The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947)

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Set in the early 20th century, The Loves of Joanna Godden stars Googie Withers in the title role. The heir to a prosperous farm in the Romney Marshes, the headstrong Joanna shocks and outrages her tradition-bound neighbors by running the farm herself, refusing to enter into an arranged marriage with… More Set in the early 20th century, The Loves of Joanna Godden stars Googie Withers in the title role. The heir to a prosperous farm in the Romney Marshes, the headstrong Joanna shocks and outrages her tradition-bound neighbors by running the farm herself, refusing to enter into an arranged marriage with neighboring farmer Arthur Alee (John McCallum). She also "defies nature" by performing then-revolutionary crossbreeding experiments with her stock. All this she does to provide a steady income for her beloved, convent-educated younger sister Ellen (Jean Kent). Joanna is therefore understandably put out when Ellen turns out to be an ungrateful strumpet, who herself sets her cap for the wealthy Alee. It is only through this plot twist, coupled with Joanna's own unhappy romantic affairs, that Joanna and Alee discover that they truly love each other after all. Based on a novel by Sheila Kaye-Smith, The Loves of Joanna Godden is decked out with an impressive musical score by Vaughan Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi