this story of the trouble cause by an over possessive and overpower and domineer and unscrupulous mother ( laura hope crew ) for her two grown son and and their girl and be a strong vehicle for stellar performance by irene dunn ( the new daughter in law ) and joel mccrea ( the number one son ) and eric linden ( the number two son ) and france dee ( fiance of number two son ) . here the show of the pure tyranny of mother jealousy and possessiveness run amok a four good people find their own life damage and their plan change and their own identity in jeopardy . irene dunn be stellar in her role . joel mccrea performance be open and clear and laura hope crew be masterful a the mother . yet this reviewer find france dee performance the best of all . hers be the first character in the story to show the strength of her inner feeling . her portrayal in her heartbreak broken engagement scene be gut wrenching and and even raw . dee yank the viewer around and drive you into her pain without even show her face . france dee and like laura hope crew and have be too long overlooked and and be now almost forget a the magnificent actress that she be . no actress who start in film after wwii have have anything to speak of on france dee . if youre lucky enough to see the silver cord and which be never release for tv and you will find this old fashion draw room drama to be an outstanding film that show very well 74 year after it 1933 release because it be fill with superb performance .