Johnny Belinda

DVD Features:

• Region 1; USA & Canada
• Keep Case
• Full Frame - 1.33
• Audio:

• Additional Release Material:

Major Awards:

Academy Awards 1948 - Best Actress: Jane Wyman

Academy Awards 1948 - Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: Jerry Wald

Academy Awards 1948 - Special Achievements: Jerry Wald

Description by OLDIES.com:

Life is hard on MacDonald farm in stony, windswept Nova Scotia - and harder for young Belinda, a deaf mute whose affliction has been confused with mental deficiency. Then the town's new doctor takes an interest in helping her break out of her silent prison. Jane Wyman won the Best Actress Academy Award for her sensitive portrayal of Belinda, capturing the girl's affecting isolation, awakening desire to learn and ultimate triumph. Directed by Jean Negulesco and co-starring Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead (all four Oscar nominees for their fine work), Johnny Belinda (nominated for a total 11 Oscars including Best Picture) blends atmosphere, nuance and high drama into a heartbreaking classic.

Product Description:

A patient, compassionate doctor teaches a deaf-mute girl to communicate. After the young lady is brutally raped by a local villager, the bucolic populace suspect the doctor of being the father of the child she later gives birth to. Academy Award Nominations: 12, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor--Lew Ayres, Best Screenplay. Academy Awards: Best Actress--Jane Wyman.

Plot Synopsis:

This tearjerker, with its subtle and sensitive performances, captivated both critics and audiences and earned an Oscar for Jane Wyman.
An idealistic doctor comes to a small fishing village in Nova Scotia and transforms the world of a deaf-mute girl by teaching her sign language. Then, just when her life has improved, she's raped by the local womanizer, and ends up pregnant.
When the rapist threatens to take the boy, the young mother is driven to murder her attacker, and a gripping trial ensues. A dramatic witness comes forward to save her, and eventually she has a happy life with her child and the doctor.

Plot Keywords:

Doctors | Injustice | Rape | Social Issues | Tear Jerker | Theatrical Release

Production Notes:

• Jane Wyman also won the London Film Critics Award for Best Actress for this role.
• By the time the production of the film was over, Jane Wyman and husband Ronald Reagan were getting divorced. "I think I'll name Johnny Belinda co-respondent." - Ronald Reagan, quoted in "Inside Oscar".
• Jack Warner fired Jean Negulesco before filming was completed and another director finished the film.