"Scandal at Scourie" is the eighth and final pairing of Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Up until this film, this pairing pretty much guaranteed the film would be a success as they were very popular together. However, the film lost money...and I assume at least some of this is due to the atypically nasty character played by Pidgeon...who usually played decent guys.
The story begins in French Quebec. An orphanage has burned down and the nuns are forced to find homes for the kids throughout the neighboring provinces. At Scourie*, in Ontario, a childless mother (Greer Garson) meets one of these children when their train stops in the town. Victoria McChesney (Garson) is so taken with Patsy (Donna Corcoran) that she insists on adopting the girl...even though the child has been raised Catholic and the McChesneys are Protestants. In order to convince the nuns to allow Patsy to remain with them, she promises to raise the child Catholic...while she and her husband remain Protestants. Now today, this all would be no big deal. But in late 19th century Canada, this must have been a big scandal...raising a child of a different faith. What is to become of all this? See the film.
While enjoyed the movie and felt that Garson and Corcoran were wonderful in the story, I was very surprised that MGM would make Pidgeon such an unlikable jerk during much of the film. He plays Garson's husband and seems more concerned about folks' opinions than anything else. And, as a result, the film lacks the likability of the other Garson/Pidgeon pairings. It's a shame, as otherwise I liked the film...though the sound effects they used for the goldfish were strange and alien...which made little sense.
*I looked and there is no city in Ontario by the name of Scourie and assume it was just made up for the movie.
The story begins in French Quebec. An orphanage has burned down and the nuns are forced to find homes for the kids throughout the neighboring provinces. At Scourie*, in Ontario, a childless mother (Greer Garson) meets one of these children when their train stops in the town. Victoria McChesney (Garson) is so taken with Patsy (Donna Corcoran) that she insists on adopting the girl...even though the child has been raised Catholic and the McChesneys are Protestants. In order to convince the nuns to allow Patsy to remain with them, she promises to raise the child Catholic...while she and her husband remain Protestants. Now today, this all would be no big deal. But in late 19th century Canada, this must have been a big scandal...raising a child of a different faith. What is to become of all this? See the film.
While enjoyed the movie and felt that Garson and Corcoran were wonderful in the story, I was very surprised that MGM would make Pidgeon such an unlikable jerk during much of the film. He plays Garson's husband and seems more concerned about folks' opinions than anything else. And, as a result, the film lacks the likability of the other Garson/Pidgeon pairings. It's a shame, as otherwise I liked the film...though the sound effects they used for the goldfish were strange and alien...which made little sense.
*I looked and there is no city in Ontario by the name of Scourie and assume it was just made up for the movie.