Love's Unending Legacy
Encyclopedia
Love's Unending Legacy is a 2007 Christian
Drama
made for TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke
. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 7, 2007. It was directed by Mark Griffiths and stars Erin Cottrell
. It is the fifth movie in an ongoing series that includes Love Comes Softly
(2003), Love's Enduring Promise
(2004), Love's Long Journey
(2005), Love's Abiding Joy
(2006), Love's Unfolding Dream
(2007), and Love Takes Wing
(2009), and Love Finds a Home
(2009) , as well as the 2011 prequels, Love Begins
, Love's Everlasting Courage
, and Love's Christmas Journey.
Missie and her ten-year-old son Mattie travel back to her hometown to live near the farm of her parents, Clark and Marty Davis. She goes back to teaching school. At her first Sunday service, Missie and Mattie learn from the attractive—and single— Pastor Joe that an “Orphan Train” with homeless children in need of good homes will soon arrive from the Children’s Aid Society of New York. Outside the church, Clark introduces Missie to sharp-tongued biddy Mrs. Pettis, who disdains the orphans as "ragamuffins." At the same time, Missie catches the eye of a passing horseman: bachelor Sheriff Zach Tyler, another target of Mrs. Pettis’ vitriol. Claiming that Zach is not a godly man, the judgmental harpy implies he has a shameful past on the wrong side of the law.
On her way to work, Missie passes the church just as the orphan distribution is underway. Although she is firmly determined not to grant Mattie’s request for a new sibling, she goes in—just in time to witness 14-year-old Belinda behaving belligerently toward the Pettises as they choose eight-year-old Jacob—looking on him as a farm worker rather than a son. Realizing that the lone orphan Belinda will be sent back to the foundling home in New York, Missie volunteers to adopt her.
Unbeknownst to all, Belinda is Jacob’s sister. She kept this secret to prevent potential parents from breaking up siblings because they see her as "too old" to adopt. With Jacob secured in a home nearby, Belinda can figure out a way for them to flee; she believes that their father had given them up for adoption with the full intention of reuniting with them in the near future. She is so sure of this that she resists family life within the loving embrace of Missie, the Davises, Zach, and the community; she sneaks out of Missie’s home nightly to reassure Jacob that soon they will leave together. She becomes more determined after learning that the Pettises beat and starve him.
Missie tells her mother Marty that she feels as if a voice inside told her to adopt Belinda, but she still can’t explain why. Perhaps, says Marty, “God knew that Belinda needed you. And maybe, for some reason you don’t understand yet, you need her.” Joe attempts to court Missie, but she resists, explaining she could never love anyone the way she loved her late husband. Missie then struggles to convince herself that although she is not in love with the sheriff, at least he would make a good marriage partner.
While Missie discusses Belinda’s disturbing nocturnal disappearances with Zach, who has warmed her heart with his kindness toward the young girl, he states he has no faith in God if a child can suffer like Belinda. Later, Missie tells her mother she couldn’t love a man who didn’t share her faith. Zach and Missie discover Jacob’s plight, but are anguished that they can’t rescue him unless he exposes the Pettises, which he won’t out of fear of reprisal. While Missie and Zach appreciate their mutual desire to help the boy, they clash over how to save him. An angry Belinda berates them for their inability to help Jacob, claiming her father will soon come to their aid.
Exasperated by Belinda’s rejection, Missie visits Marty, who reminds her that Missie once had trouble accepting Marty as her stepmother. Sagely, she tells Missie that “loving a child has nothing to do with giving birth” and “being a family is a choice, not necessarily something that just happens because you’re related by blood." Belinda shows Missie a note written by her father. Belinda can’t read, but is sure the note explains how he’ll come back for her and Jacob. Missie then reads her the note, and Belinda learns that her father had actually left them at the orphanage for good.
Later, Zach visits Missie at the school to explain his lack of faith: his fiancée was an innocent victim of murderous bank robbers. Missie then relates the story of her husband’s death, but adds that she still can’t be with a person who doesn’t share her faith.
