Rachel and the Stranger

In time of colonization of America, the widower David Harvey (William Holden) lives in an isolated farm in the woods with his son Davey (Gary Grey). Father and son miss their wife and mother Susan, who has recently died, and David concludes that he needs a woman to educate his son properly and to cook and clean the house. David decides to travel with Davey to the nearby fort to seek a woman and the reverend proposes the bond servant Rachel (Loretta Young) for him. David buys Rachel, and Davey overhears the negotiation; but the reverend demands that they should marry to each other to have a decent life in the same house. The trio travels back to the farm and David and Davey treat Rachel like a slave without any respect or affection. When David's drifter friend Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum) visits them, he stays for a couple of days with the family and treats Rachel respectfully like a lady. Then Jim courts Rachel, and David feels jealous and realizes how important she is for him.

"Rachel and the Stranger" is an adorable romance and I loved this western. I did not know the concept of indentured servant in America, and the humiliating situation of Rachel is heartbreaking, fruit of the unpaid debts of her father. Loretta Young has a fantastic performance and William Holden and Robert Mitchum have hilarious moments with their witty lines. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Rachel e o Estranho" ("Rachel and the Stranger")

I loved this movie. I thought the banter between Holden and Mitchum were subtly hilarious. The facial expressions were spot on from Holden. Young was formidable in this part as well. I think it takes a strong cast to make a movie that revolves around four sole characters. It was a great romantic comedy. I liked the chemistry between Mitchum and Young on screen. I also thought that Gary Gray added the right amount of drama/comedy to the whole show. I loved the scenes in the woods with Mitchum and Holden bickering and making their pleas to Young. All in all, I think this is a good movie, and definitely worth the time of watching.

This is a film that for most of its running time has no other players than the three adult leads and a child. The players had better be good for this one. Fortunately they are and Rachel and the Stranger has a good quiet charm about it.

The title role is played by Loretta Young. She was a year past her Oscar winning performance in The Farmer's Daughter and really at the top of her game. Rachel is a bondservant who is bought by widower William Holden to help out at the family farm, bring back a feminine touch to the place and help raise his son, Gary Gray. Rachel is bought for "eighteen dollars and owing four" by Holden, but frontier proprieties being what they were, Holden has to marry her.

But she's no wife, she's bought and paid for help, until Holden's friend Robert Mitchum shows up and starts looking at her as a desirable woman. Now Holden starts thinking along those lines and the fun begins.

Holden and Mitchum both do very well in typical roles for both at the time. Bill Holden called this his "smiling jim" period which ended with Sunset Boulevard a year later.

Mitchum gets to sing in Rachel and the Stranger and even cut a couple of records of the songs he sings from the film. Not bad for Bob, among the many accomplishments of that complex and talented man was as a singer and songwriter. He didn't do it often enough in movies.

But the movie really turns on Loretta Young's performance. She strikes just the right note as the bondwoman who helps make the whole lot of them a family again.

The movie is also a good depiction of frontier Ohio. An Indian attack is part of the problems the quartet faces and the Shawnees were very active there until the Battle of Fallen Timbers which took place in 1795. Figure the action to be taking place slightly before that.

A nice entertaining film.

After the death of his wife, pioneer farmer David Harvey (William Holden) decides to take a new bride. What he's really after is less a wife than a housekeeper who will do chores and take care of his son. He finds that in indentured servant Rachel (Loretta Young), whom he purchases and then marries at the urging of the local parson. David shows no affection towards Rachel, treating her just like a servant. This changes when traveling fur trapper Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum) shows up. Jim's an old friend of David's and loved his late wife though she chose David over him. When Jim starts paying Rachel attention, it stirs feelings of jealousy in David and he starts to see Rachel in a new light.

Charming western love story with top stars at their best. Holden and Mitchum are superb but Young really shines, carrying most of the picture just through her facial expressions. What a lovely face it was, too. Young and Mitchum both sing in this, as well. I should also mention Gary Gray is good as the son. A simple story but wonderfully told with that old Hollywood magic.

I too became a fan of this movie (thank you American Movie Classics). What at first appeared to be a run-of-the-mill frontier cabin story turned into an absorbing, well-written, well-acted human interest story with four engaging characters, a beautiful locale (the movie would have benefited from color), and a fine score to boot. The concept of a bonded (indentured) servant added an interesting historical facet. The cast, of course, is top notch. Mitchum and Holden work particularly well together. The film should be a lot better known than it is, and is well worth a see.