Rachel and the Stranger
Director: Norman Foster
Year Released: 1948
Rating: 2.0
Bland and predictable film about a widowed farmer (William Holden) who buys himself a new wife, Rachel (Loretta Young), for strictly practical, non-emotional reasons, only to find Robert Mitchum trying to steal her away. She goes through the standard arc of slowly becoming accepted by/loved by Holden by 'empowering herself' and learning how to 'handle the gun' and teach Holden's son about music. Like Friendly Persuasion, tries to make pre-industrial life gee-golly swell and blissful (except, of course, for those 'savage fiends' the Indians) - everyone says 'I reckon' constantly - and it has the feel of The Andy Griffith Show.
