Love Comes Softly | |
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Written by | Cindy Kelly Michael Landon Jr. Janette Oke |
Directed by | Michael Landon Jr. |
Starring | Katherine Heigl Dale Midkiff Skye McCole Bartusiak Corbin Bernsen Theresa Russell Oliver Macready |
Theme music composer | William Ashford Ken Thorne |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Kevin Bocarde Kyle Clark |
Editor | Colleen Halsey |
Running time | 88 min. |
Original release | |
Network | Hallmark Channel |
Release | April 13, 2003 |
Related | |
Love Comes Softly is a 2003 made-for-television Christian drama film set in the 19th century, based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 13, 2003. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr.. It stars Katherine Heigl as a young woman named Marty Claridge and Dale Midkiff as a widower named Clark Davis.
It is the first in a series of television movies made for Hallmark Channel based on the books and produced for Hallmark by Larry Levinson Productions. The order of the films are the 8 originals followed by the 3 prequels: [1] [2] [3] [4]
Marty Claridge (Katherine Heigl) has just moved out to the West with her husband Aaron Claridge (Oliver Macready), who dies in a riding accident shortly after. Expecting her late husband's baby, Marty has nowhere to go and needs a place to stay through the winter. Desperate, she accepts the proposal offered by widower Clark Davis (Dale Midkiff). Clark offers to give her a place to stay for the winter and provide her with the fare for the wagon train heading back East in the spring. In exchange, Marty agrees to marry Clark and provide a maternal influence for his young daughter Missie (Skye McCole Bartusiak). Since the marriage is in name only, the pair keep separate quarters. Initially, it is not an ideal arrangement for any of them, and Missie, (regretting her dead Mother who, as she says to her, "was the prettiest thing you've ever saw, everybody said so") resents Marty for attempting to encourage more feminine behavior from her. As winter passes, Marty learns more about "Clark's God" than she ever dreamed and an affectionate bond develops between her and Missie, allowing them all to begin to feel more like a family. Marty and Clark finally come to realize that they have both done what they thought was impossible: they have found love again. Missie has started to read Marty's books on her way of personal growth and individuation and found a new loving mother in the newcome stranger and Marty's baby is blessed with a wonderful new father.
Actor | Role |
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Katherine Heigl | Marty Claridge |
Dale Midkiff | Clark Davis |
Skye McCole Bartusiak | Missie Davis |
Corbin Bernsen | Ben Graham |
Theresa Russell | Sarah Graham |
Oliver Macready | Aaron Claridge |
Adam Loeffler | Clint Graham |
Nick Scoggin | Reverend Johnson |
Rutanya Alda | Wanda Marshall |
Tiffany Amber Knight | Laura Graham |
Jaimz Woolvett | Wagon Train Scout |
The following people took home a CAMIE Awards in 2003 for their part in the film:
In 2004 Dale Midkiff won the Grace Award from MovieGuide for Most Inspirational Television Acting.
Skye McCole Bartusiak was an American child actress and child model. She appeared in The Patriot (2000), Don't Say a Word (2001), as Rose Wilder in Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder (2002), as Megan Matheson on season 2 of 24 (2002–03), Boogeyman (2005), and Kill Your Darlings (2006).
Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor, best known for playing Louis Creed in the horror film Pet Sematary (1989) and Captain Darien Lambert in the TV series Time Trax.
Janette Oke is a Canadian author of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer era and centered on female protagonists. Her first novel, Love Comes Softly, was published by Bethany House in 1979. As of September 2016, more than 75 others have followed. The first novel of her Canadian West series, When Calls the Heart (1983), became the basis of the current television series of the same name.
Isobel Katherine Stevens, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and was portrayed by actress Katherine Heigl from 2005 to 2010. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, Izzie worked her way up to resident level, while her relationships with her colleagues Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Alex Karev and George O'Malley formed a focal point of the series.
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Michael Landon Jr. is an American actor, director, writer, and producer.
Love's Long Journey is a 2005 made-for-television Christian drama film based very loosely on a series of books by Janette Oke. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr. and was originally aired on Hallmark Channel on December 3, 2005.
Love's Enduring Promise is a 2004 made-for-television Christian drama film based on a series of books by Janette Oke.
Love's Abiding Joy is a 2006 made-for-television Christian drama film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr. and stars Erin Cottrell and Logan Bartholomew. It is the fourth movie in the Love Saga, which includes Love Comes Softly (2003), Love's Enduring Promise (2004), Love's Long Journey (2005), Love's Abiding Joy (2006), Love's Unending Legacy (2007), Love's Unfolding Dream (2007), Love Takes Wing (2009), and Love Finds a Home (2009), as well as the 2011 prequels, Love Begins and Love's Everlasting Courage.
Love's Unending Legacy is a 2007 made-for-television Christian drama film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 7, 2007. It was directed by Mark Griffiths and stars Erin Cottrell. It is the fifth movie in an ongoing series that includes Love Comes Softly (2003), Love's Enduring Promise (2004), Love's Long Journey (2005), Love's Abiding Joy (2006), Love's Unfolding Dream (2007), and Love Takes Wing (2009), and Love Finds a Home (2009), as well as the 2011 prequels, Love Begins, Love's Everlasting Courage, and Love's Christmas Journey which fits part way through the movie series.
Love's Unfolding Dream is a 2007 made-for-television Christian drama film and the sixth film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on December 15, 2007 and was produced for Hallmark by Larry Levinson Productions. It was directed by Harvey Frost. It is the sixth film in an ongoing series that includes Love Comes Softly (2003), Love's Enduring Promise (2004), Love's Long Journey (2005), and Love's Abiding Joy (2006), Love's Unending Legacy (2007), Love Takes Wing (2009), and Love Finds a Home (2009), as well as the 2011 prequels Love Begins, Love's Everlasting Courage, and Love's Christmas Journey.
Katherine Heigl is an American actress. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007.
Love Takes Wing is a 2009 made-for-television Christian drama film and the seventh film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It aired on Hallmark Channel on April 4, 2009. Lou Diamond Phillips directed from a script by Rachel Stuhler, based on the book Love Takes Wing by Janette Oke.
Love Finds a Home is a 2009 made-for-television Christian drama film, the eighth and final installment based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It aired on Hallmark Channel on September 5, 2009. The film is based on the book Love Finds a Home by Janette Oke. Sarah Jones, Haylie Duff, and Jordan Bridges reprise their roles from Love Takes Wing.
Love's Everlasting Courage is a 2011 American made-for-television Christian drama film. It premiered October 1, 2011 and is the second prequel of the Love Comes Softly series of Hallmark Channel films which depicts life in the mid-to-late 19th century. It has the alternate title Love's Resounding Courage.
Larry Levinson Productions (LLP) is the production company of Larry Levinson. Levinson is an American screenwriter, producer and the president of Levinson Productions. By 2016, the company had produced over 200 films.
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Love's Christmas Journey is a 2011 made-for-television Christian drama film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It aired on Hallmark Channel on November 5, 2011.
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