Johnny Belinda
1948  NR  DRAMA  1h 42min
CAST— Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally
MUSIC— Max Steiner  DIRECTOR— Jean Negulesco  BASED ON— Johnny Belinda (play) by Elmer Harris

     At the root of the film lies a drama honoring dignity and self respect, not to mention self improvement; on the flip side the viewer may see a darker tale containing a brutal attack and the community’s nasty gossip centering on the less fortunate. Jane Wyman plays the hard working daughter of a farmer. She gets along just fine despite the fact that she is both deaf and mute. Dubbed “The Dummy” by the townsfolk, everyone knows about Wyman. She finally comes to the attention of the new doctor in town, who takes an immediate interest in her specific case. He begins spending more and more time with her, teaching her sign language, lip reading and the basic alphabet. But trouble comes knocking one dark night; a young tough sneaks into the farmhouse and rapes Wyman; his only thought is that she’s a deaf-mute… she’ll never tell. Well, about nine months later some evidence of the attack breathes his first gulp of fresh air; and Johnny Belinda came to be. At times charming, at times gripping; for the most part an entertaining tale. Oscar-winner for Best Actress (Wyman).
OUR RATING— ** ½
REMADE AS— Johnny Belinda (1967)