I am watching a movie on TCM called "Scandal at Scourie" starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. The basic plot of the movie is this: a Protestant couple adopts a Roman Catholic orphan girl. The father is running for political office, and this adoption becomes a great "scandal." While generally a "disney-esque" movie, it does hit on some sensitive issues about "the propriety of a couple adopting a child of another religion of their own" [while in that time period the religion is the issue, for those of us adopting internationally, we could easily insert culture/race along with religion. ]
Some disturbing elements of the film (disclaimer: I am well aware that this is an older film, and therefore it is not entirely fair to critique it based on current culture/beliefs/ etc) that have given me cause for thought about how adoption is viewed in our culture.
1. in the opening scene, we find the littl girl, Patsy, about to let her golfish go in a stream. Mrs Victoria McChesney (Greer Garson) happens upon little Patsy and strikes up a conversation with her. In the course of the conversation, Patsy reveals that she is an orphan, traveling with about 14 other orphans, on their way to Manitoba, for their orphanage burned down. At each train stop, the nuns and priest in charge of the orphans are "giving us away to whoever will have us." Patsy goes on to say that "of course, the best are all taken first"
2. Predictably, Victoria McChesney is taken by this girl and asks the girl if she would like to come to her husband's store for some sweets and lemonade. She introduces the child to her husband, Patrick McChesney, who is at first quite taken by Patsy as well. Mrs McChesney explains to her husband that "They are giving these children to whoever will take them. Does she have to get back on the train, Patrick?" Patrick responds by giving Patsy a pretty necklace and commenting on how much she looks like Mrs McChesney. Patsy replies "and you look like Father Frank!" Upon learning the child is roman catholic, his mood alters drastically and he rather gruffly says he will make sure she gets back on the train."
3. of course, Mrs McChesney manages to make sure they do not make the train (the stock boy has to take them as Mr McChesney has a customer he has to deal with), by coming up with all kinds of delays. Still, upon arriving at the train station, the nuns are still there. The train is late, and so were able to wait for Patsy. Mrs McChesney asks if she can keep Patsy, but the nuns and the priest are reluctant upon discovering McChesney is Protestant. They finally agree she can take Patsy as long as she raises her Catholic. McChesney is told that Patsy was found in a basket on the doorstep of the orphanage at one week old.
4. All is not roses, of course. Mr McChesney is not happy about it. But he starts to come around. The town is in an uproar over the adoption of a Roman Catholic child by the McChesney's. The kids at school tease Patsy for being Roman Catholic. Patsy doesn't understand why she can't go to church with her "mother." Mrs McChesney agrees to go to Mass with Patsy on her first Sunday, which sets off her minister and others in the town. Mr McChesney's political opponents accuse him of trying to "get the Catholic vote." the town paper prints an article highly critical of the adoption, and Mrs McChesney hunts down the reporter at the barber shop and smacks him in the face with a towel repeatedly (Personally, I cheered at this scene GO MOM)
5. it turns out that the girl accidently burnt down the orphanage. Later in the film, there is a fire that burns down the school and the whole town blames Patsy. here Mr. McChesney stands up in a town meeting and defends his daughter, and dramatically resigns his leadership roles in the church and community and withdraws his campaign for political office- saying his daugther is more important to him than all of that. He then leaves, with wife in tow, stating "I am going home to my daugther!" When they arive home, Patsy has run away (with her goldfish, of course). The town manages to rally together to help the McChesney's find Patsy (in a pouring rainstorm of course).
6.Meanwhile, a letter is brought to the bad newspaper reporter (who is behind all the uproar) by the priest written by a boy who confesses to starting the fire that burnt the school down himself and he has run away also. The two kids find each other in the storm and decide to head to Manitoba together. Lots of drama- essentially the storm ends, Mrs McChesney is still out looking (it is the next day) for Patsy. She goes to the river where she first met Patsy, finds the gold fish, starts crying, hears a sneeze, finds Patsy hiding under a old turned over row boat. Mr McChesney shows up, tells Patsy he does love her and he is sorry that she ever thought he didn't want her. The other kid comes out of hiding...everyone else shows up....big scene of Patsy on the lap of both parents, riding in a horse drawn wagon, the whole town walking with them, all sing Frere Jaques. (ok this is truly a classic silly, utopian disney like ending.. nothing like neatly tying up all the issues with a song)
I have many thoughts and comments about this film and its portrayal of adoption- i.e. "Cross-cultural" adoption. it was released in 1953, so it is dated. But the issues are still valid, if a bit different these days. But I will hold off on these comments for now, and give you all a chance to comment.....what do you think about adoption movies? what do you think about what I have shared about this movie? Do you like these movies? Or did you once like them, but now that you are adoptive famillies, or adoptive families in the making, do you see them differently? Why do you think that there are so few adoption movies these days? Did the portrayal of orphans in these old films hurt or promote adoption? They are mostly unrealistic, of course. What do you think about happy ever after orphan stories? Better to have them, or better to have no orphan stories at all?
