Love's Enduring Promise

If all one ever watched were the standard fare films Hollywood made about the West, you would have to wonder how it ever really was settled. The rootin' tootin' shootin' Westerns have entertained generations – not only in America, but also across the globe. But if that's what the West was really like, then it's a wonder that anyone lived or that towns in the West ever grew and survived.

Well, of course, many people did survive – the vast majority; and many towns grew up into the Western U.S. that we have today. From pioneer journals, diaries and novels we have the stories of hardship, sorrows and progress of some of those people. Many were people of faith, who took their trust in God with them when they journeyed West. "Love's Enduring Promise" is such a tale and film. It's the second of a series of movies made based on books by Canadian author Janette Oke. Oke's stories include all the rigors and hardships of the hardy pioneers; but they develop around people with strong Christian faith and beliefs.

There are many pioneer and historical museums and centers in the U.S. Two excellent sources for diaries, maps, and stories about the West are the Oregon-California Trails Association in Independence, MO, and The National Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier, ID.

"Love's Enduring Promise" is a well-made movie with a fine cast. The cinematography and technical qualities are all very good. Most of the characters are quite natural and lively in their roles. But Dale Midkiff seems to lack energy in his portrayal of Clark Davis. This seems an exaggeration of a pensive person, where he seldom shows emotion or excitement about anything. His character comes across as sedated, where Katherine Heigl and January Jones also have deep faith, but with some spunk.

These are good family stories, but this particular film may be too slow to keep the interest of young boys.

This movie can be enjoyed by the whole family. A wholesome drama with some humor infused to lighten the mood despite difficult moments. A nice touching story about a family struck by hard times when the father, Clark Davis injured himself and the family risked losing everything they have because there is no one to help with the farming. Until a handsome young stranger comes along and pitches in to help. As the story unfolds, it's more of the family helping this young man, teaching him things that the family values: love, faith, endurance, and forgiveness.

Highly recommended for the whole family!

Just like 'Love Comes Softly' this book has nothing in common with the book except for a few names, but that is no reason to pitch either one out. Love and enjoy each separately. It's like 'Anne of Green Gables' I love the books and the movies but they aren't identical either. I love Dale Midkiff. My only disappointment was I think he looks better with shorter hair like how he looked in 'The Magnificent Seven'. (Whoa, heart, calm down, he's somebody else's husband.) ;-) Anyway...I actually felt like Michael Landon, Jr. managed to incorporate more romance in this movie than Janette Oke had in the book. In the book, Willie and Missie's romance was probably a grand total of a dozen pages out of the whole thing if that much. Mrs. Oke seemed to want to run off on rabbit trails in the book talking about people that had very little to do with the Davis'. I cared more about Missie's romance than whether a neighbor had a baby or not and whether he was right in the head or not. In the book, I thought it was cute when Willie tried to help Missie shut the window that was stuck. That would have been cute to see in the movie. It was about the only thing in the book that resembled romance. I personally prefer romance with witty banter and things that make your heart flip over and make you laugh at the same time. The Danielle Steel type of stories seem to keep the people in bed so much that if real people stayed in the bed that much they would be dehydrated into a pile of dust in a month. Of course, Logan B. was very cute. My only thing there was they seemed to be trying too hard to make him be an expert in every field, and whenever he was around everyone else was helpless, but that wasn't his fault. He was mighty cute while he was being Superman, Marcus Welby, etc. Anyway...I think this movie is definitely worth a watch. Rita If Michael Landon, Jr. is reading this, may I suggest Lori Wick's 'The Californians' series, and 'A Place Called Home' series. Lori Copeland's book 'Hope'. She is hilarious.

Yes, I agree with viewer, Kayla, regarding the young actor who plays Willie/Nate - Logan Bartholomew - he's truly a star and a shining light. I looked him up and learned that "Promise" is his first film although he had a bit part - apparently non-speaking - in one of the American Pie films. Once I discovered that "Promise" is Logan's first film, I was even more impressed because his character is very demanding in terms of the plot and Logan has the most intense scene in the movie where he really has to show his stuff. This young fellow is definitely someone to watch. It's very exciting to see an actor at the beginning of his career and I will watching Logan like an overbearing parent!

When I first saw Love Comes Softly, I quickly ranked it high up on my mental list of favorite movies. I purposefully watch it whenever I see if listed, which now totals about 10 times. I just saw Love's Enduring Promise for the first time recently, and now have another movie to add to my list. This sequel did not let me down. Thankfully, the same Clark and Marty were cast for this movie, as well as Willie. I suppose it wasn't reasonable to cast the same Missie, due to her age. But January Jones' portrayal soon made me forget any disappointment I may have had. I realize these movies are carried on the Hallmark channel, which thankfully seems to have kept ethics and principals in tact, but I believe they could have been shown on any leading network and still would have drawn lots of viewers with positive feedback. I hope everyone of all ages takes the time to watch these movies. I found myself getting so absorbed in Enduring Promise, just as I did in Comes Softly, that I "became" a part of that time in my mind. What different times those were! I intend to watch them again and again!