Edna Gladney, 1881 – 1961, was among a handful of selfless saints of the 20th century who gave their lives to helping others, especially the needy, downtrodden, abandoned and unwanted. Gladney was a native of Wisconsin who moved to Texas and married a businessman there. Although much of her family and early life are highly fictionalized in the film (she did not have an adopted sister who committed suicide, nor a son who died as a boy), she was moved by the plight of orphans, abandoned children and those born out of wedlock as "unwanted." She unselfishly dedicated the rest of her life to helping and caring for such children. The acting and portrayal as scripted in this film are fantastic. Edna Gladney was a great person and Greer Garson gave tremendous heart to her role.
As the film shows, Edna Gladney had her detractors for her humanitarian efforts. There were some in society then who looked on orphans and abandoned children as outcasts, misfits and something less than human. Nor was her work easy. She struggled for many years to raise the funds to support her Texas home for children. She met apathy among many in the public, and endured the criticism of those who opposed helping the downtrodden. Today, Gladney is recognized as a true hero and humanitarian.
Movies were also made about two other such heroes with similar stories in the 20th century. Father Edward Flanagan was a priest who founded Boys Town near Omaha, Nebraska, to take in boys from the streets and the courts. Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney starred in a 1938 movie about Boys Town. Then, in the middle of the century, a young nun from Albania left a comfortable teaching position in a religious order in India, with no money or resources, and began ministering to the dying on the streets of Calcutta. By the time she died in late 1997, Mother Teresa's order of nuns ran more than 600 centers for the poorest of the poor around the world. Two films have since been made about Mother Teresa.
In watching "Blossoms in the Dust" recently, it struck me how history seems to repeat itself and how so many in society fail to learn from the lessons of our past. That includes the press and our education systems that miss or gloss over past events or great achievements. A real recent example was the criticism of the late Mother Teresa from some who accused her of self-interest and selfish motives for her work. Imagine that! Yet, none of those accusers have opened a single food kitchen, hospice for AIDs patients, or home for orphans or the dying.
Thankfully, most people are not too quick to dismiss the good of such modern day saints as Mother Teresa, Father Flanagan, and Edna Gladney. And, of course, those are only a few of the many who lived in the last century whose inspiring life stories serve as good examples to spur all of us on to give and to help others. Thanks to the writers and the film industry leaders who brought these inspiring stories, and others, to the screen.
This is a wonderful movie about a modern day hero with an excellent performance by Greer Garson.
As the film shows, Edna Gladney had her detractors for her humanitarian efforts. There were some in society then who looked on orphans and abandoned children as outcasts, misfits and something less than human. Nor was her work easy. She struggled for many years to raise the funds to support her Texas home for children. She met apathy among many in the public, and endured the criticism of those who opposed helping the downtrodden. Today, Gladney is recognized as a true hero and humanitarian.
Movies were also made about two other such heroes with similar stories in the 20th century. Father Edward Flanagan was a priest who founded Boys Town near Omaha, Nebraska, to take in boys from the streets and the courts. Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney starred in a 1938 movie about Boys Town. Then, in the middle of the century, a young nun from Albania left a comfortable teaching position in a religious order in India, with no money or resources, and began ministering to the dying on the streets of Calcutta. By the time she died in late 1997, Mother Teresa's order of nuns ran more than 600 centers for the poorest of the poor around the world. Two films have since been made about Mother Teresa.
In watching "Blossoms in the Dust" recently, it struck me how history seems to repeat itself and how so many in society fail to learn from the lessons of our past. That includes the press and our education systems that miss or gloss over past events or great achievements. A real recent example was the criticism of the late Mother Teresa from some who accused her of self-interest and selfish motives for her work. Imagine that! Yet, none of those accusers have opened a single food kitchen, hospice for AIDs patients, or home for orphans or the dying.
Thankfully, most people are not too quick to dismiss the good of such modern day saints as Mother Teresa, Father Flanagan, and Edna Gladney. And, of course, those are only a few of the many who lived in the last century whose inspiring life stories serve as good examples to spur all of us on to give and to help others. Thanks to the writers and the film industry leaders who brought these inspiring stories, and others, to the screen.
This is a wonderful movie about a modern day hero with an excellent performance by Greer Garson.