I loved this movie, which was a tear-jerker, but a movie of great joy and happiness also. Edna Gladney is played beautifully by the lovely and talented redhead actress Garson Greer. There is much tragedy, death, and sadness that Edna needs to overcome, but her courage and determination allow her to overcome these obstacles. She is the heroine of the film, develops a love -- AND RESPECT -- for children, and at the end establishes a home for foundlings (children abandoned by their parents). She becomes an activist, rallies others around her, and lobbies successfully to have the Texas legislature strike the word "illegitimate" from all birth records of such children, freeing them from the documented stigma of unknown parentage and/or illegitimacy. Such children in the 1800s and early 1900s were regarded as the dregs of society, shunned and considered unmarriageable by the proud and righteous upper classes. I admired the attractive, redheaded Greer Garson, and adored the precious children whom she rescued from a tragic fate. The movie is filmed in splendid striking color, (one of the few Greer Garson movies in color). One of the things that I liked most is the skillful script, and the beautiful color scenes, where the full faces of the characters would be shown to fill the entire movie screen. This movie was very colorful and moving. And the words and sentiments of the abandoned children were heart wrenching. As of October 2011, this film was not available at Netflix, neither on DVD nor as streaming video. I saw it first on VHS cassette borrowed from the public library. Even on VHS, this movie is lovely and memorable. You do not want to miss this movie! Get to see it any way you can. It was so touching to me that I went and placed a special order to obtain my own copy on DVD from Amazon. This movie can be watched over and over again.
Review of Blossoms in the Dust
