Blossoms in the Dust (1941)

It tells the true story of Edna Gladney who takes it upon herself to help orphaned children to find homes, despite the opposition of the "good" citizens who think that illegitimate children are beneath their interest. [wiki]

Nominated for 4 Oscars:

Best Picture

Best Actress: Greer Garson

Best Cinematography, Color

Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color (WINNER)

I must be the only living person who is not a Green Garson fanatic who has seen the film TWICE. :) For my other blog, of course. But I'm glad when I see them more than once, because I get to appreciate the performances more. This might just be the best Greer Garson performance I've seen so far and she is way better than the film would demand. There's a certain energy in the performance that is lovely to witness - and she also looks great in Color - this is overall a nicely shot film, with the colors being a delight.

Other than Greer, the film isn't much. It pretends to be a biopic, but, with a simple check on wikipedia, you can tell this takes so much liberties it barely has much to do with the real story. But writers did that A LOT back in the day. In many ways, it's your average 1940s drama. Something to note: I don't remember ever seeing so many black actors in a film of that era (a film with a story that doesn't specifically require black actors - so Gone with the Wind doesn't count); sure, the main roles are cliches of servants or helpers, but they're also portrayed as nicely dressed, included in a community, almost on equal ground, donating money to charity. This was 1941 after all. I'm curious if Greer's personal activism had anything to do with this or if it was all on the director.

My rating for the film: 5.5/10. For either fans of old film or Greer / Best Actress fanatics.