La Femme au voile bleu

As another reviewer noted, "The Blue Veil" is apparently entangled in rights litigation, which would certainly explain why this wonderful movie is never shown on TV nowadays; nor, sadly, is it available for release on video. Over the years I have noticed that a number of the great Jane Wyman's 1950's movies seem to have fallen off the radar screen. "Magnificent Obsession" and "All That Heaven Allows" seem to be the only titles that have been released to video or warrant reasonably frequent TV airings. While these two Douglas Sirk titles are undeniably fine, what about the others? I clearly remember seeing such Wyman films as "The Blue Veil", "So Big" and "Lucy Gallant" on TV in the 1960's and very early 1970's. Since that point, many of these 1950's and early '60's movies have disappeared into oblivion (at least in my immediate TV viewing area). As there does not appear to be any hurry to release these great films on video, I can only lament the loss.

Although my home for the past 25 years has been here, I was born and educated in London England. I remember seeing THE BLUE VEIL as a young child and I have never forgotten it. I couldn't stop crying for days, that's how intense Miss Wyman's outstanding performance had a hold on my heart. I have managed to collect quite a good number of old favourite movies and mini-series of mine. Luckily we have the Turner Classic Movies channel on our cable TV, but although there have been many classic movies, "THE BEST" (in my opinion) has not been forthcoming. I buy the weekly TV Guide as soon as it hits the shops hoping for a miracle that I will finally see this BEAUTIFUL movie once again. Being quite a newcomer to the Internet (only 1 month) I haven't yet been able to locate enough old movie stores or companies, so my search for this film has failed till now. However, I won't give up especially after reading other viewers' comments and I hope our letters will finally reach their goal and someone with influence in the right place can see to it that this movie is once again aired.

This is a 1950s melodrama which tells, in episodic fashion, the story of the adult lifetime of Louise Mason (Jane Wyman, yes, the first Mrs. Ronald Reagan). Louise dedicates her life to being a nanny, i.e. raising other people's children. Wyman gives a very sympathetic, understated performance, and received an Academy Award nomination for it. She's surrounded by familiar character actors, some relatively understated (Charles Laughton)and some over the top (Cyril Cusack). Also look for Agnes Moorehead, Vivian Vance (better known as Lucy's landlord, Ethel Mertz) and Joan Blondell (Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress). Without giving away the story, I would compare the film's emotions to a nanny version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips. This film is not available on video, and is very hard to find, but's it's definitely worth a look if you do.

Rumor has it that Hollywood wanted Bette Davis and Greta Garbo for the heroine in The Blue Veil, but neither lady would have been as good a choice as Jane Wyman. Normally I don't even like Jane Wyman, but in this tearjerker, she does a fantastic job and completely earned her Oscar nomination.

Jane stars as a war widow who seeks employment as a nanny after her baby dies shortly after the delivery. Her first job is taking care of Charles Laughton's infant son, and she learns to enjoy her work so much that Charles proposes, hoping to make her a permanent fixture in the family. Jane refuses, and when he marries someone else, she knows she won't last long in the house. The story continues, in a seemingly unrelated string of vignettes as Jane ages and travels from family to family. If you think it's just another O. Henry's Full House, you're going to be quite mistaken. Keep watching and keep your Kleenexes handy.

Joan Blondell was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in the film, but I have no idea why. Her daughter is played by Natalie Wood, and foreshadowing her future role in Gypsy, Natalie grows up in the shadow of her mother's love of showbiz. Joan sings a little and wiggles her shoulders in a semi-burlesque number, but that's about it. I don't know why she was singled out.

A wonderful touch to the story is that in every household Jane visits, when it's time for her to leave, the children in her care don't want her to go. It's very sad, and I'm sure you'll wish, as I did, that she stayed forever at someone's house, but she's just an employee who has to move on to where her work is needed. I can't stress enough how wonderful Jane is in this film. She's warm and loving, but at the same time, her early sadness in the film is always hiding behind her face. You can tell she's thinking of her own baby with every child she cares for. As the film continues and she becomes an old woman, she moves slower, changes her voice, and shows she's tired of life's struggles. My dad walked in and asked, "Who's that?" I said it was Jane Wyman and he said, "But who's the old lady?" Rent this drama to find out what she can really do. It's easy to see why it was her favorite role.

I just thought of this movie and decided to check out IMDb. How wonderful to see that others had the same memories of this movie as I did. I was a little kid when I saw this movie (we had Million Dollar Movie in Los Angeles, too!), and I remembered crying for hours afterward. Although I haven't seen it since, it still sticks in my mind. Please! Whoever! Get this movie out on DVD!

Interestingly, I don't remember Natalie Wood being in the movie. I was so young when I saw it, she hadn't crossed my radar yet. So, now I do want to see it again just to see her. To me she was one of the best child actors ever -- similar in nature to Christina Ricci's early roles.

But, of course, this is Jane Wyman's movie. In my memory, she was better here than in "So Big" or "Johnny Belinda." Ah, I'm getting misty-eyed right now.