Email: Subscribe Unsubscribe

A Recommended Film You May Never Have Heard Of, But Really Ought To See.

SERENDIPITY CINEMA

"Rachel and the Stranger" Movie Review

91. Rachel & the Stranger

This film is the definition of "Charming."
There is adventure, sure.
The western setting always promises that.

But this is a case of Loretta Young, at her most captivating. Robert Mitchum is not just rugged and imposing, but also gentle and romantic. Plus William Holden is here doing the kind of lost man that we love to see him doing. He is man so intent on something that he loses the important things along the way.

The story is about a bondswoman (something like an indentured servant) who marries Holden, not out of love but necessity. He needs a mother for his son (who is not in the least interested in having one) and she needs a place to be.
Relations are cold,
and friction is frequent.
But Rachel is not willing to give up. She doesn't just want a place, but a home. And even she is not to be a proper wife and beloved mother, she does want to make these two men have a family.
Then, enter Mitchum. The mountain man, friend of Holden, is quickly taken with Young. She, while she knows herself to be married, is flattered by the attention.

While Rachel has been winning over the son, bit by bit, the father only starts to take notice when he feels he has gotten competition.
This film has action, romance, lots of laughs and above all a tenderness that is so missing from so many contemporary films.
It is unfortunate that Young has been relegated to the shadows of the Hollywood pantheon, for she was wonderful and lovely. This film shows just how powerful a figure she could bring to the screen, without losing an ounce of her beauty and vulnerability.

Here is that cast:
Loretta Young ....  Rachel Harvey
 William Holden ....  David Harvey
 Robert Mitchum ....  Jim Fairways
 Gary Gray ....  Davey
 Tom Tully ....  Parson Jackson
 Sara Haden ....  Mrs. Jackson
 Frank Ferguson ....  Mr. Green
 Walter Baldwin ....  Gallus
 Regina Wallace ....  Mrs. Green

If you miss this film the world will not end. But if you see it you will realize that you would have missed a gem of great value.

---

---

If you have an idea for a Serendipity Cinema, or want to comment email here

---

---

--posted by Wayne Monday, October 02, 2006

---

Comments: Post a Comment

Serendipity Cinema Site Feed

Previous Posts

Copyright 2004-5 C. Wayne Owens
Discount web hosting through Houston Web Hosting Discount
Movie & TV News graphics by A Dragon's Eye Fantasy Art

· Brobdingnagian Bards Free Music Downloads · Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
· Celtic Music MP3 Downloads Magazine · Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Music · Free Music Blog · Directory of Free Music Downloads ·