When a young deaf-mute named Belinda McDonald (Jane Wyman) is raped and impregnated by a local brute, the close-knit community of Cape Breton Island, Canada accuses her doctor and sign-language teacher Dr. Robert Richardson (Lew Ayres) of taking advantage of her. When the man who raped Belinda tries to gain custody of her child, the young woman is thrown into a heated legal dispute against a town that resents her and considers her sub-human. Such is the story of Jean Negulesco's Johnny Belinda, a powerful drama that had the distinction of being one of the first Hollywood films for which the Motion Picture Production Code was relaxed. And yet, Johnny Belinda feels like a missed opportunity. The film deserved a director with more fire in his heart and venom in his veins. Negulesco did a competent job bringing this harrowing real-life story to the silver screen. But whereas a director like Billy Wilder or Fritz Lang would have used such a story to make a powerful statement about humanity, Negulesco embraces tepid melodrama. Too much of the film is devoted to Dr. Richardson's romance with Belinda. But to be fair to Mrs. Wyman and Mr. Ayres, their performances are exceptional. Belinda's disability forced Wyman to access a range of physical emotion and expression almost unseen since the days of silent cinema. But Negulesco's focus on their romance keeps the audience's rage towards the injustices inflicted on them by the townsfolk from reaching a frothing boil. I guess I wouldn't be so bothered by Negulesco's emphasis on melodrama if it wasn't for the fact that the film had the guts to defy the Production Code! Obviously this film got clearance because it had an important message to tell! But that message is almost sterilized by sappy romance! Still, I'm being unfair. I'm breaking one of my cardinal rules as a film critic: only judge a film for what it is instead of what it could have been. And Johnny Belinda is a good film. But it could have been something more. It could have been great.
7/10
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