Blossoms In The Dust (1941)

A young Texas widow (Greer Garson in an Oscar nominated performance) who operates a private orphanage begins a campaign to have the term illegitimate removed from birth records. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy (QUO VADIS), this is the true story of Edna Gladney, an early advocate for the rights of illegitimate children, to stop an appalling practice that seems barbaric to 21st century minds. Of course, this being a major MGM movie, Gladney's story is highly fictionalized. This was the first teaming of Garson and Walter Pidgeon who would go on to make a total of seven films together. It was also the first of Garson's "great lady" roles that made her insufferable to a certain segment of film fans. Even though the film's intentions are in the right place, as cinema, it's not a very interesting film. One can admire its heart but it's still a rather manipulative and contrived heart. There is one disturbing aspect to the film which has nothing to do with the narrative. The light skinned African American actress Theresa Harris as Garson's maid appears to be in some sort of blackface make up to make her skin appear darker (the film is in Technicolor). With Marsha Hunt, Felix Bressart, Fay Holden and John Eldredge.