This 1958 movie is loosely based on the life of Gladys Aylward [pronounced ail’- werd] and was adapted from the bestseller book entitled The Small Woman, by Alan Burgess. Gladys later wrote her life story in a book called The Little Woman. The prayerfoundation.org website describes this movie as “powerful and poignant.” Viewers will discover the meaning of the title a little ways into the movie. This is the story of a strong-willed woman determined to fulfill her calling, with a romantic element added by the writers.

This film stars the legendary actress Ingrid Bergman and actor Curt Jurgen. It brought Ingrid Bergman the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress in 1958. In 1959 the film received the Golden Globe for Best Film Promoting International Understanding.

In this story a brave young British woman feels a strong call to be a missionary to China. The missions board feels she doesn’t have enough education to qualify her, but she is determined to get there one way or another. She takes a job to pay her fare to China, but she very nearly gets herself fired. I won’t tell you why. The elderly gentleman for whom she works “happens” to have a connection with a 73-year-old missionary in China named Jeannie Lawson, with whom Gladys could work.

Gladys’ train trip en route to China in 1930 is not without difficulty, especially with language barriers. Upon arrival in Yangcheng, she finds that the elderly woman with whom she will work has found a most unusual way of spreading the knowledge of God. She has a crude inn where mule train drivers stop, and she has opportunities to tell stories from the Bible while the guests eat. There are some very humorous dilemmas.

A handsome Chinese officer named Captain Lin Nan, played by Curt Jurgen, rides into town on a horse. He speaks English and is half Dutch. (Are you getting a premonition?) The elderly missionary soon takes a fatal fall. The missionary organization feels that Gladys is unqualified to run the mission alone. The region of China in which she works has a terrible custom of binding women’s feet, but the government has made a law against it. Gladys insists on staying in China and is given the opportunity to earn money from the government as a “foot inspector.” She doesn’t know what she is getting into, but once again her determination gets her through. She bargains with the government leader to allow her to tell the people on her foot inspection route about God.

Gladys has become so loved and known by the people that at one point she is asked to quell a prison riot. One day, in the time leading up to World War II, an officer comes to warn the people of a Japanese attack coming. The story heats up from there, and so does the romance. I will not tell you all of the details of the rest of the script, but Gladys somehow begins to collect orphans. She ends up leading a large group of children on a long, grueling, dangerous journey though the mountains to safety after the attacks begin.

It appears that the high points of the script of this movie do line up with the real high points of Gladys Aylward’s life in China, except for the romance. You may find yourself feeling very affectionate toward many of the Chinese characters in this movie. The movie might make you feel even more sympathetic toward the citizens of China, who are now under such oppressive rule. The length of the movie is 2 hours and 48 minutes, but to me it is a very entertaining and moving story. Get out the popcorn and curl up on the couch.

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