Jennifer Jones’ Taskmaster Teacher: ‘Good Morning, Miss Dove’ 1955

 

Jennifer Jones as the tough but caring teacher, 1955's "Good Morning, Miss Dove."

A tribute to schoolteachers, Good Morning, Miss Dove, is corny but very tasty corn if you like nostalgic films about when things were “better.” What helps is a cast of familiar faces, smooth storytelling, and intriguing flashbacks about the characters as children, shaped by a formidable but caring teacher.

The title character, who isn’t given a first name, is played by Jennifer Jones, in her only character role. The story was based on a best seller that started as serialized stories in Ladies’ Home Journal. The film was originally planned for Olivia de Havilland, who was certainly a more versatile actress than Jones. I was also surprised that Jennifer was only three years younger than Olivia! That said, Jones offers a distinctive performance as the disciplined teacher. Dove started off as a promising, talented young woman, with a fiancee who adores her. She gives it up all out when her father dies suddenly and it turns out that he has embezzled from his bank employer and everything he possesses is in hock. Miss Dove becomes a teacher to pay off the debt and gives up her life in the process. That seemed very extreme to me, but there's not a lot of nuance in this type of tearjerkers. Good Morning, Miss Dove would pair well with The Blue Veil, and Jane Wyman’s noble nanny. 

Jennifer Jones in the title role as the feared but revered teacher, 
from 1955's "Good Morning, Miss Dove."

One day in class, Miss Dove's been feeling a pain that can no longer be ignored. She sends a student for help and two of her former students come to her rescue, one now a doctor. They carry her chair-style to the hospital, a most memorable scene for those who have seen Good Morning, Miss Dove. The exteriors for Chapel Hill look like Peyton Place, no coincidence I’m sure, since they were both made at 20^th Century Fox.

In "Good Morning, Miss Dove," Jennifer Jones as the teacher gets some helping hands
 from two former students. 

The students that Miss Dove has helped the most are ones who were from different social situations: one impoverished, one Jewish who doesn't speak English, and one who later becomes an unwed mother, etc. The scenarios are handled sensitively, especially for the era. The flashbacks are handled smoothly, with Miss Dove's bell ringing attention at the beginning and end of each sequence. 

Jennifer Jones has quite a few flashbacks in 1955's "Good Morning, Miss Dove." 

The cast plays their archetype characters with empathy and warmth. Robert Stack is Miss Dove’s doc, who repaired her father’s watch as a kid. Chuck Connors is a cop who was once a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, mentored by Miss Dove. Jerry Paris was once the Jewish kid in class who couldn’t speak a word of English. And Peggy Knudsen shines as the brassy nurse with a heart of gold, who idolized her teacher’s gentility. Many familiar faces in this feel-good tearjerker.

Chuck Connors is the cop who was once a poor kid, "Good Morning, Miss Dove."

Robert Stack is the doc who was once a student of "Good Morning, Miss Dove."

Good Morning, Miss Dove was a small movie that was a modest hit, but was received positively. Great Twentieth Century Fox production values, who did well with this type of Americana. There’s solid direction and handsome photography by Fox pros Henry Koster and Leon Shamroy, respectively.

Miss Dove reminds me of two elementary school teachers from back in the '70s at Hiawatha School in Upper Michigan’s Manistique, who were in their '60s. They were strong ladies and took no nonsense. And in one case, many kids were more than a bit scared of her. Both teachers cared about their kids and the school, and were well remembered for decades, which is why I have a soft spot for this movie. And my mother has regaled us with stories of school nuns from the era of Miss Dove, which certainly rings a bell to me when watching this film.

Peggy Knudsen is a scene stealer as the nurse of "Good Morning, Miss Dove." 
Her character, Billie Jean, had a child out of wedlock, though not Michael Jackson's!

Good Morning, Miss Dove certainly packs a lot of stories with life lessons in its standard running time, just over the 1 hour and 45 minute mark. One area that doesn't clarify and maybe should is how Miss Dove goes from carefree young woman to old maid school teacher. How did she go from one path in life to another is not explained. Perhaps it’s because the focus of her life is on the relationships with her students. These old time movies love to lay on the selflessness of the woman who sacrifices all!

In "Good Morning. Miss Dove," Jennifer Jones gives up personal happiness to
pay off her late father's embezzlement debt.

More than a few viewers have commented that Miss Dove is sort of a female George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life. A father's death and banking crisis figure in her life decisions. And we see where Miss Dove's generosity to her students changes their lives. And she's also the old maid Mary Bailey might have become.

Some have likened Miss Dove's firm but emotionless voice to Siri or a robot. I admit she at times reminded me of Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. But I then remembered my 3rd grade teacher, who had a booming voice like Greer Garson. And she also had many pet phrases that she pronounced by rote!

Jennifer Jones at the finale of "Good Morning, Miss Dove," when she feels the love
of the townspeople after her successful operation. Jones reminds me of Kim Cattrall.

Jennifer Jones is an actress people seemed to love or loathe. Good Morning, Miss Dove is her one character role and Jones plays with understatement. While some may dislike her dispensed wisdom, underneath she shows flashes of pleasure at her student's progress or fear when she knows that she is in serious pain. It's also noteworthy that she only plays young in the opening scenes, and then ages onward to the teacher's present age of 55. Jones was 36 at the time and the aging makeup is fairly subtle. 

Yes, the movie is very contrived and sentimental. But there are some universal truths that one never forgets from teachers who were instrumental in shaping our lives. Good Morning, Miss Dove gets a gold star for telling that story.

Here’s my look at Jennifer Jones as Madame Bovary, the 1949 Vincente Minnelli version: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2017/11/madame-bovary-1949.html 

Jennifer Jones as the young and carefree title character in the opening scenes of 1955's
 "Good Morning, Miss Dove."