Yes, I suppose there may be spoilers here, so beware.
I just saw this movie for the first time last night on TCM and it surprises me that not even Bob Osborne got it. This is not just a sentimental little vehicle for Loretta Young and Joe Cotton. It is that, of course, and a delightful one. But it also happens to be a subversive political and feminist manifesto.
Oh really?
First, check out the timing. It was made in 1947, the year the House Un-American Activities Committee started rampaging though Hollywood looking for Commie witches and subversive agendas. They need have looked no further than this movie but as far as I know, they missed it too. Loretta Young got an Academy Award.
Second, check out the producer. Dore Schary was notorious for opposing the activities of the HUAC and the Hollywood blacklist. Though I don't think he was ever officially blacklisted, he was certainly outspoken and was frequently painted with a red brush.
Third, check out the issues Katie raises in her campaign: a living wage for American workers, an end to exploiting common people, the right to protest and speak out. And underlying it all, the unspoken admonition to pay attention to what these guys on the podium are actually saying; don't just cheer and follow. All stuff that would have gotten her blacklisted if anybody was paying attention.
Fourth, check out the guy she was campaigning against (spoiler?), who turns out to be a figurehead for a secret right wing group that wants to make sure everybody is on the right ("White?" asks Mrs. Morely pointedly) page. He's booted unceremoniously from the Morely parlor.
And finally, (here's the main spoiler) check out what happens to her. A sappy romantic comedy would have ended in the chicken yard, with Glenn saving her from ignominy by marrying her and whisking her away with him to Washington. She gets to Washington, all right, and she's his wife. But that's not the only way she gets there.
This movie was a delightfully subversive thumb in the eye of the forces of darkness in 1947 Hollywood. And the forces of darkness were too buy mooning over Loretta Young to get it.
Remake, anyone?
I just saw this movie for the first time last night on TCM and it surprises me that not even Bob Osborne got it. This is not just a sentimental little vehicle for Loretta Young and Joe Cotton. It is that, of course, and a delightful one. But it also happens to be a subversive political and feminist manifesto.
Oh really?
First, check out the timing. It was made in 1947, the year the House Un-American Activities Committee started rampaging though Hollywood looking for Commie witches and subversive agendas. They need have looked no further than this movie but as far as I know, they missed it too. Loretta Young got an Academy Award.
Second, check out the producer. Dore Schary was notorious for opposing the activities of the HUAC and the Hollywood blacklist. Though I don't think he was ever officially blacklisted, he was certainly outspoken and was frequently painted with a red brush.
Third, check out the issues Katie raises in her campaign: a living wage for American workers, an end to exploiting common people, the right to protest and speak out. And underlying it all, the unspoken admonition to pay attention to what these guys on the podium are actually saying; don't just cheer and follow. All stuff that would have gotten her blacklisted if anybody was paying attention.
Fourth, check out the guy she was campaigning against (spoiler?), who turns out to be a figurehead for a secret right wing group that wants to make sure everybody is on the right ("White?" asks Mrs. Morely pointedly) page. He's booted unceremoniously from the Morely parlor.
And finally, (here's the main spoiler) check out what happens to her. A sappy romantic comedy would have ended in the chicken yard, with Glenn saving her from ignominy by marrying her and whisking her away with him to Washington. She gets to Washington, all right, and she's his wife. But that's not the only way she gets there.
This movie was a delightfully subversive thumb in the eye of the forces of darkness in 1947 Hollywood. And the forces of darkness were too buy mooning over Loretta Young to get it.
Remake, anyone?