Rachel and the Stranger: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1948 film |
{{Short description|1948 film}} |
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{{Use American English|date=August 2022}} |
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{{multiple issues| |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} |
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{{original research|date=April 2020}} |
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{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
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| name = Rachel and the Stranger |
| name = Rachel and the Stranger |
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| image = |
| image = Rachel and the Stranger (poster).jpg |
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| producer = {{unbulleted list|[[Richard H. Berger]]|[[Jack J. Gross]]}} |
| producer = {{unbulleted list|[[Richard H. Berger]]|[[Jack J. Gross]]}} |
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| director = [[Norman Foster (director)|Norman Foster]] |
| director = [[Norman Foster (director)|Norman Foster]] |
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| |
| based_on = {{based on|''Rachel''<br>1945 story|[[Howard Fast]]}} |
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| screenplay = [[Waldo Salt]] |
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| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Loretta Young]]|[[William Holden]]|[[Robert Mitchum]]}} |
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Loretta Young]]|[[William Holden]]|[[Robert Mitchum]]}} |
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| music = [[Roy Webb]] |
| music = [[Roy Webb]] |
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| cinematography = [[Maury Gertsman]] |
| cinematography = [[Maury Gertsman]] |
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| editing = {{unbulleted list|[[Les Millbrook]]|[[Harry Marker]]}} |
| editing = {{unbulleted list|[[Les Millbrook]]|[[Harry Marker]]}} |
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| color_process = [[Black and white]] |
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| distributor = [[RKO Radio Pictures|RKO]] |
| distributor = [[RKO Radio Pictures|RKO]] |
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| released = {{Film date|1948|9|18|Premiere-New York City|1948|10|2|U.S.| ref1=<ref name=AFI>{{cite web | url= |
| released = {{Film date|1948|9|18|Premiere-New York City|1948|10|2|U.S.| ref1=<ref name=AFI>{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25688-RACHEL-ANDTHESTRANGER?sid=1fa44d1b-7e54-4c9e-93a1-1c378d5669bc&sr=12.164551&cp=1&pos=0| title=Rachel and the Stranger: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=May 10, 2014}}</ref>|ref2=<ref name=AFI/>}} |
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| runtime = 93 minutes |
| runtime = 93 minutes |
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| country = United States |
| country = United States |
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|gross = $2.4 million (US rentals)<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/variety173-1949-01#page/n45/mode/1up "Top Grossers of 1948", ''Variety'' 5 January 1949 p 46]</ref> |
|gross = $2.4 million (US rentals)<ref name="gross">[https://archive.org/stream/variety173-1949-01#page/n45/mode/1up "Top Grossers of 1948", ''Variety'' 5 January 1949 p 46]</ref> |
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| language = English |
| language = English |
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}} |
}} |
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⚫ | '''''Rachel and the Stranger''''' is a 1948 American [[Historical drama|historical]] film starring [[Loretta Young]], [[William Holden]], and [[Robert Mitchum]]. The [[Norman Foster (director)|Norman Foster]]-directed film was one of the few to address the role of women in the early American frontier, as well as portray early America's [[indentured servant]] trade.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} It was based on the [[Howard Fast]] short story "Rachel".<ref name=AFI/> |
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⚫ | '''''Rachel and the Stranger''''' is a |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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In |
In early America, David Harvey ([[William Holden]]), a recent widower farming in the wilderness in the [[Northwest Territory]], decides that his young boy Davey ([[Gary Gray (actor)|Gary Gray]]) needs a woman around to help raise him. He goes to the nearest settlement and consults Parson Jackson ([[Tom Tully]]) and his wife. In view of the dearth of women in the settlement, David buys the contract of an [[Indentured servitude|indentured servant]] named Rachel ([[Loretta Young]]). David accepts that he will have to marry her, for the sake of propriety. |
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Their marriage |
Their marriage is in name only. David is still grieving for his dead wife Susan, and Davey resents what he sees as an attempt to replace his mother. Unlike Susan, Rachel is unskilled in the use of a [[musket]], but she resolves to learn to shoot to connect with the boy and through him, with the father. |
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Jim Fairways ([[Robert Mitchum]]), a hunter who is a family friend |
Jim Fairways ([[Robert Mitchum]]), a hunter who is a family friend, visits and becomes attracted to Rachel. On his next visit, Jim brings presents, including a dress for Rachel. David becomes jealous and irritated as Jim stays weeks longer than expected. He takes the opportunity of a night out hunting foxes with the dogs to tackle Jim and encourage him to leave. Davey defies Rachel and stays outside the cabin to listen to the sounds of the hunt. A prowling [[Cougar|mountain lion]] threatens Davey and the stock. At the sound of a gunshot, the men come running, and Rachel admits that she killed the animal. As a result, she rises in Davey's estimation. |
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⚫ | |||
On his next visit, ostensibly to retrieve his forgotten guitar, Jim brings presents, including a dress for Rachel. David is disturbed by the easy way in which Jim has become friendly with Rachel and he slowly becomes jealous and irritated as Jim stays weeks longer than expected. He takes the opportunity of a night out hunting foxes with the dogs, to tackle Jim and encourage him to leave. Davey defies Rachel and stays outside the cabin to listen to the sounds of the hunt. A prowling mountain lion threatens Davey and the stock. At the sound of a gunshot the men come running and Rachel admits that she killed the animal. As a result, she rises in Davey’s estimation. |
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⚫ | When Jim offers to buy her, |
