life. Eventually, he opened his own studio. After years out of films, he was scheduled to make one, but withdrew when he was diagnosed with cancer. Jean Hersholt is excellent as Mr. Smith. Myrna Loy as one of the brat kids is absolutely stunning, though she doesn't have much to do except to act stuck-up.Highly recommended. Any movie that can stay in your mind and heart for over 50 years has something going for it. Emma had several things, the best being Marie Dressler.

lwsroute66 This was an outstanding movie and Marie Dressler was at her best, as usual!!!! This was slightly different from other Dressler roles because this was more of a dramatic role, rather than her usual brand of comedy, although she does have comedic scenes within the movie.She has so much depth to her role as Emma, the housekeeper (and nanny), and one can actually feel the joys and happiness when she's working with the family, as well as the pain, suffering, and sorrow she feels when her husband (played by Jean Hersholt) passes away. The scene that really got me the most, though, was right after inheriting her husband's money, his grown children turned on her. (These are the same children whom she looked after from their childhoods.) After demanding they leave the house, Emma begins to feel saddened by seeing visions of these young children she helped to raise from infancy. That scene really got to me. I felt her pain, wondering "How could these children grow up and turn on her like that?" And when her beloved step-son, Ronnie, died, that was really the clincher! I basically predicted THAT would happen but, nonetheless, I could still feel her pain.When watching this movie, grab your popcorn AND a box of Kleenex, because you will need them!!!!

bmacv Too bad Marie Dressler became a star only in the last few years of her life (she died in 1934, shortly after making her best-known films like Anna Christie, Min and Bill, Tugboat Annie and Dinner at Eight). From the evidence, her range was incredible -- she could play just about anything but a femme fatale, and that's only because age and girth got to her. In the early 1930s, she appeared in some utterly delightful comedies (Politics; Prosperity; Reducing). Emma is a conventional tearjerker. As the housekeeper/surrogate mom for a brood of kids who go from genteel poverty to riches, Emma, on her way to Niagara Falls for a long-overdue vacation, ends up marrying the widower head of the household. He up and dies, leaving all to Emma. All the kids she loves -- save one, her favorite -- gang up on her (and she ends up losing that favorite anyway, in a "twist of fate"). What's interesting is that a script today would give her an unqualified triumph and the kids their comeuppance. But in keeping with the late-Victorian sensibility of the times (big on self-sacrifice, down on blowing your own horn), the ending, while not tragic or pathetic, is much more low-key.