Rachel and the Stranger
7 /10 1 Votes7
Duration Country United States | 7/10 Genre Adventure, Western Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date September 18, 1948 (1948-09-18) (Premiere-New York City)October 2, 1948 (1948-10-02) (U.S.) Cast (Rachel Harvey), (Jim Fairways), (David Harvey), (Davey), (Parson Jackson) Similar movies Four Weddings and a Funeral , 27 Dresses , License to Wed , Icing , Bride Wars , The Wedding Singer Tagline 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! |
Rachel and the Stranger is a black-and-white 1948 western film starring Loretta Young, William Holden, and Robert Mitchum. The Norman Foster-directed film was one of the few to address the role of women in the pioneer west, as well as portray early America's indentured servant trade. It was based on the Howard Fast short story "Rachel".
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While the film had a low budget, it was RKO's most successful film that year, making $395,000.

Plot
In colonial America, David Harvey (William Holden), a recent widower living in the wilderness, decides that his young boy Davey (Gary Gray) needs a woman around to help raise him. He goes to the nearest settlement and consults Parson Jackson (Tom Tully). David gets talked into buying the contract of an indentured servant named Rachel (Loretta Young) and marrying her.
Their marriage, however, is in name alone. Rachel serves more as a servant than a wife and Davey resents what he sees as an attempt to replace his dead mother Susan. Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum), a family friend (and former suitor of Susan's), visits and falls in love with Rachel. When he offers to buy her, David must fight to keep her and discovers his love in the process.
Cast
Reception
The film recorded a profit of $395,000.
After Mitchum was arrested for possessing marijuana, RKO rushed to release the film to take advantage of the news of Mitchum's arrest.
References
Rachel and the Stranger WikipediaRachel and the Stranger IMDbRachel and the Stranger themoviedb.org