After Missie again fails to rescue Jacob, Belinda runs away with him into the stormy night. Everyone joins a desperate search for them. Amid the lightning-laden thunderstorm, Zach prays. He then hears a voice over the din and follows it to the abandoned mine where the children have sought shelter. Zach tells Missie it was God’s miracle that guided him in the wilderness, but as she later admits to her father, she doesn’t know how to “let go” of her late husband. Clark tells her love doesn’t die when a person passes away; it stays in a person's heart forever as she moves on to a new life with a new chance for happiness. Missie takes that chance by marrying Zach. They adopt Jacob as well and begin their lives as a family of five.
won a Camie Award each for their role in the film. Other winners were: Brian Gordon (producer), Mark Griffiths (director), Dale Midkiff
, Pamela Wallace (writer), and Braeden Lemasters.
Braeden Lemasters
and Holliston Coleman
were each nominated for a Young Artist Award.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
made for TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke
Janette Oke
Janette Oke is a Canadian author and pioneer of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer time period and centered around female protagonists...
. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 7, 2007. It was directed by Mark Griffiths and stars Erin Cottrell
Erin Cottrell
Erin Cottrell is an American actress, who has appeared in the role of Missie Davis-LaHaye in 5 of the 8 films in the Love Comes Softly series. She also played Caroline Ingalls in the 2005 miniseries Little House On The Prairie...
. It is the fifth movie in an ongoing series that includes Love Comes Softly
Love Comes Softly
Love Comes Softly is a 2003 Christian drama television movie set in the 19th century, based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel in 2003...
(2003), Love's Enduring Promise
Love's Enduring Promise
Love's Enduring Promise is a 2004 Christian Drama made for TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke.The film is the second in the "Love Comes Softly" series of television movies on Hallmark Channel that includes Love Comes Softly , Love's Long Journey , Love's Abiding Joy , Love's...
(2004), Love's Long Journey
Love's Long Journey
Love's Long Journey is a 2005 Christian Drama made for TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr...
(2005), Love's Abiding Joy
Love's Abiding Joy
Love's Abiding Joy is a 2006 Christian Drama made for TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr. and stars Erin Cottrell and Logan Bartholomew...
(2006), Love's Unfolding Dream
Love's Unfolding Dream
Love's Unfolding Dream is a Christian Drama and the sixth TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke and second to air in 2007. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on December 15, 2007 and was produced for Hallmark by Larry Levinson Productions. It was directed by Harvey Frost...
(2007), and Love Takes Wing
Love Takes Wing
Love Takes Wing is a Christian drama and the seventh TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It aired on Hallmark Channel on April 4, 2009...
(2009), and Love Finds a Home
Love Finds a Home
Love Finds a Home is a Christian drama film, the eighth and final installment based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It aired on Hallmark Channel on September 5, 2009. The film is based on the book Love Finds a Home by Janette Oke...
(2009) , as well as the 2011 prequels, Love Begins
Love Begins
Love Begins is the first of two prequels of the Love Comes Softly series. It premiered September 17, 2011 on The Hallmark Channel.-Differences from the book series:...
, Love's Everlasting Courage
Love's Everlasting Courage
Love's Everlasting Courage is a 2011 Christian-Drama television film that premiered October 1, 2011 on The Hallmark Channel. This film is the second prequel of the Love Comes Softly StarringWes Brown as ClarkMorgan Lily as MissyCheryl Ladd as IreneJulie Mond as Ellen Willow Geer as SarahTyler...
, and Love's Christmas Journey.
