Brigham Young University’s Motion Picture Archive Film Series will present the Oscar-winning drama “Johnny Belinda” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on the first level.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but early arrival is encouraged as seating is limited. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium. Children ages 8 and older are welcome.
“Johnny Belinda,” adapted by Warner Bros. and directed by Jean Negulesco from the 1934 Broadway play by Elmer Harris, is about Belinda McDonald, a young deaf woman on Prince Edward Island off the coast of Nova Scotia who is befriended by a local doctor who teaches her sign language and lip reading.
Belinda is raped by a local man and gives birth to a boy whom she names Johnny. However, both Belinda and the doctor are ostracized by the residents of their fishing village.
The 1948 drama was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Jane Wyman received a Best Actress Academy Award for her role as Belinda.
“I accept this very gratefully for keeping my mouth shut,” said Wyman when she accepted the Academy Award. “I think I’ll do it again.”
Max Steiner’s Oscar-nominated music score is in the Max Steiner Papers, a part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at BYU. Copies of a limited edition CD of the original score will be available to those in attendance at a discounted price.
The series is co-sponsored by L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library, and Dennis & Linda Gibson. A full season schedule is available online at sc.lib.byu.edu.
