Scandal at Scourie (1953)

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Norman Corwin (writer)
Mary McSherry (story)

Release Date:

17 May 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

FOR ALL TO ENJOY! Mark it down on your "must" list! Here is one of the really fine family films of 1953. It tells of the fighting heart of a red-headed woman who turned a town's hate to love. From the company that gave the screen such great family pictures as "Stars In My Crown", "Father Of The Bride" and many more, here is a warm and wonderful story!

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Homeless | Religion | Fish | Orphanage

Cast

Greer Garson	...	Mrs. Victoria McChesney
Walter Pidgeon	...	Patrick J. McChesney
Agnes Moorehead	...	Sister Josephine
Donna Corcoran	...	Patsy
Arthur Shields	...	Father Reilly
Philip Ober	...	B. G. Belney
Rhys Williams	...	Bill Swazey
Margalo Gillmore	...	Alice Hanover
John Lupton	...	Artemus
Philip Tonge	...	Fred Gogarty
Wilton Graff	...	Mr. Leffington
Ian Wolfe	...	Councilman Hurdwell
Michael Pate	...	Rev. Williams
Tony Taylor	...	Edward
Patricia Tiernan	...	Second Nun

Also Known As:

My Mother and Mr. McChesney (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #16177)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This movie marked the last performance that teamed up Garson with Pidgeon, who had made seven movies together for MGM.

Quotes:

Mrs. Victoria McChesney: [Mrs. McChesney is explaining to her adopted daughter why a little boy at school called her a bast---] That word at school. It frightened you, didn't it? Do you know what it means?
[Patsy shakes her head]
Mrs. Victoria McChesney: And still it frightens you?
Patsy: I know it's bad.
Mrs. Victoria McChesney: Well, now, it's not really bad at all! Some people think it's bad just because they don't understand. You see, Patsy, what happened was that a lovely young girl met a handsome young man and they fell in love, but for some reason they couldn't get married. I don't know what the reason was, and it doesn't matter, but their sin is not yours, and they're paying for it terribly.
[...]

Soundtrack:

Frere Jacques

A Moral Tale

Made in 1953, Scandal At Scourie is a pleasant attempt by a major studio to make the sort of film that ten or fifteen years earlier was commonplace. Alas, this movie came out at about the same time as From Here To Eternity and The Wild One, and it was an anachronism even in its day. Anachronisms, however, have their virtues, and this movie has kindness and wisdom to spare. The story concerns the problems faced by a straitlaced middle-aged Irish-Protestant Canadian couple when they decide to take a little girl into their home who just happens to be of the Roman Catholic faith. That their village is overwhelmingly Protestant complicates matters; nor does it help that the husband also happens to be a minister. The conflicts in the film are genuine and credibly presented, and the various characters behave realistically but always with great civility, which in turn gives urgency to the child's plight, as one is forced to ponder the issues that the film puts forth, chief among them the problem of how to deal with unwanted children who are rejected by others in tones so courteous as to make the slightest objection seem like a major offense.