Set in Thomasville in 1951 during the great polio epidemic, the film tells the story of a young polio victim who loves the book “The Littlest Angel”, and her brothers quest, with his best friend Jerry, to find her an angel doll for Christmas.
The story was filmed in Wilmington, Burgaw, and at St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It stars Keith Carradine, Academy Award nominee Diana Scarwid, Pat Hingle, Michael Welch, Cody Newton, Nick Searcy and Betsy Brantley.
It was written and directed by Alexander Johnston of Wilmington, who died before the film’s completion.
The film was featured at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and will be shown at the Asheville Film Festival in Asheville on November 8.
“The Angel Doll” retails for $19.95 and is available from Monarch Home Video, a division of Ingram Entertainment in La Vergne, Tennessee.
The book is available in hardcover from John F. Blair, Publisher in Winston-Salem, which also distributes “A Gift of Angels,” sequel to “The Angel Doll.” The paperback edition of “The Angel Doll” is available from St. Martins Press in New York.
