Miracle on Main Street

A well done low budget film. The things I like about the low budget independents made in Hollywood's heyday is that they stray a bit off the beaten path with sets, actors and script.

Storywise this film tells the usual story of a bad girl (Margo) with a heart of gold ( she's a stripper) who finds a child and wants to bring it up as her own. But in the meantime she has to ditch the bad man ( Lyle Talbot - yet again a fine bad man) and hook up with the good man ( Walter Abel). Will she succeed ?? She gets help from a drunken doctor ( William Collier Sr in a good humorous performance), a cranky landlady (Jane Darwell) and assorted B girls.

Where the film takes interest is in the small detail - a stripper with a heart of gold, a "single" mother, a wife leaving a husband in a matter of fact way and Afro-American and caucasian audience members at a strip club sitting side by side watching and cheering at the display.

Where the film wins out is with director Steven Sekely's tight direction and obvious sincerity. The scenes with Margo and child standing before the blessed Virgin in church are effective.

A pleasant way to spend an hour and a bit.