The opening scene of this film tells the story of how Esther Costello became deaf and blind. If you can watch this straight-faced then you're a better person than me. It was the first of many unintentionally funny scenes in this melodrama. A rich American woman named Margaret Landi (Joan Crawford) visits the Irish village where she was born. The villagers, with the local priest at the forefront, conspire to guilt Margaret into taking Esther (Heather Sears) with her. Why they do this is unclear. I suppose it could be because they wanted the girl to be taken care of and Margaret had the financial means to do it. But the gleeful way the villagers were acting made me think they were happy to be rid of the girl for less noble reasons. Anyway, from here the movie becomes like "The Miracle Worker" with Joan and Heather as surrogates for Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. Esther's story gets national attention and Margaret starts a charity in her name. Things take a dark turn when Margaret's ex Carlo (Rossano Brazzi) shows up.
Joan's acting is poor. She seems out of her comfort zone, except for when she's dealing with scumbag Brazzi. Sears is awful. Let's be honest she really is. It's hard to play a part like this I'm sure but she's just not up to it. Her wide-eyed blank stares and silly miming are hard to take seriously. Later, after she has learned how to communicate, she acts in such a way you can barely tell she's disabled at all. One particular part I want to mention is a big spoiler so -- SPOILER WARNING. Late in the film, Carlo rapes Esther. This shock causes Esther to regain her sight and hearing! That's right, rape cures her. Wow is all I can say. The movie is often touted for the part of its plot dealing with fraudulent charities. Good intentions aside, it's a fairly ridiculous movie with many scenes that are unintentionally funny.
Joan's acting is poor. She seems out of her comfort zone, except for when she's dealing with scumbag Brazzi. Sears is awful. Let's be honest she really is. It's hard to play a part like this I'm sure but she's just not up to it. Her wide-eyed blank stares and silly miming are hard to take seriously. Later, after she has learned how to communicate, she acts in such a way you can barely tell she's disabled at all. One particular part I want to mention is a big spoiler so -- SPOILER WARNING. Late in the film, Carlo rapes Esther. This shock causes Esther to regain her sight and hearing! That's right, rape cures her. Wow is all I can say. The movie is often touted for the part of its plot dealing with fraudulent charities. Good intentions aside, it's a fairly ridiculous movie with many scenes that are unintentionally funny.