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⚫ | Rachel sends Davey on for help while she follows the men. She reaches the cabin to find them besieged. She is dragged from her horse by one of the attackers, but David and Jim make a sally and get her into the cabin. The Shawnee set the cabin on fire, and the trio retreat to the cellar. Early the next morning, Parson Jackson and the local [[militia]] arrive to drive off the attackers. David and Rachel survey the burnt-out cabin, making plans for the future. Rachel knows she has been accepted as a wife when David tells his son to "do as your ma says" and enfolds her in a tender embrace. |
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⚫ | That night, while they are camped |
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⚫ | Rachel |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Filming took place in [[Eugene, Oregon]].<ref name="ORfilm">{{cite web |
Filming took place in [[Eugene, Oregon]].<ref name="ORfilm">{{cite web |
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| url=http://library.state.or.us/repository/2015/201505210910074/2015.pdf |
| url=http://library.state.or.us/repository/2015/201505210910074/2015.pdf |
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| title=Filmed in Oregon |
| title=Filmed in Oregon 1908–2015 |
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| work=Oregon Film Council |
| work=Oregon Film Council |
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| publisher=Oregon State Library |
| publisher=Oregon State Library |
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The film recorded a profit of $395,000.<ref name="rko">Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 231</ref><ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref> |
The film recorded a profit of $395,000.<ref name="rko">Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 231</ref><ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref> |
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After Mitchum was arrested for possessing marijuana,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/actor-robert-mitchum-is-released-after-serving-time-for-marijuana-possession|title=Actor Robert Mitchum is released after serving time for marijuana possession|website=History.com|publisher=[[A&E Networks]]|access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> RKO rushed to release the film to take advantage of the news of Mitchum's arrest.<ref>{{AFI film|25688|Rachel and the Stranger}}</ref> The film opened in 7 key US cities to test the public's attitude and both critics and the public welcomed it and it was the [[List of 1948 box office number-one films in the United States|number one film]] in the US for two weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=September 22, 1948|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety171-1948-09/page/n180/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=December 29, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=September 29, 1948|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety171-1948-09/page/n236/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=December 29, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> |
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After Mitchum was arrested for possessing marijuana, RKO rushed to release the film to take advantage of the news of Mitchum's arrest.<ref>{{AFI film|25688|Rachel and the Stranger}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* {{IMDb title|0040720}} |
* {{IMDb title|0040720}} |
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* {{ |
* {{TCMDb title|87528}} |
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* {{AllMovie title|39993}} |
* {{AllMovie title|39993}} |
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* {{AFI film|25688}} |
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* {{Rotten Tomatoes|rachel_and_the_stranger}} |
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|rachel_and_the_stranger}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachel And The Stranger}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachel And The Stranger}} |
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[[Category:1948 films]] |
[[Category:1948 films]] |
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[[Category:1940s |
[[Category:1940s historical drama films]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:1948 drama films]] |
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[[Category:American black-and-white films]] |
[[Category:American black-and-white films]] |
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[[Category:English-language films]] |
[[Category:1940s English-language films]] |
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[[Category:Films based on short fiction]] |
[[Category:Films based on short fiction]] |
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[[Category:Films directed by Norman Foster]] |
[[Category:Films directed by Norman Foster]] |
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[[Category:Films set in Ohio]] |
[[Category:Films set in Ohio]] |
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[[Category:Films set in the 18th century]] |
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[[Category:Films shot in Eugene, Oregon]] |
[[Category:Films shot in Eugene, Oregon]] |
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[[Category:Films |
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Waldo Salt]] |
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[[Category:RKO Pictures films]] |
[[Category:RKO Pictures films]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:1940s American films]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:English-language historical drama films]] |
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[[Category:1948 drama films]] |
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{{1940s-Western-film-stub}} |
Latest revision as of 17:57, 2 September 2024
Rachel and the Stranger | |
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Directed by | Norman Foster |
Screenplay by | Waldo Salt |
Based on | Rachel 1945 story by Howard Fast |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Maury Gertsman |
Edited by | |
Music by | Roy Webb |
Color process | Black and white |
Distributed by | RKO |
Release dates | |
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2.4 million (US rentals)[2] |
Rachel and the Stranger is a 1948 American historical film starring Loretta Young, William Holden, and Robert Mitchum. The Norman Foster-directed film was one of the few to address the role of women in the early American frontier, as well as portray early America's indentured servant trade.[citation needed] It was based on the Howard Fast short story "Rachel".[1]
While the film had a low budget, it was RKO's most successful film that year, making $395,000.[2]
Plot
[edit]In early America, David Harvey (William Holden), a recent widower farming in the wilderness in the Northwest Territory, decides that his young boy Davey (Gary Gray) needs a woman around to help raise him. He goes to the nearest settlement and consults Parson Jackson (Tom Tully) and his wife. In view of the dearth of women in the settlement, David buys the contract of an indentured servant named Rachel (Loretta Young). David accepts that he will have to marry her, for the sake of propriety.
