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) (as Irmgard VonCube), 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...

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | lip reading | sign language | mute | gossip | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The only film to be nominated for Best Actor and Actress Oscars that year.

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Goofs

When Belinda fires one barrel of what looks like a 12 gauge, double-barreled, shotgun at Locky McCormick, there is no recoil of any kind, not even a slight twitch. That seems very unlikely given the size of the gun.

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Quotes

Aggie McDonald: It's hard to be born and it's hard to die.

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Alternate Versions

Also shown in computer colorized version.

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Connections

Version of Johnny Belinda (1969)

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Soundtracks

Come, Thou Almighty King
(1769) (uncredited)
Music by Felice de Giardini
Words anonymous
First stanza sung by the church congregation

User Reviews

Wyman glows...

That Jane Wyman, then in private life Mrs. Ronald Reagan, was able to find the strength to film this masterpiece of her career so soon after the birth and death of her baby daughter in 1947 is a glimpse to us of her utter sheer determination and complete professionalism. Miss Wyman uses milestones of her own life in her acting; she becomes the character and thus we catch emeralds and wheats, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad. It makes for a performance the audience never forgets and the film remains fresh after having had seen it several times. The supporting cast is pure gold. I understand that Jack Warner buried the film for nearly a year after completion and only got on the band wagon after Wyman made him take out an apology in the trades which lead to the big Oscar buildup which snagged Jane Wyman her best actress oscar for 1948. Sadly her greatest professional triumph marked also the death of her marriage to husband Ronald Reagan.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

14 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Johnny 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