Synopsis
Missie LaHaye bids a reluctant goodbye at the grave of her late husband Willie, who died two years previously in the line of duty as the sheriff of Tettsford Junction. Even after giving up her job as the town schoolteacher, Missie has found running the ranch on her own overwhelming, so she has resigned herself to letting her son Jeff and his new bride take control of it jointly with her brothers Aaron and Arnie.Missie and her ten-year-old son Mattie travel back to her hometown to live near the farm of her parents, Clark and Marty Davis. She goes back to teaching school. At her first Sunday service, Missie and Mattie learn from the attractive—and single— Pastor Joe that an “Orphan Train” with homeless children in need of good homes will soon arrive from the Children’s Aid Society of New York. Outside the church, Clark introduces Missie to sharp-tongued biddy Mrs. Pettis, who disdains the orphans as "ragamuffins." At the same time, Missie catches the eye of a passing horseman: bachelor Sheriff Zach Tyler, another target of Mrs. Pettis’ vitriol. Claiming that Zach is not a godly man, the judgmental harpy implies he has a shameful past on the wrong side of the law.
On her way to work, Missie passes the church just as the orphan distribution is underway. Although she is firmly determined not to grant Mattie’s request for a new sibling, she goes in—just in time to witness 14-year-old Belinda behaving belligerently toward the Pettises as they choose eight-year-old Jacob—looking on him as a farm worker rather than a son. Realizing that the lone orphan Belinda will be sent back to the foundling home in New York, Missie volunteers to adopt her.
Unbeknownst to all, Belinda is Jacob’s sister. She kept this secret to prevent potential parents from breaking up siblings because they see her as "too old" to adopt. With Jacob secured in a home nearby, Belinda can figure out a way for them to flee; she believes that their father had given them up for adoption with the full intention of reuniting with them in the near future. She is so sure of this that she resists family life within the loving embrace of Missie, the Davises, Zach, and the community; she sneaks out of Missie’s home nightly to reassure Jacob that soon they will leave together. She becomes more determined after learning that the Pettises beat and starve him.
Missie tells her mother Marty that she feels as if a voice inside told her to adopt Belinda, but she still can’t explain why. Perhaps, says Marty, “God knew that Belinda needed you. And maybe, for some reason you don’t understand yet, you need her.” Joe attempts to court Missie, but she resists, explaining she could never love anyone the way she loved her late husband. Missie then struggles to convince herself that although she is not in love with the sheriff, at least he would make a good marriage partner.
While Missie discusses Belinda’s disturbing nocturnal disappearances with Zach, who has warmed her heart with his kindness toward the young girl, he states he has no faith in God if a child can suffer like Belinda. Later, Missie tells her mother she couldn’t love a man who didn’t share her faith. Zach and Missie discover Jacob’s plight, but are anguished that they can’t rescue him unless he exposes the Pettises, which he won’t out of fear of reprisal. While Missie and Zach appreciate their mutual desire to help the boy, they clash over how to save him. An angry Belinda berates them for their inability to help Jacob, claiming her father will soon come to their aid.
Exasperated by Belinda’s rejection, Missie visits Marty, who reminds her that Missie once had trouble accepting Marty as her stepmother. Sagely, she tells Missie that “loving a child has nothing to do with giving birth” and “being a family is a choice, not necessarily something that just happens because you’re related by blood." Belinda shows Missie a note written by her father. Belinda can’t read, but is sure the note explains how he’ll come back for her and Jacob. Missie then reads her the note, and Belinda learns that her father had actually left them at the orphanage for good.
Later, Zach visits Missie at the school to explain his lack of faith: his fiancée was an innocent victim of murderous bank robbers. Missie then relates the story of her husband’s death, but adds that she still can’t be with a person who doesn’t share her faith.
