Paula

"Paula" is NOT a film for the cynical. After all, unless you are willing to see a schmaltzy film that will tug at your heart, the film probably won't be your sort of thing. However, if you do see it, be prepared--having a box of Kleenex handy wouldn't be a bad idea!

Loretta Young plays a woman who is struggling with her own infertility. While her life is otherwise great, she clearly misses not having a child of her own. How she gets one is the very strange twist in this story!

One night as she's driving, a child darts out and she accidentally hits him. In a panic, she drives away after she sees that the child is going to get medical help. Her conscience, however, cannot handle this-- she feels very guilty about the accident. So, she decides to volunteer at the hospital to see what she can learn about the boy. It turns out that he will survive but the injury left him brain damaged. While he looks pretty normal, he cannot speak and must re-learn this. But he's an orphan and it costs a lot of money to have a full-time teacher--and Young's character volunteers to take the boy into her home and teach him. But what if the boy or anyone figure out who she is and why she's doing all this?

This is a terrific family film. I loved the very original story as well as the performances by Young and Tommy Rettig (as the boy, David). A heart-warming yet exciting and well made movie--one of Young's best.

One night, Paula Rogers, with her car, accidently runs over little David, a 7-years old boy running away from the orphanage. The last thing David sees before fainting is the fancy necklace of Paula, who, after stopping her car, is leaning over him to get him first aid.

David, because of the accident, loses the power of speach, and he needs proper rehabilitation in order to speak again. Due to a series of circumstances, Paula doesn't tell the police, but is designated to be the speaking and spelling teacher for little David, whom she and her husband John guest in their house and intend to adopt.

All goes well for some times, but one day David sees again Paula wearing the fancy necklace of the night of the accident, recognizes her (so the film makes us believe) as his hit and run driver, and begins to hate her.

But, wait a minute: David hasn't seen (so the film showed us) the face of the driver who run over him, but only the face (and the necklace) of the first woman who came to his rescue. So it is simply not possible that he recognizes her. A little but important blunder, that casts a heavy weight upon a movie which - apart from that - is quite likeable (and I won't tell you how it develops).

Loretta Young loses her baby and is told in the hospital that she will never be able to have children. Dr. Alexander Knox, who was so brilliant in "Wilson" tells her this. She is married to college dean Kent Smith. The latter never had much sex appeal or appeal of a leading man in any of his pictures.

While driving to join Smith at a pre-promotional party for him, Young accidentally hits 7 year old Tommy Rettig of "Lassie" fame. Rettig, with those sad eyes of his, evoked a lot of emotion here as he is unable to recover from the accident.

Not admitting to the police that she did this, Young instead volunteers at the hospital and takes in the boy and suddenly becomes a speech pathologist. She is guided by Knox who suddenly is an expert in this field anyway.

Young and Rettig pull out emotional stops in this film. You may want to question the criminal justice system in the nonetheless happy ending.

Loretta Young is in the title role as the wife of a college dean who, after several miscarriages, learns she will never have children. On her way to a formal event, she accidently hits a little boy (Tommy Retting) on a dark road, and before she can find out if he's okay, a nasty local yokel (Will Wright) shows up, calls her a reckless woman driver and whisks the kid away. Wright likes the spotlight as 'the guy who saved the orphan', , telling reporters the driver was a drunk society woman, and describing her car. Young is torn between her worry about the boy and concern that any breath of 'scandal' can hurt her hubbie's career.

She volunteers at the hospital, and arranges with her doctor (Alexander Knox) to help him learn to speak again and she devotes herself to him. She and her husband decide to adopt the boy, and one night Young is dressed for a dinner out..and wearing the same distinctive necklace as the night of the accident. Little Retting recognizes it..and knows she's the one who hit him. He tries to tell others, but his speech is still limited..and Young knows he knows. What does she do? Confess? Knox knows too, but is aware that Young really loves the boy, and returning him to an orphanage would be a mistake. Knox's MD character is a bit confusing in the film..he's a friend/obgyn/pseudo psychologist/speech therapist...hmmm.

There's a little twist when Wright shows up at Young's home, ranting about the boy, but a heart warming ending. Young is fine in her role, Kent Smith as her husband is pretty dull. I put this a step above the 'woman's pictures' of the time because there is some suspense involved...at one point, Young says to the boy 'you can't tell anyone because you can't talk' in a cool, almost menacing tone...to scare him or to prod him to try harder? Or both? Not bad at all...

For a lack of truth in advertising, take a look at the movie poster. It's got a picture of Young in a skimpy low cut dress and says "If you were Paula would you have stopped?" Ahem. I think quite a few men who bought tickets were probably disappointed that this turned out to be a "motherhood is good film".

From 1952, Paula stars Loretta Young as a happily married woman who, after a second miscarriage, is told she can never give birth. She tries to put up a front for her husband (Kent Smith), but her doctor (Alexander Knox) encourages her not to. Her husband wants to adopt, but she isn't ready to discuss it.

One night, rushing to a reception for her husband, a large truck is going in the wrong direction. She doesn't see a little boy (Tommy Rettig) run into the street and hits him.

She races to the boy; a passerby accuses her of being drunk snd picks the child up, not answering her when she asks what hospital he is going to. Calling several hospitals, she learns the boy has been brought in as a "drunk hit and run."

Fearing for her husband's reputation, she says nothing. Using her doctor's connections, she learns the boy, David, is an orphan. As a result of the accident, he has developed aphasia and can't speak.

She agrees to take David into their home and help him learn to speak again. The couple come to love David and vice versa. But as she is saying goodnight to him before an event, he recognizes her necklace and realizes she hit him.

Good movie, directed by Rudolph Mate, with Young as beautiful as ever and giving an emotional performance. The speech lessons were very interesting.

Tommy Rettig was Lassie's original owner on TV. He was a long-time advocate of the legalization of marijuana. After leaving his acting career, he became absolute computer genius and legendary programmer.