June 23 - The Disapperance of Aimee

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on June 23. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

THE DISAPPERANCE OF AIMEE

       

Popular radio evangelist Aimee McPherson goes to the beach and vanishes while in the water. Her mother says she was murdered, but her body is not recovered. Aimee’s mother holds a memorial service and receives a ransom demand. A reporter gets a tip that Kenneth Ormston, who used to work for McPherson and whose name was linked with hers is driving south with a woman. The reporter stops the car. The driver says he’s ‘Frank Gibson” and the reporter can’t id the woman as Aimee. Ormston turns up at search headquarters, says he don’t know where she is. The next day June 23, 1926 her mother is told Aimee has turned up in Arizona, claiming to have escaped from kidnappers. [46:43 to 50:23] McPherson says she was tortured to get the info contained in the letters, but extensive searching fails to locate the adobe house where she claims she was held.  Her mother doubts her story, but Aimee sticks to it. She gets a big welcome back from her followers. She is hauled in front of the grand jury by the DA on fraud charges, as her church used her disappearance to raise large amounts of cash, and he says slips with her handwriting showing she actually spent the time in Carmel with Ormston were stolen by a sympathetic grand juror. The landlord in Carmel refuses to id her as the woman who stayed with Ormston. Her mother presses her again about her story. Ormston appears, testifies that woman was not her. Charges dismissed.

                     

An interesting film about a lingering mystery. This film is of two minds. From the evidence shown she’s innocent, but based on Aimee’s attitude and behavior, she’s guilty.

Unfortunately, the viewer can’t decide one way or the other.

Aimee Semple McPherson: Everybody’s Sister by Edith Blumhofer (William B. Erdsman Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Mi, 1993) at pages 288-289 and the film at 46:42 give this date as when her mother learned of her return

Producer - Paul Leaf

Director - Anthony Harvey

        

Screenplay - John McGreevey

Running Time - 1 hour 40 minutes

Released - November 17, 1975

Starring -

Faye Dunaway as Aimee Semple McPherson

Bette Davis as Minnie Kennedy

James Woods as Joseph Ryan

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.