After Missie again fails to rescue Jacob, Belinda runs away with him into the stormy night. Everyone joins a desperate search for them. Amid the lightning-laden thunderstorm, Zach prays. He then hears a voice over the din and follows it to the abandoned mine where the children have sought shelter. Zach tells Missie it was God’s miracle that guided him in the wilderness, but as she later admits to her father, she doesn’t know how to “let go” of her late husband. Clark tells her love doesn’t die when a person passes away; it stays in a person's heart forever as she moves on to a new life with a new chance for happiness. Missie takes that chance by marrying Zach. They adopt Jacob as well and begin their lives as a family of five.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Erin Cottrell Erin Cottrell Erin Cottrell is an American actress, who has appeared in the role of Missie Davis-LaHaye in 5 of the 8 films in the Love Comes Softly series. She also played Caroline Ingalls in the 2005 miniseries Little House On The Prairie... |
Missie LaHaye |
| Holliston Coleman Holliston Coleman Holliston Taylor Coleman is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for starring in the Paramount feature film, Bless the Child, and her recurring role in the television series Medium.-Life and career:... |
Belinda Marshall-LaHaye |
| Victor Browne | Sherrif Zach Tyler |
| Hank Stratton | Pastor Joe |
| Braeden Lemasters Braeden Lemasters Braeden Lemasters is an American actor, musician and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Albert in Men of a Certain Age. He is also the founding member/one of two lead singers/lead guitar player/and songwriter of the band The Feaver.-Life and career:Braeden was born in Warren, Ohio... |
Jacob Marshall-LaHaye |
| Dave Florek Dave Florek Dave Florek is an American actor. Florek is the brother of actor Dann Florek. He is known for playing Mr. Chopsaw, the wood shop teacher, in the Nickelodeon sitcom Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. He also he portrayed Coach Smiley on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and appeared in one episode of... |
Hank Pettis |
| Stephanie Nash | Mrs. Pettis |
| Bret Loehr Bret Loehr Bret James Loehr is an American child actor most known for playing Timmy York in the 2003 horror film Identity and for playing as a recurring in the 2004 Fox's sitcom Cracking Up.-External links:*... |
Calvin |
| Tanner Richie Tanner Richie Tanner Richie, born November 30, 1993 is an actor/singer from LA, California, in the United States.He played Cole in the feature film Family, a thriller in which father and son pick up a hitchhiker and soon everything is not what it first seemed... |
Simon Stevens |
| Ned Schmidtke Ned Schmidtke Ned Schmidtke is an American film and television actor. He played Greg Barnard on the U.S. TV show Another World.-Filmography:*The Crazies *Another World... |
Hendricks |
| Dale Waddington Horowitz | Mrs. Behringer |
| Brett Coker | Mattie LaHaye |
| Ken Magee | Mr. Anderson |
| Samantha Smith | Marty Davis |
| Dale Midkiff Dale Midkiff Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His... |
Clark Davis |
| Jeremy Shada Jeremy Shada Jeremy Shada is an American child actor and singer. He is currently voicing Finn on the animated TV show Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, a role which was voiced by his brother Zack in the pilot episode. His brothers are Josh Shada and Zack Shada.-Filmography:- External links :... |
Boy in Stagecoach |
Differences from the novel
- Belinda is Clark and Marty's daughter, who is born in this novel. Belinda is not seen until the end of the novel when she is born. Most of the movie is about Belinda, unlike the book.
- Willie is still alive in this novel. Therefore, Missie does not return home or marry Zack Tyler. Zach Tyler is not an existing character in the book.
- The situations in the film were not directly from the novel.
Awards
Victor Browne and Erin CottrellErin Cottrell
Erin Cottrell is an American actress, who has appeared in the role of Missie Davis-LaHaye in 5 of the 8 films in the Love Comes Softly series. She also played Caroline Ingalls in the 2005 miniseries Little House On The Prairie...
won a Camie Award each for their role in the film. Other winners were: Brian Gordon (producer), Mark Griffiths (director), Dale Midkiff
Dale Midkiff
Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
, Pamela Wallace (writer), and Braeden Lemasters.
Braeden Lemasters
Braeden Lemasters
Braeden Lemasters is an American actor, musician and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Albert in Men of a Certain Age. He is also the founding member/one of two lead singers/lead guitar player/and songwriter of the band The Feaver.-Life and career:Braeden was born in Warren, Ohio...
and Holliston Coleman
Holliston Coleman
Holliston Taylor Coleman is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for starring in the Paramount feature film, Bless the Child, and her recurring role in the television series Medium.-Life and career:...
were each nominated for a Young Artist Award.
External links
- Love Comes Softly Series site at Hallmark ChannelHallmark ChannelThe Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...