Johnny Belinda (1948)

In post-war Cape Breton, a doctor's efforts to tutor a deaf/mute woman are undermined when she is raped, and the resulting pregnancy causes scandal to swirl.

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Irma von Cube (screenplay), Allen Vincent (screenplay),

Stars:

Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jane Wyman	...	Belinda McDonald
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. Robert Richardson
Charles Bickford	...	Black MacDonald
Agnes Moorehead	...	Aggie MacDonald
Stephen McNally	...	Locky McCormick
Jan Sterling	...	Stella McCormick
Rosalind Ivan	...	Mrs. Poggety
Dan Seymour	...	Pacquet - Storekeeper
Mabel Paige	...	Mrs. Lutz
Ida Moore	...	Mrs. McKee
Alan Napier	...	Defense Attorney

Storyline

Dr. Robert Richardson, a dedicated young general practitioner, seeks to establish himself in an isolated fishing village on Cape Breton Island off the Nova Scotia coast. The population is poor and the struggling physician generally gets paid for his efforts in barter. When he meets Belinda McDonald, a young deaf mute callously dismissed by family and neighbors as "the dummy," he alone senses her innate intelligence. He overcomes the initial skepticism of her flinty, gruff father and indifferently cold aunt, who operate a hardscrabble grist mill and farm, and devotes himself to teaching the young girl sign language and lip-reading. Hopes are even raised that she might even eventually qualify for a medical procedure that might improve her condition. Her optimism is crushed, however, when she raped by Locky McCormick, a brutish local fisherman. Traumatized, she is unable to communicate the outrage to her family, who are baffled and angry when they learn she is pregnant. The local gossips...

---

Plot Keywords:

village | doctor | lip reading | island | mute | 

---

Taglines:

There was temptation in her helpless silence...and then torment

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

14 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Belinda

Filming Locations:

Fort Bragg, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jane Wyman became the first actor since the silent era to win an Oscar without uttering a word.

---

Goofs

The adoption papers from the council misspell the possessive "its" as "it's."

---

Quotes

Dr. Robert Richardson: Your Lordship, I insist this girl obeyed an impulse older than the laws of man: the instinct of a mother to protect her child.

---

Connections

Featured in Great Performances: Music for the Movies: The Hollywood Sound (1995)

---

Soundtracks

"Wedding March"
(1843) (uncredited)
from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Played at the church after the wedding

User Reviews

The Whole Cast is Amazing

Belinda (Wyman) lives in a small fishing village with her father (Bickford) and her aunt (Moorehead). She has one slight problem though. She's deaf and her guardians never really taught her how to understand and associate with the outside world.

That all changes when a doctor (Ayres) comes to town. He takes a liking to Belinda and begins to teach her sign language. She learns how to read lips and ends up being a very good pupil. But when the doctor goes away on business, he returns to Belinda and finds a shocking discovery while taking her to a doctor in another town.

Stephen McNally and Jan Sterling are supporting characters and they give fine performances. But the real stars here, are the four ones that were nominated for Oscars. Agnes Moorehead is one of the most interesting and mysterious characters, Charles Bickford is the one that you'll be rooting for, Lew Ayres will make you feel special, and Jane Wyman will give you one of the greatest performances of the '40s and possibly of all time.

The film was nominated for twelve Academy Awards. This is a fantastic thing for any film. Sadly, it was only awarded the Oscar for Best Actress. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if it had had more of a success like it should have had.