AllMovie

French filmmaker Maurice Tourneur was already an internationally recognized cinematic artist when, in 1914, he made his American debut with Mother. Produced at the New Jersey-based World Film Company, the film was based on a stage play by Jules Eckert Goodman. Repeating her star-making stage role, Emma Dunn plays the title character, a careworn widow presiding over a huge and troublesome brood. Inasmuch as Dunn is best known to contemporary film buffs for her small supporting roles in such talkies as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and The Great Dictator, it would no doubt be quite a revelation to see her essaying a full leading role. Featured in the cast of Mother was a 2-reel comedy ingenue named Priscilla Dean, a scant few years before she became the "queen" of the Universal Studios lot.