The Miracle Woman (1931)

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Frank Capra directs Barbara Stanwyck in this cautionary tale of phony evangelism. After her minister father dies unappreciated, Stanwyck’s character falls in with a con man (Sam Hardy) to open a church that fakes miracles. The operation becomes lucrative and Stanwyck becomes a celebrity, but when a blind musician (David Manners) demonstrates true faith and begins to fall in love with her, she begins to question the morality of her business.

The Miracle Woman features an impassioned performance from Barbara Stanwyck and offers a surprisingly divergent tone from Frank Capra’s more popular canon of work. It’s schmaltzy in places and the romance feels a bit forced, but the concept of Barbara Stanwyck performing shill miracles goes a long way. Scenes of the planted ‘actors’ practicing their soon-to-be-cured afflictions are memorably funny and when Stanwyck decides to come clean before a revival tent full of believers, you can count on a fiery climax.