In 1880, a little girl is sent to Nantucket Island to live with her grandmother. She discovers, however, that her grandmother is an odd woman who has some strange habits, one of which is keeping a vigil for a lover of many years ago who went out to sea one day and never returned.
Director: Frederick King Keller.
Stars: Ruth Ford, Martha Byrne, Guy Boyd, Jonathan Bolt, Katharine Houghton.
Thank you for featuring this film. I saw I when I was 12–on the early days of the Disney Channel and it has stayed with me. Recently, I came across another edit of the film which is a bit ‘lighter’ but I prefer the dark, brooding atmosphere of this version. Someone in a review, compared King Keller’s style on this film to Bergman.
Natalie Babbett’s novel is brilliant–poetic, evocative, sophisticated, and doesn’t soften or dumb anything down for her young adult readers.