Miss Dove is a prim New England school teacher who is treasured by her students in the small town of Liberty Hill. When she falls ill, a kindly doctor, who is a former student of Miss Dove's, comes to her aid. As many of her pupils, present and past, come to see her in the hospital, they reveal how Miss Dove has greatly impacted their lives over the years. These visitors include a police officer, a playwright, a banker, a convict, and an unmarried mother.
Jennifer Jones
Miss Dove
Robert Stack
Dr. Tommy Baker
Kipp Hamilton
Virginia Baker
Robert Douglas
John Porter
Peggy Knudsen
Billie Jean Green
Marshall Thompson
Wilfred Banning Pendleton III
Chuck Connors
Bill Holloway
Biff Elliot
Reverend Alex Burnham
Jerry Paris
Maurice Levine
Mary Wickes
Miss Lorraine Ellwood
Steven Benson
Student
Cindy Carol
School Girl
Joanne Gilbert
School Girl
Brian G. Hutton
Student
Jean Inness
Night Nurse
Robert Lynn
Dr. Hurley
Pamela Baird
School Girl (uncredited)
Richard Deacon
Mr. Spivvy (uncredited)
Mina Cunard
Mrs. Aldredge (uncredited)
Virginia Christine
Mrs. Rigsbee (uncredited)
Virginia Carroll
Ann (uncredited)
Leslie Bradley
Alonso Dove (uncredited)
Janet Brandt
Mrs. Levine (uncredited)
Helen Dickson
Townswoman at Bank (uncredited)
Cheryl Callaway
Annabell (uncredited)
Sam Harris
Man at Graduation (uncredited)
Alfred Caiazza
(uncredited)
Director
Henry Koster
Novel
Frances Gray Patton
Screenplay
Eleanore Griffin
November 14, 2023
6
Jennifer Jones is quite good here as the pernickety "Miss Dove". She's a no-nonsense school mistress who finds herself a bit poorly one day. Luckily the pupil she is disciplining happens to be the son of her doctor, so he is sent for and shortly thereafter she is carried, stirrup fashion, from her school to the hospital. Quickly, we all discover that although she gives off the aura of a bit of an austere woman, she is actually highly respected by a community that is appreciative of her style of teaching. To illustrate this, we embark on a series of flashbacks as the great and the good from the town arrive to say hello and we learn just how her education helped to make them the people they are today. As we progress, "Miss Dove" begins to come across as a decent, at times shrewd, lady who knows there are more ways to skin a cat. There's the merest hint of jeopardy as we find out just how ill the lady is, and just how risky the corrective process might be but this isn't the kind of drama that is gonna end up with anyone in a wooden box. The story is simple, charming and extols the often undervalued role of a good, fair and learned school teacher. Not in any pontifical way, but by allowing the citizens gratitude to demonstrate that despite herself, she's actually rather well liked. It's a feel-good film, this, and though I can't say it's especially memorable, it does make you cast an eye back to your own schooldays.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$1,470,000.00
Revenue:
$0.00