What do you think, should I do more posts about these type of movies and/or media portrayals of adoption? (i.e. we could talk about Annie -the classic orphan story) Is this something you are interested in hearing about/discussing? Let me know....
[as a final thought, do you applaud this movie for attempting to deal with some tougher issues (different religions/adoption prejudice), or do you think that its disney-esque elements over-ride this attempt? ]
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5 comments:
Hard to comment on this movie since I've never seen it, but I'll share some Little Orphan Annie thoughts. It is somewhat of a habit of mine, when one of my children starts to whine at me about something superfluous, to break into song: "It's a hardknock life for you, it's a hardknock life for you, living in an orphanage, it's a hardknock life." I'm sure I've got some of the words screwed up, but oh well. So, the first time I started singing that at Tank Boy I caught myself because, of course, he lived in an orphanage for the first 4.5 months of his life. Hmmmm. After much thought, I've decided it's ok if I still sing that -- he's not in an orphanage now, the fact that he lived in one won't be a big secret anyway, and orphanage life, obviously, isn't ideal. The whole point of singing that to the kids is to tell them life could be worse, and it could be. It does bother me that movies like Annie and Samantha (American Girl) always portray those who run the orphanages as greedy and heartless. While there are most likely people like that all over the world I'm sure there are also those who love and care for the children. Hmmm . . . I do like the happily ever after orphan stories just because I think we get how tough life actually is, so if it's fiction, make it happy.
I wonder if your movie was really trying to deal with adoption prejudice issues or if it was just trying to deal with prejudice issues and built it's case around an orphan because an orphan would be a very sympathetic character (meaning the viewer would sympathize with the orphan, not the other way around :) )? Well, this reply certainly has bounced all over the place. Nothing like truly random thoughts.
I haven't seen it either..I do know that I too have had to think before speaking because like most people growing up I heard "there are starving children in China.." there are..but there are starving children all over the world so I will choose not to single out my child's birth country. I (like e) vote for the happy ending..I hope we all have one with our "orphan stories" Annslee didn't live in an orphanage..she was in foster care for 10 months (after being in her birthparents care for 2.5 months) but I get the point..she was an orphan in most people's eyes. I posted on Malia's website about it..but I don't like the term..she was never an orphan in my opinion..she always had a family but we just hadn't found her yet..
well..I rambled enough too..see what you started Kelly : )
Interesting movie I've never heard of! I'm okay with adoption-themed movies as long as they don't make the child seem like a total charity case or make a big thing about how the kid *HAS* to find their birth family because they don't have a "real" family. This one sounds like it dealt with some real issues in a sensitive (for its time) way. I like happy endings - life is hard enough, I don't need fiction depressing me too!!
Hi Kelly-
I know you from 5 Little Monkeys.
I'm an adopted child myself, although I never spent any time in an orphanage.
I think movies like this might be utopian, but they weren't when they were made.
The religion issue WAS a big deal, and the movie probably made more than a few people examine their feelings.
Funny, that today Mrs. Whatshername would probably have just said "Hey, you're going to my church now, same God!" but back then, that just would NOT have worked.
My parents fostered a family members child for 3 years while the BM decided to take some time off from her responsibilities (can you tell it irritates me still? heh) This was in the early 50s. The little girl was Catholic (we are UCC) and every Sunday my Mother had to take the poor little thing to mass. One day she came home in tears. "Aunt Evie, you and Uncle Mel are going to go to hell!" She was 3. The Catholic Church was teaching that then..
anyway, I digress, but I think it's fun and healthy to look at how things have changed in adoption over the years.
Wouldn't it be nce if someone would give US babies/kids just for the asking with no more waiting?
Yegads.
hugs-
Val
I'm in the middle of watching the movie now...I think it is charming. My husband's family is Catholic...my family is Protestant. My family attends church..my husband's doesn't(well his grandmother does). We are raising our children Protestant but to me that is irrelevant in the sense that it is the same God we just go about things differently. The movie seems to concentrate more on the differences of religion(which was a bigger than deal then now). I suggest if you have the chance to watch it to do so. The prejudices of the time are evident(although probably no different then now). Of course in the movies there is always a good outcome, sadly not so often in the real world.
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