October 10 - Christy

This is a movie with a scene that happens today – October 10. I hope you will enjoy the film while watching it tonight.

CHRISTY

Sheltered and naïve Christy Huddleston leaves her comfortable home to teach at a mission school at Cutter’s Gap in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. She has to walk seven miles through the mountains to get there. She meets Dr. Neil MacNeil when he has to perform a dangerous operation on an injured man. She reaches the mission and meets Rev. David Grantland, his sister Ida and Miss Alice, a Quaker who runs the mission.  On October 10, 1912 [21:07 to 32:46] Christy begins teaching at the school and is appalled by the students poverty, ignorance and smell. Her heart is touched by Mountie O’Toole, a little girl who can’t or won’t speak, but after visiting Mountie’s family and realizing the depth of the problems faced by the community, Christy almost gives up and goes home. Traveling with David to another church, Christy ends up in a river. They stop up at Dr. MacNeils cabin, where he lets her wear a dress that belonged to his late wife. He was sponsored by some New York doctors who came to Cutter’s Gap to hunt and later sent him to medical school, but he returned to the area. When moonshine is found hidden under the school, David tells the US Marshalls, leading to an argument with Dr. MacNeil. David’s anti-liquor sermon does not go over too well, but Christy becomes friends with Fairlight Spencer. Lundy Taylor, an older and disruptive student finally leaves school when Christy tries to discipline him and her efforts to get him to return are unsuccessful. Lundy’s father, Birdseye Taylor tries to disrupt the harvest celebrations, but is stopped by a gun-wielding Miss Alice. He then threatens the students. Miss Alice confesses to Christy that she had child out of wedlock, who later died. The students stay away from the school out of fear, but starting with Fairlight Spencer’s kids they start to return. Then the school is damaged in a fire set by Birdseye and his gang and Christy is injured. She is about to give up and leave in despair when Mountie O’Teele starts to talk and Christy decides to stay.

A fascinating film. It conveys a positive spiritual message, which is rare However, the film is only a pale reflection of the book.     

Date given in film at 31:33 on the blackboard

Producer – Robert Gros

Director -  Michael Ray Rhodes

Screenplay – Patricia Green

Runtime – 1 hour 50 minutes

Released – April 3, 1994

Starring -

Kellie Martin as Christy Huddleston

Tyne Daly as Alice Henderson

Randall Batinkoff as Rev. David Grantland

Tess Harper as Fairlight Spencer

Stewart Finlay-McLennan as Dr. Neil MacNeill