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In my case, I have the VHS format of this movie. I can't tell you how many times I have played it over the years. It is advertized that the DVD is digitally remastered. I imagine this would improve the picture quality. The story is supposedly set in about the 1930's. Doctor Meg is living in Boston, with her husband, also a doctor, and calls out a politician, Judge Adamson, on working conditions of dock workers. For her husband to continue being a doctor in Boston, she is forced to apologize to the Judge, at a well attended party in his home. She finds she can't and decides to return to the orphanage in the Smokey Mountains, where she was raised. The orphanage is closed due to lack of funds, but the care-taker guides Meg to where the lady who ran the orphanage, Effie Web is living now. She sets out on her journey alone and there are chance meetings on the way to Effie. When she finally finds Effie, she is dying. Immediately, Meg tries to perform mouth to mouth ventilation. Effie asks Meg to stay and wills her house to Meg and the "Granny" who is the medical practitioner for that area and Meg clash for the first time. An interesting funeral rite is performed at Effie's house. Meg tries to "muscle-in" with her modern medicine and people of the community want nothing to do with her. In fact, her act of mouth to mouth, they interpret as "kissing on the dying" and "she'll be dead within the week." Eventually, Meg and Granny have to deliver a baby who is in breech position to a teenager who now lives alone, since her parents are both dead. Meg has seen the Cesarean method of delivering baby, but has never performed the surgery herself. Granny has an interesting way of anesthetizing the girl, but yet, she's still awake. The baby is delivered successfully as joint effort of Meg and Granny. Meg is showing symptoms of coming down with some kind of respiratory disease. Granny finishes suturing the tissues of the new mother. She says to Meg"I've been watching you and what you're doing isn't that much different than sewing a quilt." All travel back to Granny's house and Meg goes unconscious, for a while. In this journey, Meg has brought a lot of medical supplies and one father of the area has a temper tantrum in Effie/Meg's house and he destroys some of her medical equipment. On the way there, her horse bucked and her wagon broke to a point she could only carry some of her equipment to her journey. He gets recruited to go and find where the wagon had the accident and bring back what equipment he could selvedge. Granny can't read, and she asks one of the children to help her with the labels on the bottles brought back. Sulfa was the only antibiotic available back then. But, before she went unconscious, Meg wasn't able to give Granny dosing instructions. Granny administered one dose the only way she knew how by cutting a little incision and using a reed to hold the medicine. Metal syringes were in popular use in modern medicine by then, but Granny didn't know this. Eventually, Meg outlasts the sickness and awakens. Meg's husband visits her with a wagon full of medical equipment, but informs her he is only visiting and will return to Boston after the visit. This movie was a made-for-television movie in 1979. I saw it for the first time on A&E network and when I found the movie on VHS, I purchased it. One other reviewer mentioned Christy and Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman as being similar to this movie. I have viewed both of those TV series and loved them too. I agree with that reviewer. Christy is set about the same time period and region of the country. Christy is a school teacher for the community she travels to, Cutter Gap, TN in 1912. Dr Quinn was set in the period immediately following the Civil War and the community of Colorado Springs. But, the medical part of the plot for Dr Quinn is the similarity. Small details, perhaps, but the movie and the 2 series are all similar. Because I love this movie like I do, I may sometime purchase it in DVD format. If you haven't viewed this movie previously, it's not a waste of time or money to purchase this.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
Great value. very entertaining. The acting was good. Where they filmed it was beautiful. Well worth the price. Janet
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
If you liked DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN or CHRISTY, you'll love this film. Meg (Lindsay Wagner) brings modern medicine to Appalachia, but clashes with the local "Granny" healer. Both women must compromise in order to save lives as well as respect the local culture. The scenes with the Sin-Eater were quite frightening to me as a child. Above-average performances, particularly for an old made-for-TV film.
The quality of the video is grainy throughout and it blacks outs numerous times - too many times to be for commercials. Is definitely a copied DVD. Will return.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great clean movie
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned