| Love Comes Softly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 (2003-04-13) |
| Related | |
Love Comes Softly is a 2003made-for-televisionChristiandrama film set in the 19th century, based on a series of books byJanette Oke. It originally aired onHallmark Channel on April 13, 2003. It was directed byMichael Landon Jr.. It starsKatherine Heigl as a young woman named Marty Claridge andDale Midkiff as a widower named Clark Davis.
It is the first in a series of television movies made forHallmark Channel based on the books and produced for Hallmark byLarry 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 aCAMIE Awards in 2003 for their part in the film:
In 2004Dale Midkiff won theGrace Award from MovieGuide for Most Inspirational Television Acting.