Rachel and the Stranger

"Rachel and the Stranger" is a story that takes place on the frontier during the early days of the Ohio Territory.

Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum), a frontiersman who likes to disappear into the woods for months at a time, rides onto the property of his friend, Dave Harvey (William Holden), to find that Dave is disconsolate over the death of his wife, Susan. The property has gone to seed and Dave's son, Little Davey, though independent, is fairly neglected.

After talking with Dave, Jim says he will be back in the Spring. Dave figures he needs to honor the memory of his wife by giving Little Davey the attention he needs, as his mother had. He rides into town (the fort) to find female help. The preacher knows of a bondwoman who might be bought cheap and he intercedes to facilitate the deal. Her name is Rachel (Loretta Young).

The story is about the changes that need to be made by father and son, still pining over Susan's absence. Eventually it takes the return of Jim--who recognizes Rachel's value--to really precipitate things.

The story is filled with big moments of action, small moments of interaction, and silent moments of understanding. All three stars are strong in their roles and the boy is played very competently by Gary Gray. This is a charming story that, at its center, is a love story.

Holden would arguably hit his stride in a couple of years ("Sunset Boulevard") and Mitchum a few years later ("The Night of the Hunter"). But Young, who was slightly older, was already accomplished. Her performance is quiet, but strong. Given the success of this film and its four complementary performances, a sequel probably would have done well. But we will have to settle for this memorable production.

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.

"Rachel and the Stranger" has been one of my favorite "little" films over the years. I only say little because my mother and I are the only two fans of it that I actually know of, but I'm sure there are hundreds of fans out there who love "Rachel and the Stranger" as much as we do. TCM runs it two or three times a year and I try not to miss it. I guess it was a big hit in its time even though it's not as well known today, but my advice is to watch it if you ever get the chance. At about 90 minutes it doesn't wear out its welcome and seems to be over as fast as it began. And with three great stars like Loretta Young (WOW!), William Holden and Robert Mitchum, you really can't go wrong. All three are perfect in their roles. The film is a traditional Western in many ways, but what I like most about it is the humor that's woven in throughout. One sequence even develops into slapstick, but it works. Overall, a really wonderful and enjoyable movie. This is the kind of film that you just end up counting among your favorites even though it's likely that no one you know has ever seen it. And it's the kind of film that you want everyone to see so you can strike up a conversation about how much you love it! Watch it and enjoy!

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.

RACHEL AND THE STRANGER has the kind of quiet charm that LORETTA YOUNG always possessed and benefits from the more rugged screen presence of its leading men--WILLIAM HOLDEN and ROBERT MITCHUM. Loretta is an indentured servant who becomes the wife of William Holden and must prove herself worthy of the affections of Holden and his young son.

There really is very little in the story that is original and the outcome can be predicted from scene one. It's clear that Loretta, as Holden's second wife, will have a hard time replacing his winsome wife who was a woman of modest talents and dearly loved by husband and son (GARY GRAY). Not unexpectedly, they both warm to her and so does Holden's "stranger" friend, ROBERT MITCHUM, who does a nice job raising his voice in song accompanied by guitar. Mitchum gives his usual laid back performance, nicely understated. The story may be a little too slow moving for some tastes since it's more of a character study of a widower and his new wife than it is a western.

There's no real excitement to the story until the Indian attack which comes late in the story, but the film depends on the central performances of Young, Holden and Mitchum to hold interest as the three of them have some amusing interactions throughout the story.

Nicely photographed in outdoor settings photographed in crisp B&W, it's a film full of simple charm without anything pretentious about it.

Only drawback: Overuse of the phrase "I reckon" to give the dialog a bucolic flavor. Its use is way overdone and actually becomes irritating when the script has the phrase repeated every few seconds by everyone in the cast.