Their marriage is in name only. David is still grieving for his dead wife Susan, and Davey resents what he sees as an attempt to replace his mother. Unlike Susan, Rachel is unskilled in the use of a musket, but she resolves to learn to shoot to connect with the boy and through him, with the father.
Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum), a hunter who is a family friend, visits and becomes attracted to Rachel. On his next visit, Jim brings presents, including a dress for Rachel. David becomes jealous and irritated as Jim stays weeks longer than expected. He takes the opportunity of a night out hunting foxes with the dogs to tackle Jim and encourage him to leave. Davey defies Rachel and stays outside the cabin to listen to the sounds of the hunt. A prowling mountain lion threatens Davey and the stock. At the sound of a gunshot, the men come running, and Rachel admits that she killed the animal. As a result, she rises in Davey's estimation.
When Jim offers to buy her, David's resentments come to the surface, and they fight. Rachel is quietly furious and feels that both men regard her more as a commodity than as a wife. She decides to leave and walks back to the settlement. Taking Davey, David and Jim ride after her.
That night, while they are camped after finding Rachel, they see a glow in the sky and fear the Shawnee are attacking settlers. The men send Rachel and Davey on horseback to the settlement while they run back to the cabin to see what is going on.
Rachel sends Davey on for help while she follows the men. She reaches the cabin to find them besieged. She is dragged from her horse by one of the attackers, but David and Jim make a sally and get her into the cabin. The Shawnee set the cabin on fire, and the trio retreat to the cellar. Early the next morning, Parson Jackson and the local militia arrive to drive off the attackers. David and Rachel survey the burnt-out cabin, making plans for the future. Rachel knows she has been accepted as a wife when David tells his son to "do as your ma says" and enfolds her in a tender embrace.
Cast
[edit]- Loretta Young as Rachel Harvey
- William Holden as David Harvey
- Robert Mitchum as Jim Fairways
- Gary Gray as Davey
- Tom Tully as Parson Jackson
- Sara Haden as Mrs. Jackson
- Frank Ferguson as Mr. Green
- Walter Baldwin as Gallus
- Regina Wallace as Mrs. Green
Production
[edit]Filming took place in Eugene, Oregon.[3]
Reception
[edit]The film recorded a profit of $395,000.[4][5]
After Mitchum was arrested for possessing marijuana,[6] RKO rushed to release the film to take advantage of the news of Mitchum's arrest.[7] The film opened in 7 key US cities to test the public's attitude and both critics and the public welcomed it and it was the number one film in the US for two weeks.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Rachel and the Stranger: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
- ^ a b "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46
- ^ "Filmed in Oregon 1908–2015" (PDF). Oregon Film Council. Oregon State Library. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- ^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 231
- ^ Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016
- ^ "Actor Robert Mitchum is released after serving time for marijuana possession". History.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ Rachel and the Stranger at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety. September 22, 1948. p. 3. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Archive.org.
- ^ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety. September 29, 1948. p. 3. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Archive.org.
External links
[edit]- 1948 films
- 1940s historical drama films
- 1948 drama films
- American historical drama films
- American black-and-white films
- 1940s English-language films
- Films based on short fiction
- Films directed by Norman Foster
- Films scored by Roy Webb
- Films set in Ohio
- Films set in the 18th century
- Films shot in Eugene, Oregon
- Films with screenplays by Waldo Salt
- RKO Pictures films
- 1940s American films
- English-language historical drama films