Blossoms in the Dust
Blossoms in the Dust is a 1941 American biographical drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the story of Edna Gladney, who helped orphaned children find homes and began a campaign to remove the word "illegitimate" from Texas birth certificates, despite the opposition of "good" citizens. The screenplay was by Anita Loos, with a story by Ralph Wheelwright. Some of the important aspects of her life fictionalized in the film are the fact that it was Edna herself who was born out of wedlock; she and Sam eloped on the eve of her marriage to someone else, and they had much more time together before his death (26 years) than given them in the film.
Plot
Edna Kahly and her adopted sister Charlotte are both to be married. However, when Charlotte's mother-in-law-to-be discovers that Charlotte was a foundling, she declares the wedding must not occur, and Charlotte kills herself from shame. Meanwhile, Edna falls for Sam Gladney, a brash cashier at a bank, and eventually marries him and moves with him to his home state of Texas.
Awards
Cast
- Almira Sessions
- Cecil Cunningham
- Clarence Kolb
- Dell Henderson
- Douglas Wood
- Edith Evanson
- Edward Fielding
- Edward Hearn
- Edward Keane
- Edward Peil
- Emmett Vogan
- Emory Parnell
- Ethel Wales
- Fay Helm
- Fay Holden
- Felix Bressart
- Ferris Taylor
- Frank Darien
- Frank Faylen
- George Lessey
- Greer Garson
- Harry Hayden
- Henry O'Neill
- Howard Hickman
- John Dilson
- John Eldredge
- Joseph Crehan
- Kathleen Howard
- Kay Linaker
- Lester Dorr
- Marc Lawrence
- Marsha Hunt
- Oscar O'Shea
- Purnell Pratt
- Sam Ash
- Samuel S. Hinds
- Selmer Jackson
- Sidney D'Albrook
- Theresa Harris
- Walter Pidgeon
- Will Wright
- William "Bill" Henry
- William Worthington
More details
| author | Anita Loos |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Color |
| contentLocation | Texas |
| director | Mervyn LeRoy |
| editor | George Boemler |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | adopt fort worth foundling hard to find little girls married new home wed working women young woman |
| musicBy | Herbert Stothart |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Color Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color Academy Award for Best Picture |
| producer | Irving Asher |
| productionCompany | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| publisher | Loews Cineplex Entertainment |
| theme | biographical drama |