The Miracle Woman

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Movie
Original title The Miracle Woman
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1931
length 91 minutes
Rod
Director Frank Capra
script Jo Swerling based
on the play Bless You Sister by John Meehan and Robert Riskin
production Columbia Pictures
camera Joseph Walker
occupation

The Miracle Woman is an American feature film starring Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Frank Capra .

action

Florence Fallon is the daughter of an elderly traveling preacher. She rebels against the bigotry and narrow-mindedness of his religion, which would rather have a young, dynamic priest instead of an experienced man. The believers flee in a panic, but Bob Hornsby smells a deal. He persuades Florence to take advantage of her ability to speak. She quickly becomes Sister Fallon, who in her temple of bliss does alleged miracles in front of the numerous poor and helpless and receives ample donations in return. One day she meets John Carson, a former pilot who has been blind since a crash. Desperate Carson was about to commit suicide when Sister Fallon's radio show brought him back to life. He attends one of Florence's sermons and is initially skeptical, especially when Sister Fallon speaks to people from a lion cage. Later the two get to know each other and Florence falls in love with the shy young man, who is only able to express his feelings with the help of a ventriloquist dummy. After a number of entanglements, Sister Fallon finally confesses to her betrayals and finds happiness in John's arms.

background

After Ladies of Leisure, The Miracle Woman was the second of five films that Barbara Stanwyck made with Frank Capra . The screenplay contained a very daring portrayal of false preachers who were up to mischief, especially in the American Midwest, and who got rich at the expense of the faithful. The main character, Sister Fallon, was clearly modeled after the then well-known evangelist Aimee Simple MacPherson .

Stanwyck interpreted the character as a young woman who is deeply religious, but whose talents are exploited by unscrupulous businessmen and turned into the opposite. Bob Hornsby says cynically to young Florence:

Religion is great if you can sell it, no good if you give it away.

The actors were forced to play the scenes in the lion cage without a double.

The provocative theme prevented the film from becoming a huge commercial hit.

Reviews

Mordaunt Hall wrote in the New York Times on August 17, 1931 that the plot of The Miracle Woman seemed illogical in many places. Nevertheless, the actors Stanwyck, Manners, Hardy and Mercer would play convincingly in the important roles.

The US film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote after a few decades that it was a surprisingly cynical film by Capra: “In this well-made dramedy , Capra shows us impressively how close the truth and the lie are to one another, and that sometimes the lie is uncovered must be to unearth the truth. It is a wonderful Capra, at the height of his ability. "

Leonard Maltin rated the film three out of four stars and judged that "the weaknesses of the story" would be offset by good actors, directing and camera work.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Miracle Worker at the New York Times
  2. ↑ The Miracle Woman with Dennis Schwartz
  3. ↑ The Miracle Woman at Turner Classic Movies