The only thing "Johnny Belinda" has going for it is Jane Wyman's jaw-dropping subtle yet heartfelt performance in which she communicates so much heartache and anguish without saying a word. Wyman plays a young deaf-mute woman on an isolated Canadian island, who the whole town labels as "the dummy," when the new doctor (Lew Ayers) makes an effort to communicate with her. While this is certainly a period piece that plays on the isolation and fears of the townsfolk, everything else is done with so little passion that it doesn't leave an impact, only Wyman's skill as a visual storyteller excelling.
Final Grade: C
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