everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

... and then it recently showed up on Turner Classic Movies, and I still find it touching and engaging.Susan Hayward marries a circuit riding preacher (William Lundigan) and encounters life in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia. Location photography is a plus. People who like, say, Stars in My Crown would probably like this one, too. It's an episodic film with a little laughter, more than a few tears, and a good picture of the community. You can add this one to the short list of Hollywood films with realistic depictions of the South.A strong supporting cast helps, including Rory Calhoun as a handsome ne'er-do-well who wants to marry nice girl Barbara Bates. Her father (Gene Lockhart) naturally objects. Alexander Knox has a great supporting role as an atheist who doesn't want his children to attend Sunday school. I could wish that Ruth Donnelly got to show more of her comic skill as one of the women in the congregation. Lynn Bari has the enjoyable role of a rich woman with designs on the pastor.Henry King was a good match for this material. There are some particularly nice moments, including the two girls tunelessly singing a hymn at the welcoming party for the preacher's wife.Gene Lockhart's character was a pompous jerk but the rest of the folks were the kind you'd want to know for real. The minister was portrayed not as some impossibly pious paragon but a real human being of faith who wanted to care for his congregation body and spirit. Susan Hayward's morphing from spoiled city girl to strong supportive country wife was funny, touching and enjoyable to watch. This is a religious film that's never phony and can be enjoyed by anyone, believers or not.

I believe that everyone involved with the story itself, screenwriter, director, production as well as the actors' portrayal was very good. It showed an accurate glimpse back to a much simpler place and time in rural Southern customs and attitudes concerning the human plight, as well as the controversy that always surrounds religion even in a small community in the mountains of North Georgia.My family's roots were started there and many who have passed on lie underneath the red clay, where I too one day shall lay this body down. They don't have writers or actors today who could do this film. 20th Century Fox did well in backing this story. Don't know if it made them money at the box office, though it made a lasting impression of a precious moment in our past when life was lived at a much slower pace. A neighbor was a person you knew. Ahhh, to love thy neighbor as thyself.......what a radical idea !!!!!!! ENJOY !!!

I had seen this movie 30 years ago with my Grandad in rural middle Tennessee and have searched for it any times since. However, I could not remember the name of it. I found it yesterday on TBN and it was all I had remembered it to be. The story as well as the scenery was first class. Many of the homes were still like that in Middle Tn when I first seen the movie. Based on the scenery, the story, and what my relatives told me of rural life in the early 20th century this appears like a pretty accurate portrayal. While life was simpler it was not without tragedy.Well worth seeing.

This was a pretty good movie in that the main character was a solid preacher, not the flawed one seen in all modern-day films. The only chink in his armor was that he married an unbeliever, something a sincere minister (William Lundigan) such as the one shown here, would NEVER do.Susan Hayward's character, the minister's wife, is annoying at times but at least she admits her weaknesses and doubts and then realizes the doubts were unfounded. However, her allegiance, even at the end with a quote from Scripture, is not to God but to her husband. She thinks her purpose in life is to follow him, not Him!Interwoven in this story are a couple of touching stories of relationships that are transformed from hardened to soft with the patient help from the preacher. It's basically life in strict small Georgia town in Protestant church setting.Overall, a nice story and good family viewing, as the cliché goes, but nothing extraordinary to be honest. Worth at least one look