History Film / JohnnyBelinda

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Someone as uneducated and ignorant of the world as Belinda might not even know what abortion is, but still, she's pretty happy about having her rapist's baby. Of course, abortion was illegal then.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Someone as uneducated and ignorant of the world as Belinda might not even know what abortion is, but still, she's pretty happy about having her rapist's baby. Of course, abortion was illegal anyway.

* RedHerring: The father's business ledger. We are told Belinda can identify all of the customers by their sign. When it seems this information would come in handy to identify the rapist, the book is brushed aside and never brought up again. However, it's justified as she's said to blocked it out beforehand.

* TraumaCongaLine: Your mother dies in childbirth. You go deaf from an illness shortly thereafter. You get raped. Your father falls off a cliff and dies. The town tries to take from you your child by rape. You have to shoot your rapist to keep him from stealing your baby. Then you're tried for murder.

''Johnny Belinda'' is a 1948 drama film directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Jane Wyman and Creator/LewAyres.

[[caption-width-right:350:She's deaf! It's inspiring.]]

* ChildByRape: Belinda seems untroubled by Johnny's origin.

* {{Nephewism}}: Belinda was raised by her uncle after her mother died in childbirth.

* PoorCommunicationKills: As the doctor explains, Belinda had blocked out the rape. Her not coming clean to anyone about Locky's deed creates all the drama in the second half of the movie. It certainly would have helped her case in court.

* RedHerring: The father's business ledger. We are told Belinda can identify all of the customers by their sign. When it seems this information would come in handy to identify the rapist, the book is brushed aside and never brought up again.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Stella mentions to Locky that Belinda could never tell on him which he takes to heart.

''Johnny Belinda'' is a 1948 drama film directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres.

* RapeDiscretionShot: All we see is a desperate expression on Belinda's face as Locky approaches, then the scene cuts to black for [[TheHaysCode obvious reasons]].

Ayres is Dr. Robert Richardson, the new doctor who arrives in a fishing village in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}. His secretary Stella takes a shine to him, but the doctor ignores her attentions. He is too busy taking an interest in the case of Belinda [=McDonald=], a young deaf-mute woman who lives with her aunt and her widowed father. Dr. Richardson teaches Belinda how to read, how to read lips, and how to communicate with sign language. He then takes her to a specialist who delivers the sad news that Belinda's deafness can't be cured, as well as the very suprising news that Belinda is pregnant. The town gossips all assume that Dr. Richardson is the father, but the real father is Locky, a local fisherman who raped Belinda.

* {{Nephewism}}: Belinda was raised by her uncle after her mother died in childbed.

* PoorCommunicationKills: As the doctor explains, Belinda had blocked out the rape. Her not coming through to anyone about Locky's deed creates all the drama in the second half of the movie. It certainly would have helped her case in court.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Inverted. Although set in Nova Scotia, the film was actually made in California.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Someone as uneducated and ignorant of the world as Belinda might not even know what abortion is, but still, she's pretty happy about having her rapist's baby.

* LawOfInverseFertility: Well, naturally you get pregnant after your first time having course, which is a rape.

* ThreeMonthOldNewborn: New-born Johnny looks at least three-month old.

Adapted from a hit Broadway stage play of the same name, ''Johnny Belinda'' won Jane Wyman an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress, in what was regarded as a surprising upset over Creator/OliviaDeHavilland for ''Film/TheSnakePit''. She became the first person to win an acting Oscar without saying a word since Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor won actor and actress at the first Oscars. Wyman's Oscar is probably the earliest example of the tendency for InspirationallyDisadvantaged OscarBait performances to win the little gold statuette.

Adapted from a hit stage play of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris, ''Johnny Belinda'' won Jane Wyman an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress, in what was regarded as a surprising upset over Creator/OliviaDeHavilland for ''Film/TheSnakePit''. She became the first person to win an acting Oscar without saying a word since Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor won actor and actress at the first Oscars. Wyman's Oscar is probably the earliest example of the tendency for InspirationallyDisadvantaged OscarBait performances to win the little gold statuette.

''Johnny Belinda'' is a 1948 drama film adapted from the stage play of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris, directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres.

''Johnny Belinda'' won Jane Wyman an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress, in what was regarded as a surprising upset over Creator/OliviaDeHavilland for ''Film/TheSnakePit''. She became the first person to win an acting Oscar without saying a word since Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor won actor and actress at the first Oscars. Wyman's Oscar is probably the earliest example of the tendency for InspirationallyDisadvantaged OscarBait performances to win the little gold statuette.

!!This film provides examples of

''Johnny Belinda'' is a 1948 film directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres.

* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: All strings are being pulled when Stella comes to collect Johnny. Belinda acts overly welcoming, offering food and beverage, not knowing what's to come next. The heartiness affects Stella and she cannot bring herself to carry out the order and begs Locky to call off the whole thing.

* Nephewism: Belinda was raised by her uncle after her mother died in childbed.

* LooseLips: Locky unintentionally spills the beans to Belinda's father about his fatherhood.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/034a87dfcafd155a93b37dfca9e54456.jpg]]

* InTheBack: How Locky gets it from Belinda's shotgun. He totally had it coming, though.

!!Tropes:

''Johnny Belinda'' won Jane Wyman an AcademyAward for Best Actress, in what was regarded as a surprising upset over Creator/OliviaDeHavilland for ''Film/TheSnakePit''. She became the first person to win an acting Oscar without saying a word since Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor won actor and actress at the first Oscars. Wyman's Oscar is probably the earliest example of the tendency for InspirationallyDisadvantaged OscarBait performances to win the little gold statuette.

* TheVoiceless: Belinda is a deaf-mute. Her aunt comments on how weird it is when Belinda goes through childbirth in silence.

* TraumaCongaLine: Your mother dies in childbirth. You go deaf from an illness shortly thereafter. You get raped. Your father falls off a cliff and dies. The town tries to take from you your child by rape. You have to shoot your rapist to keep him from stealing your baby. Then you're tried for murder.

''Johnny Belinda'' won Jane Wyman an AcademyAward for Best Actress. She became the first person to win an acting Oscar without saying a word since Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor won actor and actress at the first Oscars. Wyman's Oscar is probably the earliest example of the tendency for InspirationallyDisadvantaged OscarBait performances to win the little gold statuette.