The Hollywood portrayal of men in ever more negative light has a counterpoint in the new video/DVD release of Love Comes Softly by Fox Home Entertainment which hit video stores Tuesday.
Written, directed and co-produced by Michael Landon Jr., the film, based on the best-selling novel by famed Christian novelist Janet Oke, presents a man of faith who, amidst the struggles and hardships of 19th-century life on the great American plains, remains steadfast in his faith and constant in prayer.
The film is also notable in that it presents love as flowing from commitment and perseverance, rather than from lust at first sight. The story follows a woman who is struck by the tragic death of her husband as they were setting up a home in the American West. Left alone with no money and no way to return home, she reluctantly enters into a marriage of convenience with a widower who is raising a daughter by himself.
Oke notes that she created the character of the widowed father based partly on Michael Landon, Sr. Without knowing that, Landon Jr. decided to write the screenplay of Oke's book out of a fascination for the father figure. “Definitely the character of Clark has goodness. We're slightly cynical these days, maybe rightfully so, but when I read the story, I just loved this man. I loved the way he handled things. That's what drew me to the project,” says Landon Jr.
Winner of the Character and Morality in Entertainment (Camie) award, and boasting the highest ratings ever for a movie on the Hallmark Channel, Love Comes Softly was most popular among female viewers aged 25-54 and is reminiscent of the quality family entertainment of Little House on the Prairie(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
