pittzepmets Review of Blossoms in the Dust

Blossoms in the Dust (1941)

Who thought this would make a good movie?

[5/10 · 9 December 2018]

Blossoms in the Dust was nominated for Best Picture in 1941, a year which included the likes of Citizen Kane, perhaps the greatest film ever made, and The Maltese Falcon. Why do I point this out? Because Blossoms has no business being on the same list as those films nor some of the other '41 nominees. How the brass at MGM ever thought this would make for interesting biopic is beyond me. The story of Edna Gladney, who committed her life to finding homes for "foundling" children, hardly makes for a compelling on-screen drama. Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon are both decent actors, and they try their best to make the film work, but there is next to no chemistry between them and the film overall just doesn't work. There is a lack of emotional depth throughout the film as events such as the suicide of Gladney's adopted sister, the death her son and, ultimately, her husband take place. Garson is pleasant enough in the film, but her performance is just not Oscar-worthy (she was nominated for Best Actress) and she hardly radiates the screen as she does in the following year's winner, Mrs. Miniver. Blossoms is an "OK" enough film, but it is quite possibly the worst of 1941's nominees. If it had not been nominated, no one would ever really care about it.