The Miracle Woman (1931)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Dorothy Howell (continuity)
John Meehan (play)

Release Date:

7 August 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After Florence Fallon's father is fired from the church where he preached for many years, she becomes embittered and loses faith...

Plot Keywords:

Miracle | Religion | Ventriloquism | Fire | Confession

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Florence 'Faith' Fallon
David Manners	...	John Carson
Sam Hardy	...	Bob Hornsby
Beryl Mercer	...	Mrs. Higgins
Russell Hopton	...	Bill Welford
Charles Middleton	...	Simpson
Eddie Boland	...	Collins
Thelma Hill	...	Gussie

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In a pure "pre-code" moment, we see sister Fallon's chauffeur, Lou, give Horsby "the finger" (out of Horsby's sight) immediately after Horsby warns him about what he must do to keep his job. This scene surely would have been nixed by the Hays Office had the movie been made after 1934.

Quotes:

Hornsby: Hiccups and Alleluiahs don't mix!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991) (TV)

Darkly Luminous

This gorgeous film is a bit too dark and too harsh on sister Aimee, but it is riveting throughout, and the best Stanwyck movie I have seen. Her acting is so much subtler than in later years. In the final scene she is absolutely ravishing. Fascinating characters, plot, cinematography, with just the right dash of nastiness. They really don't make them like this anymore. The big mystery is where, when and how did cinema learn its craft so early, and why did it lose it sometime in the fifties. Today's movies just cannot compare with this artistry. Today's movies don't look like movies at all. They rather look like documentaries about movie-making. Roll camera is the only special effect they seem know.