In 2003, the TV movie Love Comes Softly made its debut. The film – based on a book by Janette Oke – starred Katherine Heigel as a young widowed woman named Marty Claridge, who learns to find love again.
Upon making its debut, Love Comes Softly was a hit with viewers which soon led to a follow-up. This in turn was accompanied by more entries, including prequels and a Christmas adventure.
But how many Love Comes Softly movies are there? For all the details, keep reading.
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The Love Comes Softly movies in order
Love Comes Softly (2003)
As noted above, the first entry in the series arrived in 2003 under the title, Love Comes Softly. In this movie, a young woman accepts an invitation to care for a man and his daughter when her own husband dies unexpectedly. (88 mins)
Love’s Enduring Promise (2004)
The Love Comes Softly saga continues in the second entry: Love’s Enduring Promise. This film picks up with the character, Missie, who is now in her 20s and is finding herself town between two worlds and the love of two men. (120 mins)
Love’s Long Journey (2005)
In Love’s Long Journey, newlyweds Missie and Willie LaHaye face hardship as they build a new life in the uncivilised territory. (120 mins)
Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
In movie No. 4, Love’s Abiding Joy, Missie and Willie must cope with the tragic death of their infant daughter while struggling to keep their frontier ranch going. Meanwhile, matters are further complicated due to a budding romance involving Missie and Willie’s adopted teenage son. (87 mins)
Love’s Unending Legacy (2007)
In movie No. 5, Love’s Unending Legacy, it has been two years since the murder of her husband, and Missie LaHaye and her young son Maddie return home to be near her parents. (90 mins)
Love’s Unfolding Dream (2007)
In Love’s Unfolding Dream, Belinda Tyler struggles to choose between her career aspirations and her feelings for a New York lawyer who seeks a traditional wife. (90 mins)
Love Takes Wing (2009)
Dr. Belinda Simpson arrives in the tiny town of Sikeston to take up the post of town physician. Once there, she discovers that many of the town’s residents have fallen ill from an unknown condition. (88 mins)
Love Finds a Home (2009)
When Belinda’s longtime friend, Annie arrives in town so Belinda can watch over the final stages of her pregnancy, trouble starts brewing. Annie brings along her know-all mother-in-law, who has different ideas to Belinda. (88 mins)
Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)
In Love’s Christmas Journey, recently widowed Ellie King visits her brother Aaron Davis and his two children during the Christmas holidays. But problems occur when Aaron goes missing. (172 mins)
Love Begins (2011)
In Love Begins, Clark Davis stays in a small town to work off his debt, after being charged with vandalism. Here he meets Ellen, but will he give up his future plans for love? (89 mins)
Love’s Everlasting Courage (2011)
And finally, in Love’s Everlasting Courage, when Clark’s beloved wife Ellen dies from scarlet fever, he and his daughter, Missy, must find a way to survive this hardship. (88 mins)
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The Love Comes Softly movies in release order
To date, there are a whopping eleven Love Comes Softly movies. The Love Comes Softly movies are as follows:
- 01) Love Comes Softly (2003)
- 02) Love’s Enduring Promise (2004)
- 03) Love’s Long Journey (2005)
- 04) Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
- 05) Love’s Unending Legacy (2007)
- 06) Love’s Unfolding Dream (2007)
- 07) Love Takes Wing (2009)
- 08) Love Finds a Home (2009)
- 09) Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)
- 10) Love Begins (2011)
- 11) Love’s Everlasting Courage (2011)
All eleven Love Comes Softly movies are part of the same series, with events largely taking place in chronological order. However, there are a few exceptions.
The breakdown is as follows:
- Movies one through eight (aka Love Comes Softly through to Love Finds a Home) are told in chronological order.
- Movie nine, Love’s Christmas Journey is told at an unspecified time within the timeline, but sometime partway through the series.
- Movies ten and eleven (Love Begins and Love’s Everlasting Courage) are prequels, with the events taking place before Love Comes Softly.
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Who are the cast of the Love Comes Softly films and are the movies the work of the same director?
Notable cast members in the Love Comes Softly film series include Katherine Heigl, Dale Midkiff, Skye McCole Bartusiak, January Jones, Erin Cottrell, Logan Bartholomew, W. Morgan Sheppard, John Savage, Victor Browne, Samantha Smith, Sarah Jones, Haylie Duff, Jordan Bridges, Patty Duke, Wes Brown, Julie Mond, Nancy McKeon, Jere Burns, Natalie Hall, Sean Astin, JoBeth Williams, Bruce Boxleitner and Cheryl Ladd.
In terms of directors, the movies are the work of the following:
- Michael Landon Jr. directed Love Comes Softly, Love’s Enduring Promise, Love’s Long Journey and Love’s Abiding Joy
- Mark Griffiths directed Love’s Unending Legacy
- Harvey Frost directed Love’s Unfolding Dream
- Lou Diamond Phillips directed Love Takes Wing
- David S. Cass Sr. directed Love Finds a Home, Love’s Christmas Journey and Love Begins
- Bradford May directed Love’s Everlasting Courage
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What is the best Love Comes Softly movie?
According to IMDb, the Love Comes Softly films are rated as follows:
- Love Comes Softly (2003) – 7.3/10
- Love’s Enduring Promise (2004) – 7.0/10
- Love’s Long Journey (2005) – 7.1/10
- Love’s Abiding Joy (2006) – 6.8/10
- Love’s Unending Legacy (2007) – 6.9/10
- Love’s Unfolding Dream (2007) – 6.9/10
- Love Takes Wing (2009) – 6.7/10
- Love Finds a Home (2009) – 6.8/10
- Love’s Christmas Journey (2011) – 6.4/10
- Love Begins (2011) – 6.9/10
- Love’s Everlasting Courage (2011) – 6.8/10
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I hope you are feeling the love regarding the Love Comes Softly film series. Should you wish to read more posts on It’s A Stampede!, please check out the recommended reads below.
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One Response to How many Love Comes Softly movies are there?
I wish Hallmark would make a movie out of the book that has woman in it named Iwanna Gobble Turkey. I know that the book is part of the Love Comes Softly series. When I read the book (I cannot remember the name), I laughed & laughed. Maybe you could put a bug in Hallmark’s ear for me.
Thank you & may you have a blessed year,
MsCindy
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