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Recommendations
Senior Film Conservator
Exploring the nuanced performance in What Becomes of the Children? is a journey into United States cinema, the thematic layers of this 1936 classic invite a wider exploration of the genre. If Glen Boles, Niles Welch, Shep Houghton impressed you, these next recommendations will too.
With Walter Shumway at the helm, What Becomes of the Children? became to reinvent the tropes of Family cinema for a global audience.
While Boston tycoon John Worthington dreams of building his "Great American Railway," his family life is disintegrating around him. His wife Edith spends all her time on social endeavors, leaving the rearing of their two small children, Freddie and Marion, to their nanny, Gertrude. The neglected Worthington children seek their parents attention and affection, as they witness the normal family life of next-door neighbor Thomas Scott, John's lawyer and closest friend. When Freddie and Marion bring home an abandoned dog, the two are sent to bed early. With both their parents away for the evening, the two sneak out of bed to play hide and seek. Marion, searching for Freddie, falls down the dumbwaiter and is seriously injured. The two parents rush home, and each blames the other for the child's injury. Edith, claiming that John is neglecting her as well as the children, files for divorce. Following their parents, divorce, Freddie and Marion are split up, with Freddie living with John while Marion leaves with Edith. Years later, John has fulfilled his dream of a great railroad empire, but is faced with two dilemmas: his workers are threatening to strike and Freddie has been thrown out of yet another college. John manages to break his workers' union, but Freddie tells his father that he would rather be disinherited than become a mirror of his father. With the help of his girl friend, blues singer Gale Adams, Freddie gets a job as a singing piano player in a small family restaurant. Meanwhile, Marion has led a similarly rebellious life. After Edith informs her that she is going off on a European vacation, Marion disowns her mother, goes to a wild cocktail party, and impulsively marries Roy Daniels. When Daniels is arrested on their wedding night for jewel theft, Marion is arrested as an accessory and spends one year in prison. Released from prison, Marion is unable to find work and contemplates suicide when she is evicted from her apartment. Her next-door neighbor, Elsie, takes her out to dinner, to the restaurant where Freddie works. When Roy enters the restaurant, Elsie, one of his jilted lovers, re-introduces him to his wife. Marion refuses to have anything to do with Roy, and when the thief tries to get rough with her, Freddie comes to her aid. Later, Marion tries to commit suicide by slipping pills into her drink, but Freddie stops her, and the two discover they are brother and sister. They go back to Marion's apartment, but their happy reunion is interrupted by the reappearance of Roy. When Roy and Freddie fight, a gun goes off and Roy is killed. Both Marion and Freddie are placed on trial for murder, and their two parents are reconciled in light of this family tragedy. Gale, convinced that Marion and Freddie are innocent, goes to Elsie and pretends to blackmail her, stating that she saw Elsie shoot Roy. Elsie then admits that Roy's partner, Shelby, was the real murderer. With their names cleared, the Worthingtons all return to their old home. Finally a happy family, Marion and Freddie ask their parents to take them to the zoo, something they had always been too busy before to do.
Based on the unique nuanced performance of What Becomes of the Children?, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Family cinema:
Dir: Harry Southwell
A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.
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Dir: Bruno Ziener
A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.
Dir: Edward Dillon
Her education in a French convent school completed, plain Justine Spencer returns to New York. There she is shocked to discover that her mother Dodo is a flamboyant musical comedy actress with many male admirers. Dodo, on the other hand, is dismayed to find Justine priggish and dowdy. One of Dodo's suitors is Billy Ferris, who, in a fit of jealousy, murders her and slays himself. Out of pity, Cosmo Spotiswood, another admirer of Dodo, marries Justine, but soon tires of his platonic marriage and leaves for Europe. Upon his return, Cosmo finds Justine transformed. Under the tutelage of Dodo's maid Loti, she has bobbed her hair and donned fashionable apparel. Thus changed, Justine is surrounded by suitors. Stung by jealousy, Cosmo falls in love with his sophisticated wife.
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Dir: Hugh Ford
The 'dead' wife of a steel process inventor returns, as does her 'dead' husband, a war amnesiac.
Dir: Maurice Elvey
A lady marries a horse trainer but withholds herself until her crippled brother is cured.
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Dir: Edgar Jones
A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.
Dir: Robert N. Bradbury
A simple country girl, brutally mistreated by her stepfather, awakens first the sympathy, then the love, of The Boy. The Spider, who lusts after The Girl, makes a bargain with the stepfather and takes her to the city where, kept prisoner, she is soon broken in health and spirit. Cast out and near death, she is taken in by The Boy. Following the demise of The Spider, The Boy takes her to church, where he prays, and after many hours she is restored to health.
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Dir: Colin Campbell
Dr. John Brandon, who cares for charity patients in the slums, is thrown together with writer Norma Ashley when her car strikes a boy whom Brandon treats. Under Norma's influence, and against the wishes of his friend Father Farrell, Brandon leaves the slums and becomes the partner of Dr. Thurston, who, unknown to Brandon, is Norma's fiance. Now prosperous, Brandon flies into a rage when he hears Thurston and Norma ridiculing him, and proceeds to beat Thurston and choke Norma to within an inch of her life. Taking to alcohol and drugs in his grief, Brandon becomes a derelict and goes out West to a mission town, where his loud proclamations of atheism provoke the wrath of a saloon crowd, from which his old friend Farrell rescues him. Farrell, now working in the Western parish, gradually restores the faith of Brandon, who falls in love with Mary Harrison, a blind girl who prays continually for her sight. Brandon performs an operation on Mary's eyes and her sight returns. Norma, who has found Brandon in the parish town, cannot persuade him to return to the city or to leave Mary, who accepts Brandon's love.
Dir: Victor Heerman
In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.
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Dir: Frank Beal
During a raging Montana snowstorm, Doctor Jim Barnes collapses at Esther Anderson's cabin door. Esther offers Jim refuge, but when he discovers that their food supplies are running dangerously low, he braves the journey into town in order to replenish them. On the way, he is overcome with exhaustion and fails to return. Esther, unaware of Jim's condition and abused by her stepfather, joins a theatrical troop and leaves home. Time passes and Jim finally finds Esther, but a vindictive member of her troupe accuses her of having an affair with the manager and Jim believes the accusation. He leaves and Esther goes to New York City where she becomes engaged to a jealous artist, although she still loves Jim. Sam Tuttle, a long time friend, is aware of Esther's continuing love, and so brings Jim to New York City in time to save Esther from an unhappy marriage.
View DetailsAnalysis relative to What Becomes of the Children?
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Kelly Gang | Tense | Linear | 95% Match |
| Eva, wo bist du? | Gothic | Dense | 86% Match |
| The Amateur Wife | Surreal | Linear | 97% Match |
| The Great Day | Surreal | Layered | 90% Match |
| The Hundredth Chance | Gritty | Dense | 87% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of Walter Shumway's archive. Last updated: 6/21/2026.
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