When Calls The Heart: The Dance

When Calls the Heart - “The Dance” is a feature length film from two episodes of the When Calls the Heart television series. When new miners are hired to help with the reopening of the Coal Valley mine, the town decides to celebrate with a dance. One of those new miners takes a special interest in Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) and showers her with attention and poetry. With Jack's (Daniel Lissing) insistence that the life of a Mountie is too difficult to share with a wife, Billy Hamilton's (Andrew W. Walker) flattery tugs at Elizabeth's heart. 

In a side story, one of the widows (Laura Bertram) is also attracted to one of the new miners (Derek Hamilton. However, her son (Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh) is not ready to have another man in his mom's life. Tensions increase as she struggles to extinguish her growing feelings that equal her son's resentment.

The celebrations of the new miners, a dance and the Miner's Games is not the only cause for joy, though. Widow Carla Noonan (Jill Morrison) is expecting her baby soon. However, the excitement is tempered with trepidation since there is no doctor available. Carla has moved in with Abigail (Lori Loughlin) and Elizabeth has her time grows nearer, but will the women of Coal Valley be able to care for her when she goes into labor early?

My Review: Once again, this is a well acted and well written film that keeps the viewer interested and endears these characters even more. There are a few twists here and there that lend to the excitement of the story, along with the poignancy of letting go and moving forward. You must believe that Jack and Elizabeth will realize their love for one another, but will misunderstandings cause a permanent rift? Also, realizing the hardships many of our ancestors faced gave me a greater appreciation of my blessings. If you haven't seen the previous When Calls the Heart DVDs, you will want to get in on the beginning of the series. You will fall in love with the people of Coal Valley.
 
I received this dvd compliments of Word Films and Edify Media for my honest review. I was not required to write a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

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Michael Landon Jr. – Director:  Michael Landon Jr., son of the late television legend Michael Landon, has been in the film business for over 25 years.  With two of the highest rated films in the history of the Hallmark channel, and several top ten releases targeted to the Christian market, Michael has become known for creating heartfelt, inspiring films that connect to the family.  He has developed and/or produced, directed, and written screenplays for Fox, CBS, NBC, Disney, Sony, Lifetime, and others.

 Brian Bird- Writer/Producer : Brian Bird is co-founder with partner Michael Landon, Jr., of Believe Pictures, a film and television production company.  He was co-executive producer and writer on the successful television series, Touched by an Angel.  Adding to Brian’s success, he had also written and produced episodes of Evening Shade, Step by Step and The Family Man.  Most recently, Bird wrote and produced Gametime, a two-hour television pilot for NBC, The Shunning, inspired by the novel by best-selling author Beverly Lewis, for the Hallmark Channel, and Not Easily Broken, adapted from the novel by T.D. Jakes and released theatrically by Sony/TriStar.

About Word Entertainment:  A leader in the music industry for over 60 years, Word Entertainment, a Warner/Curb company, is a unique, comprehensive entertainment company comprised of multi-faceted artist service departments including publishing, merchandising, booking, and online initiatives. Word Entertainment represents some of the top names and brands in music, including Meredith Andrews, Chris August, BarlowGirl, Francesca Battistelli, Big Daddy Weave, Jason Castro, Patrick Ryan Clark, Everfound, for KING & COUNTRY, Group 1 Crew, Love & The Outcome, Dara Maclean, Point Of Grace and Sidewalk Prophets and is home to 25 Entertainment, Word Distribution (representing Curb Records and Big Idea/VeggieTales among others), Word Print, Word Films, Word Music Publishing and Word Label Group’s Word Records, Word Worship and Fervent Records.

When Calls The Heart: Lost and Found

“When Calls the Heart: Lost and Found” tells the captivating story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young teacher accustomed to her high society life, who receives her first classroom assignment in Coal Valley, a small coalmining town where life is simple, but often fraught with challenges. Lori Loughlin plays Abigail Stanton, a wife and mother whose husband, the foreman of the mine, along with a dozen other miners, has just been killed in an explosion.

The newly widowed women find their faith is tested when they must go to work in the mines to keep a roof over their heads. Elizabeth charms most everyone in Coal Valley, except Constable Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing) who believes Thatcher’s wealthy father has doomed the lawman’s career by insisting he be assigned in town to protect the shipping magnate’s daughter. Living in a 19th century coal town, Elizabeth will have to learn the ways of the frontier if she wishes to thrive in the rural west on her own.
The series is inspired by Janette Oke’s bestselling book series about the Canadian West, and reunites Oke with Executive Producer and Director, Michael Landon, Jr. (back cover)

This is the first DVD of 10 in the series. Written by Michael Landon Jr., Cindy Kelley, and Brian Bird.

When Calls The Heart: Lost and Found is the first episode of a series that began on the Hallmark Channel Jan. 11, 2014. Based on the Canadian West novels of Janette Oke, but not an adaptation of the books. There was also a television movie that debuted last year that tied the 2 together a bit closer. I saw that movie and loved it. It also caused a bit of confusion at the beginning of this dvd for me since there was a change in the lead actress, a new Canadian Mountie, and the ending of the movie had been changed to reflect the new direction the series is taking. Also, a couple of other scenes from the movie had been reused with slight alterations. However, I quickly adapted and quit trying to compare the two.

The drama of a small town coming to grips with the disaster of a mine collapse and the deaths of so many

husbands, fathers, sons, relatives, and friends could easily become maudlin, but there are enough elements of comedy and romance to soften the harsh realities. While Elizabeth and Daniel may be the main focus, the story of the townspeople weaves through this a fascinating drama. The determination of the women to do whatever it takes to support their families and give them options, the children trying to adapt to their loss, and everyone in the town trying to come to terms with their new normal.

 The characters are well developed and each seems to have the determination and strength to get through no matter what comes their way. I do think it a little odd that even the weakest of them aren't more prone to give-up, but this is only episode 1. The character that I thought was the best written was the "villian" of the piece...the mine supervisor. There are times when he is does the wrong thing, but I felt that the very nature of his job would make him have to be a bit cold-hearted in making some decisions.

Altogether, really balanced storyline, characters that you will come to care about, delightful scenery, and you are left wanting to know more of the story at the end of the episode. The fact that my grandfather and a couple of uncles were coalminers gave this an additional fascination for me, but would have kept my attention anyway. Not quite a 5 star for me, but right at a 4.5. I definitely recommend this particular dvd, and I am sure that the others will live up to the hope I have for this series.

Thank you to Edify Media and Word Entertainment for providing me with a copy of this dvd for review purposes. No expectations were given for a good review, and only an honest one was promised.

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