The Blue Veil Reviews

An all-star collection of cameos is dominant in this remake of the French film LE VOILE BLEU in which a governess, Wyman, loses her husband and child during WW I and uses the rest of her life to take care of other people's offspring. Despite the surprisingly mawkish script by the normally unstinting Corwin, Wyman manages to make what might have been laughable material into a believable and dignified character. It's very episodic, following Wyman as she goes from home to home, bringing a little sunshine everywhere she goes. Laughton is a rich manufacturer who hires her to care for his motherless son. He soon falls in love with Wyman, but she rejects him, and he marries Vance, his secretary. Next, she goes to work for Moorehead and falls in love with Carlson, a tutor. His work sends him abroad, but she won't give up her duties and so he departs alone. Then she takes over the care of Wood, daughter of Blondell, an actress fallen on hard times. Two more segments and then she's suddenly old and forgotten, until one of her former "children," Taylor, arranges a party at which all of her charges are in attendance. A similar film was done for TV, starring Mickey Rooney as a clown who had taken in a number of foster children. Both pictures have the same tearful ending and leave the audience with a feeling of having been manipulated by the writer and director. Wyman was nominated for Best Actress (losing out to Vivien Leigh in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) and Blondell was nominated for Supporting Actress (losing out to Kim Hunter from STREETCAR).