Love Takes Wing

In the Old West, a young woman (Sarah Jones) arrives in Sikeston, Missouri, by stagecoach to take over as the town's physician. As she tries to figure out what disease is making people deathly ill, especially the kids in the orphanage, she develops a friendship with a helpful blacksmith (Jordan Bridges). Haylie Duff plays her colleague, Cloris Leachman the manager of the orphanage, Patrick Duffy the mayor and Lou Diamond Phillips a grim citizen. Lou also happens to direct.

"Love Takes Wing" (2009) had a budget of $2 million and debuted on TV (Hallmark), but it's worthy if you don't mind realistic Westerns that sneer at the Western staples of fast-draw shootouts and so forth. There are, to be expected, a couple of schmaltzy or predictable bits, but it's otherwise well-done and the drama keeps your interest.

I particularly liked the addition of intravenous therapy (aka IV), which inspired me to look up its history. I was in the hospital for several weeks years ago and was always hooked up to an IV. Now I know why. Diseases like Cholera kill through dehydrating the victim. Intravenous therapy ingeniously fixed the problem, but it's easy to take for granted now. This interesting and enlightening element took the movie to the next level for me.

Geographically, Southern Cal doesn't look anything like Missouri, but I guess it doesn't matter much since it's mostly a town-bound story. Yet the overall vibe is of the Southwest, which is a far cry from the milieu of the Show Me State.

This was the seventh film installment taken from Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly book series. It's followed by the last sequential film, Love Finds a Home, which debuted later the same year (not to mention two prequels in 2011). You don't have to see any of the other movies to view this one; it's self-contained and is the only one I've seen. Interestingly, none of the events depicted occur in the corresponding novel.

It runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot at Melody Movie Ranch in Newhall, California, which is the southern section of Santa Clarita, a 40-minute drive northwest of Los Angeles in the high country.

GRADE: B.

Two female doctors Haylie Duff and Sarah Jones come to Sikeston, Missouri and none too soon. The town is in the grip of an epidemic that appears to have started in the town orphanage. It's soon identified not as a kind of influenza as was thought, but the far more deadly cholera, most common back in a time of less sanitation.

Besides having to battle the usual Victorian prejudices about women in certain male only professions, both women especially Duff have their own demons to battle. Duff in fact is a recent widow who was unable to save her husband despite her medical training. Back two centuries ago, it was common for folks to die a lot younger.

The only real support they get is from the matron of the orphanage, Cloris Leachman and from Jordan Bridges the town blacksmith whom Duff gets romantically involved with. They have a week mayor in Patrick Duffy who wants to do the right thing, but is also mindful he has to go to these folks for votes later on. Sikeston also has a rabble rouser in Lou Diamond Phillips who lost family members and is willing to just throw the sick orphans on the street and out of town.

In addition to being the Grinch of the story, Lou Diamond Phillips also directs Love Takes Wing and gets nice performances from his cast. Particularly effective are the scenes with Haylie Duff and orphan Annalise Basso who bond quite nicely in the story and on the screen.

How do they deal with the epidemic? Well it seems that Johns Hopkins has developed a brand new technique for dealing with dehydration which is how cholera kills. I won't say, but I will say that nowadays it's something taken for granted.

Which shows you that even the most matter of fact and mundane things we have now are things that someone had to think up and bring about. And prove they work.

Love Takes Wing is a nice family film from the Hallmark Channel definitely worth a viewing.

This is a wonderful, endearing film which appears to be the beginning of a series on Hallmark network.

While it resembles the former Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman television show of years back, we need more of this quality, heartwarming tales.

Two female doctors venture forth to the west, this time Missouri. In a rural area, they encounter a cholera epidemic as well as the usual superstitions, prejudice and viciousness of a town in believing that the orphans caused the outbreak.

82 year old Cloris Leachman is just wonderful as a dedicated woman working in the orphanage. There is also fine acting by Patrick Duffy as the conflicted mayor of the town and by director Lou Diamond Philips, who also plays a heavy in the film.

One doctor soon finds a male interest and by the end of the show, they wed. Of course, just like Dr. Quinn, they adopt Lillian, a precocious youngster caught up in the epidemic, who acts like a young Florence Nightingale.

Looking forward to the continuation of this Love series.

Before I begin, I'll say that I have always been a fan of Jeanette Oak and her work. I am not however, a fan of Hallmark channel movies.(I've always thought them to be too predictable and repetitive)The Love comes Softly series is no different, except for the fact that it is set in the 1800's. The constant playing of dramatic music is irritating and the acting is far too modern for a western movie.And to be honest, it doesn't stray far from the other Love Comes Softly movies. Girl meets boy, they fall in love and get married, then have a child who repeats the same thing in the next movie. I'll admit that the plot is intriguing enough to keep you watching,and if your looking for a good family film, then this is for you.All in all this movie is your typical, feel good, western-love story.If thats your cup of tea then you will enjoy this, otherwise don't watch it.

This is the seventh movie in the Love Comes Softly series.If you Love this movie you just have to start from the beginning .The movies in order is as follows....

1.Love Comes Softly 2.Love's Enduring Promise 3.Love's Long Journey 4.Love's Abiding Joy 5.Love's Unending Legacy 6.Love's Unfolding Dream 7.Love Takes Wing 8.Love Finds a Home

I really Love this series of movies.If you like to read the books are a must.This and all the other movies it this series are prefect for the whole family. That is not always the case with other movies made today.The Hallmark channel brings us great movies that everyone can enjoy and learn some good morals to boot.