''Rachel and the Stranger'' is a 1948 American

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

film starring

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

, and

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

. The

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

-directed film was one of the few to address the role of women in the early American frontier, as well as portray early America's

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of Work (human activity), labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as paymen ...

trade. It was based on the

Howard Fast Howard Melvin Fast (November 11, 1914 – March 12, 2003) was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E.V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson. Biography Early life Fast was born in New York City. His mother, ...

short story "Rachel". While the film had a low budget, it was RKO's most successful film that year, making $395,000.

Plot

In early America, David Harvey (

), a recent widower farming in the wilderness in the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

, 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 Thomas Kane Tulley (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor. He began his career in radio and on the stage before making his film debut in ''Northern Pursuit'' (1943). Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Be ...

) and his wife. In view of the dearth of women in the settlement, David buys the contract of an

named Rachel (

). David accepts that he will have to marry her, for the sake of propriety. Their marriage is in name only. David is still grieving for his dead wife Susan, and Davey resents what he sees as an attempt to replace his mother. Unlike Susan, Rachel is unskilled in the use of a

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

, but she resolves to learn to shoot to connect with the boy and through him, with the father. Jim Fairways (

), a hunter who is a family friend, visits and becomes attracted to Rachel. On his next visit, Jim brings presents, including a dress for Rachel. David becomes jealous and irritated as Jim stays weeks longer than expected. He takes the opportunity of a night out hunting foxes with the dogs to tackle Jim and encourage him to leave. Davey defies Rachel and stays outside the cabin to listen to the sounds of the hunt. A prowling

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

threatens Davey and the stock. At the sound of a gunshot, the men come running, and Rachel admits that she killed the animal. As a result, she rises in Davey's estimation. When Jim offers to buy her, David's resentments come to the surface, and they fight. Rachel is quietly furious and feels that both men regard her more as a commodity than as a wife. She decides to leave and walks back to the settlement. Taking Davey, David and Jim ride after her. That night, while they are camped after finding Rachel, they see a glow in the sky and fear the Shawnee are attacking settlers. The men send Rachel and Davey on horseback to the settlement while they run back to the cabin to see what is going on. Rachel sends Davey on for help while she follows the men. She reaches the cabin to find them besieged. She is dragged from her horse by one of the attackers, but David and Jim make a sally and get her into the cabin. The Shawnee set the cabin on fire, and the trio retreat to the cellar. Early the next morning, Parson Jackson and the local

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

arrive to drive off the attackers. David and Rachel survey the burnt-out cabin, making plans for the future. Rachel knows she has been accepted as a wife when David tells his son to "do as your ma says" and enfolds her in a tender embrace.

Cast

as Rachel Harvey *

as David Harvey *

as Jim Fairways * Gary Gray as Davey *

as Parson Jackson *

Sara Haden Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 of the ...

as Mrs. Jackson *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1899 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was born in Ferndale, California, the younger of two children of W. Tho ...

as Mr. Green *

Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born January 2, 1889, in Lima, O ...

as Gallus * Regina Wallace as Mrs. Green

Production

Filming took place in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

Reception

The film recorded a profit of $395,000.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 231Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016 After Mitchum was arrested for possessing marijuana, RKO rushed to release the film to take advantage of the news of Mitchum's arrest. The film opened in 7 key US cities to test the public's attitude and both critics and the public welcomed it and it was the number one film in the US for two weeks.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rachel And The Stranger 1948 films 1940s historical drama films 1948 drama films American historical drama films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Norman Foster Films scored by Roy Webb Films set in Ohio Films set in the 18th century Films shot in Eugene, Oregon Films with screenplays by Waldo Salt RKO Pictures films 1940s American films English-language historical drama films