Rachel and the Stranger (1948)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

"Rachel and the Stranger" is a story that takes place on the frontier during the early days of the Ohio Territory.Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum), a frontiersman who likes to disappear into the woods for months at a time, rides onto the property of his friend, Dave Harvey (William Holden), to find that Dave is disconsolate over the death of his wife, Susan. The property has gone to seed and Dave's son, Little Davey, though independent, is fairly neglected.After talking with Dave, Jim says he will be back in the Spring. Dave figures he needs to honor the memory of his wife by giving Little Davey the attention he needs, as his mother had. He rides into town (the fort) to find female help. The preacher knows of a bondwoman who might be bought cheap and he intercedes to facilitate the deal. Her name is Rachel (Loretta Young).The story is about the changes that need to be made by father and son, still pining over Susan's absence. Eventually it takes the return of Jim--who recognizes Rachel's value--to really precipitate things. The story is filled with big moments of action, small moments of interaction, and silent moments of understanding. All three stars are strong in their roles and the boy is played very competently by Gary Gray. This is a charming story that, at its center, is a love story.Holden would arguably hit his stride in a couple of years ("Sunset Boulevard") and Mitchum a few years later ("The Night of the Hunter"). But Young, who was slightly older, was already accomplished. Her performance is quiet, but strong. Given the success of this film and its four complementary performances, a sequel probably would have done well. But we will have to settle for this memorable production.

This is one of my favorite westerns, certainly one of the very best in the light-hearted vein. It's enlivened by a lot of outdoor photography, a real feeling of frontier isolation, and by superlative performances from three of Hollywood's most enduring stars.The story is classic: a widower (William Holden) 'buys' a bondswoman (Loretta Young) to be his wife in-name-only, as a housekeeper on his remote farm and substitute mother for his young son. He takes the woman entirely for granted, until a likable drifter (Robert Mitchum) visits and shows a romantic interest in her.The film genuinely tugs at the heart-strings, and includes some moments of action and tension - yet it remains fundamentally warm and humorous. Holden is perfect as the befuddled farmer, who can't sort out his own feelings. Mitchum has one of his best roles, as the charming visitor. (Mitchum played this role of genial interloper multiple times, always to great effect - see also Holiday Affair, for example, or The Grass is Greener.) Loretta Young... what can one say? She's so immensely appealing here, that it's hard to understand why her name doesn't come up more often as one of the great leading ladies.This is truly one of those timeless films, that becomes more beloved with every viewing. It reminds me, in a distant way, of The Westerner, which is at heart also a love story. Or Along Came Jones, which also featured Loretta Young. But Rachel and the Stranger is more satisfying than those films; it works perfectly on multiple levels.Given it's high quality, I can only assume that Rachel and the Stranger is one of those many works that have been trapped in 'copyright limbo' by the idiotic intellectual-property legislation enacted in recent years. There's no other way to explain the lack of a properly-restored video release. TCM does show the film, fortunately, and there do seem to be various passable DVD editions floating around. But this film deserves better.If you love westerns, or good old Hollywood romantic comedies, definitely make some time for Rachel and the Stranger. You may not have heard of it, but it deserves to be remembered as a true classic.

RACHEL AND THE STRANGER has the kind of quiet charm that LORETTA YOUNG always possessed and benefits from the more rugged screen presence of its leading men--WILLIAM HOLDEN and ROBERT MITCHUM. Loretta is an indentured servant who becomes the wife of William Holden and must prove herself worthy of the affections of Holden and his young son.There really is very little in the story that is original and the outcome can be predicted from scene one. It's clear that Loretta, as Holden's second wife, will have a hard time replacing his winsome wife who was a woman of modest talents and dearly loved by husband and son (GARY GRAY). Not unexpectedly, they both warm to her and so does Holden's "stranger" friend, ROBERT MITCHUM, who does a nice job raising his voice in song accompanied by guitar. Mitchum gives his usual laid back performance, nicely understated. The story may be a little too slow moving for some tastes since it's more of a character study of a widower and his new wife than it is a western.There's no real excitement to the story until the Indian attack which comes late in the story, but the film depends on the central performances of Young, Holden and Mitchum to hold interest as the three of them have some amusing interactions throughout the story.Nicely photographed in outdoor settings photographed in crisp B&W, it's a film full of simple charm without anything pretentious about it.Only drawback: Overuse of the phrase "I reckon" to give the dialog a bucolic flavor. Its use is way overdone and actually becomes irritating when the script has the phrase repeated every few seconds by everyone in the cast.

At its most basic, "Rachel and the Stranger" is a domestic comedy set in the wilderness of 18th century Ohio. Director Norman Foster manages to pack more charm into each five minutes than most films have during their entire running length. At its most ambitious, "Rachel and the Stranger" is an allegorical story about the impact of a catalyst into a seemingly stable dynamic. In this case the stranger in the title, Jim (Robert Mitchum), visits the isolated farm of long-time friend David Harvey (William Holden), his young son Davey (Gary Gray), and their bond servant Rachel (Loretta Young). David bought Rachel (who is working off her late father's debts) after his wife died, needing a replacement to help raise Davey. He married her out of respect for social convention but has no intention of consummating the marriage. While David treats Rachel with respect and consideration, his son is openly resentful of the substitute mother. After some initial progress the threesome settles into a distanced existence, a rut from which there is little chance they will be able to escape on their own. But things quickly change when Jim stops by on his way to town. For the first time Rachel has someone who actively engages her. Jim's attentions build up Rachel's status in Davey's eyes while causing David to see her obvious attractions for the first time. But Foster doesn't limit things to this predictable interplay; he builds on it by having Rachel quickly come out of her guarded shell in response to Jim's interest. Even the makeup people get into the act as Young goes from the look of a plain pioneer woman to a subtle radiance.All four stars are excellent. It was probably Holden's best performance as he provides most of the humor with his growing attraction to Rachel and his increasing irritation with the attention Jim is paying to her. Young was about 10 years too old for her 25 year-old character but this is not really a factor as the age of the character is unimportant; you wonder why they did not simply change the one reference to her age after casting Young for the part. Young's acting tends to be underrated because of her later work as a television hostess but even her film work as a teenager was extraordinary. She was an especially good casting choice because the repressed Rachel needs to subtly convey a depth and dimensionality early in the film to make her later transformation plausible.Mitchum gives perhaps his liveliest performance as he seems to be having a lot of fun with his part. Gray is solid as always, one of those rare child actors who were not irritating after a few minutes on the screen.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.