Johnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film, directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the 1940 Broadway stage hit of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris.

Johnny Belinda is widely considered to be the first Hollywood film for which the restriction was relaxed since its implementation in 1934, and as such was controversial at the time of its initial release.

[citation needed] The film stars Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally, and Jan Sterling.

[3] Belinda MacDonald is a deaf-mute young woman living on Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada.

The family raises cattle and sheep and makes a living grinding wheat into flour at their small mill.

Her father and aunt call Belinda "Dummy" and resent her because her mother died giving birth to her.

The court dismisses this as the doctor's love for her and is ready to sentence Belinda to execution, but Stella blurts out that Locky had confessed the truth about the rape to her on the day he was killed.

[4] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that while some of the scenes "were pretty lurid, especially towards the end," that "the best of the film is absorbing, and Miss Wyman, all the way through, plays her role in a manner which commands compassion and respect.

"[5] William Brogdon of Variety called it "somber, tender, [and] moving," with Wyman's performance "a personal success.

"[6] John McCarten of The New Yorker thought the screenplay was "far superior" to the script of the original play, and that the actors were "all convincing, particularly Jane Wyman, who is cast as the badgered heroine.

"[9] Content aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 91% "Fresh" rating based on 10 out of 11 surveyed critics giving the film a positive review.