Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with William Holden and Loretta Young

1948 rachel and the stranger

REBEL BRIDE of a man she never kissed! Pledged to share his home…but not privileged to claim his love! Until one day…one fateful day…along came a Tall, Dark Stranger!

Forgotten movies are a plenty, and Rachel and the Stranger is no exception. Carried by a cast of basically four – with three of them heavy hitters- Rachel and the Stranger gets exactly what it needs to succeed; a brilliant cast.

The big three are, of course, William Holden (Big Davey), Loretta Young (Rachel) and Robert Mitchum (Jim). With support from Gary Gray as Davey, these four are with few exceptions, the entire cast of the film.

Yet somehow it works wonderfully. Big Davey looses his wife and finds that homesteading in the wilderness during pioneer days is rather challenging with only one set of adult hands to not only work the farm but also educate his young son Davey. So out of need rather than desire his buys Rachel for eighteen dollars to be his wife until she works off her debts. Though to say Big Davey is resentful of Rachel would be an overstatement, there is definitely a wary cognizance that she’s not as good as he is.

1948 rachel and the stranger william holden robert mitchum loretta youngWith no desire to consummate the marriage, Rachel and Big Davey sleep separately and relations are functional if terse. And then Big Davey’s friend Jim (Mitchum) arrives and changes the dynamic.

Jim and Rachel click almost instantly, chatting and singing together- really hitting it off. Mitchum released a few albums (mostly Calypso music) himself, so the songs are not as bad as one might imagine.

However he does it, Jim crystalizes in Big Davey that Rachel isn’t just an indentured servant, but his wife. He finds himself slowly getting jealous of the relationship that Jim has with Rachel to the exclusion of his own. Finally he asks Jim to leave. To Big Davey’s surprise, Jim agrees, but on the condition that Rachel go with him. And that’s enough of the plot to share for now!

What makes Rachel and the Stranger so charming is the interplay between the three leads. Holden does perhaps some of his best work, smirking and making other various facial contortions from a distance as he sees Jim steal his (previously unwanted) wife from right under his nose. It’s only with Mitchum’s arrival that he sees the good side of Rachel and what a fine person she is.

1948 rachel and the stranger robert mitchum loretta youngLoretta Young as well is dominant in her role, struggling to come to grips with her new life on the frontier. In spite of Holden’s coldness, she tries diligently to fulfill her role and not only take care of the household but also educate young Dave as well. She wants so hard to please Holden that she even takes to shooting practice in a makeshift range in the cellar when he’s out for the day. This training finally pays off later in the picture and plays a great role in Rachel finally getting the respect she deserves.

Robert Mitchum of all the three leads, perhaps gives the most surprising performance. Mitchum is usually- well, Mitchum. Though a favorite, he often appears uninterested in the proceedings, sleepwalking through roles. Though driven perhaps through more than his fair share of shoddy productions, especially during the RKO years, here he is dynamically outstanding.

There’s a spring in his step and a definitive style in his performance that you don’t see as often as you’d like from the star. Well, there might have been a good reason for that, as Rachel and the Stranger was Mitchum’s first film to be released after his arrest for marijuana possession. With his career in potential jeopardy, it’s not unrealistic to say that Mitchum swung for the fences on this one. RKO as well rushed the picture to completion to capitalize on the publicity Mitchum had garnered from his arrest.

Rachel and the Stranger is a fine romantic comedy with a little action that is well worth your time in hunting down.
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