MOtW: The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel

 Note:  MOtW stands for Movie of the Week. This is the first of a new feature in 2022. I will be sharing movies of interest that I think you all will like as well. When possible, I will provide links where you can watch the movie online. 

Summary: The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel (1978) 

The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel was a made-for-television movie on CBS in 1978. It stars Lindsay Wager, known for her portrayal as the Bionic Woman, as Dr. Meg Laurel and Jane Wyman of Falcon Crest as the mountain healer Granny Arrowroot.  

In 1932, in Boston, the tough Harvard graduate Dr. Meg Laurel lashes out at the corrupt and powerful Judge Adamson. Her husband Dr. Thom Laurel is worried about the damage that the judge may cause in his career and Meg decides to leave him in Boston and return to the orphanage where she was raised to visit her friend Effie Webb. She learns that the orphanage is closed, and Effie has returned to her hometown Eagle's Nest in the mountains. 

When Dr. Laurel arrives at Effie's home, she finds that her friend is on her deathbed under the care of the healer Granny Arrowroot. Dr. Laurel is unsuccessful in her attempt to save Effie that asks her to stay to help her people with her medical knowledge. Soon Dr. Laurel finds an illiterate and backward people that appraises traditions and belief more than the modern medical techniques. Further, she goes against Granny and is not accepted by the community. But both Meg and Granny discover that they have much to learn with each other.

Interesting Things about this Movie 

• Granny Arrowroot shares several remedies with Dr. Laurel, such as using maggots to eat the infection out of a sebaceous cyst in a person's ear. 
• She also talks about how a scientist came to the mountain and took back herb samples. She specifically mentions the scientist taking willow bark from which aspirin is derived. 
• We also get to witness some mountain rituals such as the Ritual of the Sin Eater -
  featuring James Woods as the outcast Sin Eater. "Devil of the Fire, Devil of the Heat, with this food Effie Webb's sin's I eat" 
• We also get to witness mountain wedding ceremony during which the groom chops down a tree and the number of strokes it takes to fell the tree equals the number of children the happy couple will have. 

I first saw The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel on the movie channel and recorded it on DVD which I still have somewhere. Although the DVD is available on amazon, I have not found anywhere you can watch it online. If you can find it, I highly recommend this movie. 

- Carolina Dean