Johnny Belinda (1948)

Directed by

Jean Negulesco

Genre

drama film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 35m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 76 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A doctor helps a deaf and mute young woman on a remote island. The community's gossip and prejudices lead to tragic events including an assault.

earnestsomberslow-pacedemotionally heavygentlerestrainedsocially consciousdramatic

What happens

Johnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film, directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the 1940 Broadway stage hit of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris. The screenplay was written by Allen Vincent and Irma von Cube. The story is based on an incident that occurred near Harris's summer residence in Fortune Bridge, Bay Fortune, Prince Edward Island. The title character is based on the real-life Lydia Dingwell (1852–1931), of Dingwells Mills, Prince Edward Island. The film dramatizes the consequences of spreading lies and rumors and the horror of rape; the latter subject had previously been prohibited by the Motion Picture Production Code. Johnny Belinda is widely considered to be the first Hollywood film for which the restriction was relaxed since its implementation in 1934, and as such was controversial at the time of its initial release. The film stars Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally, and Jan Sterling. Wyman's performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress; she described it in 1968 as her "most creative" role and reported, "I studied for six months in a school for the deaf, and did the whole movie with my ears sealed in wax to blot out every noise but percussion sounds. I still remember the sign language." It was filmed on location in Fort Bragg, California. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Reaching from Heaven (1948)
• My Brother Jonathan (1948)
• Disaster (1948)
• Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
• Rocky (1948)
• The Angry God (1948)
• Johnny Belinda (1967)
• Homecoming (1948)