Love Comes Softly

Based on Janette Oke's best-selling book series, and directed by Michael Landon Jr., Loves Comes Softly is inspired story-telling for the whole family. Marty and Aaron Claridge (Katherine Heigl and Oliver Macready) travel west in search of new opportunity. But when tragedy strikes and Marty is suddenly widowed, the young woman must face the rugged terrain, bleak weather, and life among strangers-alone. That is until a handsome widower named Clark Davis ( Dale Midkiff) suggests a platonic "marriage of convenience" until Marty can return home. As the months pass, through, Marty and Clark discover an unexpected new love where there was once only loss.

Aaron Claridge dies while leading his pregnant wife Marty, an East Coast teacher, on the wagon trail to the West.

Aaron Claridge dies while leading his pregnant wife Marty, an East coast teacher, on the wagon trail to the West. Destitute and unprotected..

A young woman's dream to forge a new life for herself on the great American plains becomes a test of her pioneering spirit, her inner strength, and her undying faith and courage. By covered wagon, Marty (and Aaron Calridge have come west in search of fortune and a new life. But an unexpected tragedy leaves Marty a widow facing bleak prospects for the future. With a bitter winter season approaching and no safe passage back home, she finds herself stranded yet befriended by settlers Ben Graham and his wife Sarah. They encourage her to take up the recently widowed Clark Davis on his unusual offer–join him in a temporary marriage of convenience. Marty will have a roof over her head until the spring thaw when she can return home. In the meantime, Clark's nine-year-old daughter Missie will have a teacher. As promised, the arrangement is strictly business. However, teaching Missie, who's still mourning for her mother…

Marty is a 19 year old pioneer woman, recently married. She goes west with her husband Clem, hoping to start a new life. But Clem unexpectedly dies, and Marty finds herself alone, two months pregnant. Clark Davis, a widower, offers …

Set in a frontier world of bonnets and one-room schoolhouses, Love's Enduring Promise follows a headstrong young teacher named Missie (January Jones, Bandits), the daughter of Clark and Marty Davis (Dale Midkiff and Katherine Heigl) from previous prairie romance Love Comes Softly. After Clark injures himself in a woodcutting accident, the family farm is in danger of failing–until a handsome young stranger (Logan Bartholomew) helps out. Missie finds herself drawn to this man, but the intelligence and graciousness of young railroad magnate (Mackenzie Austin, How to Deal) appeals to a side of her that yearns to go beyond the hills and valleys of her childhood. What could be romantic froth becomes a quiet, well-paced, and thoughtful love story, thanks to a solid script, capable performances, and clean direction. Jones is particularly engaging; Missie could have been blandly virtuous, but Jones draws a rich and subtle range of emotions out of her scenes. Religious viewers will appreciate the movie's commitment to wholesome storytelling and clear moral perspective. Love's Enduring Promise, like Love Comes Softly, is based on a novel by Christian writer Janet Oke, though Love's Enduring Promise departs more from its source.