I was drawn to "Johnny Belinda" primarily to see how a film made in 1948 would tackle the subject matter of rape and unmarried pregnancy, and the answer was....pretty frankly.
Jane Wyman won her Oscar for playing the deaf mute Belinda who pulls from resources of strength no one gives her credit for having when the small-minded town she lives in decides she isn't capable of taking care of her infant child, the product of a sexual assault perpetrated by one of the townsmen. The film isn't especially long, but it sure covers a lot of ground, starting with a kind doctor (Lew Ayres) opening up a new world to Belinda when he teaches her how to communicate through sign language and culminating in her trial for murder. Along the way, expert character actors like Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead deliver terrific performances, and Jan Sterling, one of my all-time favorites, shows that not all the townspeople are completely hard-hearted when she's faced with the prospect of separating a mother from her child.
"Johnny Belinda" cleaned up in terms of Oscar nominations in 1948, earning a whopping twelve. But Wyman's Best Actress win was the only award the film actually took home. It nabbed nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Jean Negulesco), Best Actor (Ayres), Best Supporting Actor (Bickford), Best Supporting Actress (Moorehead), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction (B&W), Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Film Editing, Best Dramatic/Comedy Score, and Best Sound Recording. Incidentally, it was only the second movie at the time (the first being "Mrs. Miniver") to be nominated for Best Picture, Director, all four acting awards, and writing.
"Johnny Belinda"'s condemnation of small-mindedness feels newly relevant in today's social and political climate. I'm not sure whether to be depressed by that knowledge (ugh, will nothing ever change?) or comforted by it (well at least generations of people before me have experienced the same thing).
Grade: B+
Jane Wyman won her Oscar for playing the deaf mute Belinda who pulls from resources of strength no one gives her credit for having when the small-minded town she lives in decides she isn't capable of taking care of her infant child, the product of a sexual assault perpetrated by one of the townsmen. The film isn't especially long, but it sure covers a lot of ground, starting with a kind doctor (Lew Ayres) opening up a new world to Belinda when he teaches her how to communicate through sign language and culminating in her trial for murder. Along the way, expert character actors like Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead deliver terrific performances, and Jan Sterling, one of my all-time favorites, shows that not all the townspeople are completely hard-hearted when she's faced with the prospect of separating a mother from her child.
"Johnny Belinda" cleaned up in terms of Oscar nominations in 1948, earning a whopping twelve. But Wyman's Best Actress win was the only award the film actually took home. It nabbed nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Jean Negulesco), Best Actor (Ayres), Best Supporting Actor (Bickford), Best Supporting Actress (Moorehead), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction (B&W), Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Film Editing, Best Dramatic/Comedy Score, and Best Sound Recording. Incidentally, it was only the second movie at the time (the first being "Mrs. Miniver") to be nominated for Best Picture, Director, all four acting awards, and writing.
"Johnny Belinda"'s condemnation of small-mindedness feels newly relevant in today's social and political climate. I'm not sure whether to be depressed by that knowledge (ugh, will nothing ever change?) or comforted by it (well at least generations of people before me have experienced the same thing).
Grade: B+