This film was a pretty big prestige picture back in ’48 and it was nominated for a bunch of Oscars. Today it seems kind of melodramatic. Every few years the academy seems to up and nominate a soap opera like King’s Row or Payton Place, and while this one isn’t quite as ridiculous as either of those films, it is in the same ballpark. Jane Wyman’s performance as a deaf woman was a big deal at the time, but something about the performance didn’t really ring true for me. All in all this is probably a pretty forgettable film.

A dark and morally corrupt film as only Hollywood can make them, poor Belinda gets robbed over everything Tess-style only she doesn't get killed at Stonehenge.

Wyman gives a surprisingly restrained and nuanced performance as Belinda and at its best, it's used of shadows and small cabin staging predict Night of the Hunter a few years later.

A middling old Hollywood melodrama lucky enough to have some strong performances, the best one being Jane Wyman's mute, Oscar-winning one.

Wyman does a fantastic job as a deaf/mute young woman who is shown a new world by a local doctor, but then undergoes several hardships and trials as a result of someone else's evil.

**Part of The Best Picture Project**

Johnny Belinda is an altogether decent if forgettable melodrama with good acting from Wyman and Ayres, and a good story to keep you involved. Unfortunately, that's all there is.

I really wish I could write more on this, but I got nothing.

This film was a pretty big prestige picture back in ’48 and it was nominated for a bunch of Oscars. Today it seems kind of melodramatic. Every few years the academy seems to up and nominate a soap opera like King’s Row or Payton Place, and while this one isn’t quite as ridiculous as either of those films, it is in the same ballpark. Jane Wyman’s performance as a deaf woman was a big deal at the time, but something about the performance didn’t really ring true for me. All in all this is probably a pretty forgettable film.