It is not often that I am impressed by early-talkies. This film was made only 2 years after Barbara Stanwyck's first credited role in a talkie. And, it was directed by Frank Capra, and was quite ambitious.
The plot involves "Florence Fallon" (Stanwyck), who goes on a rant in church when her old minister father is fired after many years of service to a Protestant church. Her rant impresses con man who leads her into becoming a phony faith healer who begins to rake in thousands of dollars. She builds up a widespread following through her miracles and radio broadcasts. But then she meets a blind man with whom she falls in love, and during a massive church fire the sham vanishes and Fallon joins the Salvation Army.
Often, movies at this time had holes in their scripts. While there are times that this film needs a slightly faster pace, and there are themes could be expanded on a bit, and there is a need for more background music...well, that's the early 1930s. But there are no holes in this script, and in fact it's thought out rather well. There certainly are some parallels here with the life of Aimee Semple Mcpherson, however, this film is hardly biographical (where's Milton Berle? -- look that one up! :-) ).
This film will keep your attention despite being quite old-fashioned; and while it is old-fashioned, I would have to say it was ahead of its time. Recommended.
The plot involves "Florence Fallon" (Stanwyck), who goes on a rant in church when her old minister father is fired after many years of service to a Protestant church. Her rant impresses con man who leads her into becoming a phony faith healer who begins to rake in thousands of dollars. She builds up a widespread following through her miracles and radio broadcasts. But then she meets a blind man with whom she falls in love, and during a massive church fire the sham vanishes and Fallon joins the Salvation Army.
Often, movies at this time had holes in their scripts. While there are times that this film needs a slightly faster pace, and there are themes could be expanded on a bit, and there is a need for more background music...well, that's the early 1930s. But there are no holes in this script, and in fact it's thought out rather well. There certainly are some parallels here with the life of Aimee Semple Mcpherson, however, this film is hardly biographical (where's Milton Berle? -- look that one up! :-) ).
This film will keep your attention despite being quite old-fashioned; and while it is old-fashioned, I would have to say it was ahead of its time. Recommended.