Blast from the Past: Stanwyck Tribute
The second of five film collaborations of Capra and Stanwyck, The Miracle Woman, was inspired by the life of Aimee Semple McPherson.
This Pre-Code drama film also starred David Manners, and Sam Hardy.
Based on the 1927 play “Bless You Sister” by John Meehan and Robert Riskin, the tale concerns a clergyman’s daughter, Florence Fallon (Stanwyck), who becomes disillusioned by the church’s mistreatment of her dying father.
Cynical about religion, she teams up with a con man and performs fake miracles for profit. In the end, the love and trust of a blind veteran restores her faith in God and her fellow man.
Florence is outraged when church elders, in order to make way for a younger preacher, fire her minister father after decades of selfless service.
Angered and upset, she calls out the congregation for their ingratitude and hypocrisy. Her bitter, impassioned speech impresses Bob Hornsby, who convinces her to become a phony evangelist, which will squeeze donations out of gullible believers.
Promoted as Sister Fallon, Florence travels about the country with Bob, who manages her “Temple of Happiness.” Soon, she attracts a devoted national following, but the religious sham tumbles down once she meets and falls in love with John Carson, a blind war veteran.
