Love Comes Softly (2003)
Aaron Claridge dies while leading his pregnant wife Marty, an East Coast teacher, on the wagon trail to the West. Destitute and unprotected, she accepts a marriage of convenience with widower Clark Davis to help raise his young daughter Missie all winter, if he will pay for her return in the spring. Missie is hostile to her 'mother substitute', but as the months pass Clark achieves a rapprochement.
Marriage was the deal. Love was the surprise.
Clark Davis: Missie could fall down and hurt herself, even if I'm walking right there beside her. That doesn't mean that I allowed it to happen. She knows, as far as unconditional love, I'll pick her up and I'll carry her. I'll try to heal her. I'll cry when she cries. And I'll rejoice when she is well. In all the moments of my life, God has been right there beside me. The truth of God's love is not that He allows bad things to happen. It's His promise that He'll be there with us when they do.
Cronan Ranch Regional Trails Park, Pilot Hill, California, USA
(House Marty Claridge lives in with Clark and Missie Davis. American River in background.)
Coloma, California, USA
Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA
El Dorado County, California, USA
Lotus, California, USA
Katherine Heigl had to learn how to milk a cow for her role as Marty Claridge.
In the book series, the name of Marty's first husband was Clem Claridge.
In the scene where Marty cuts the dress using a dress already made for Missie as her pattern, she cuts directly alongside the edge of the dress, not allowing extra for a seam. That would make the dress too small to fit Missie.
Factual errors
In one scene, Clark mentions "finding something in the icebox". Although the icebox was invented in 1840, it would not have been used by pioneers like them. The icebox relied on a regular delivery of ice to function. The iceman did not cometh.
When Marty first arrives at the Davis homestead and Clark offers her some ham, as she picks up a piece it can be seen that the piece is spiral-sliced ham. The invention and patenting of the spiral slicing method for ham wasn't until 1949 by the founder of the Honeybaked Ham Company.
Revealing mistakes
At the end, when Clark goes after Marty, he's riding his horse. When he brings her back to the homestead, they're in a wagon.
Anachronisms
During the scene where Clark proposes to her in the rain, a bra strap is visible underneath her wet clothes. Bras weren't invented until the 1910s. A corset would have been worn.
A reviewer claims an "ice box" didn't exist at the time of the movie. The first saving of ice was in 1700 BC! During the pioneer times, ice was saved in ice houses using saw dust for insulation.
The covered wagon in the opening shot has safety chains that are chrome-plated--a process not invented until well into the 20th century.
When Marty follows Clark into the hills (around 48 Min's)and watches him singing a hymn, the trees she watches from are in full leaf as if in summer, however on the way back to the cabin she is caught in a blizzard and has to be rescued by Clark.
Character error
Aaron Claridge's eye blinked/twitched when Marty was looking at his dead body hanging over the horse.