20: The BELLS OF ST. MARY'S
(Year refers to British release)
Running Time: 127 minutes
Black/White
Estimated Attendance: 15.2 million
What they said at the time...
Synopsis
Romance. Father O'MaIley comes to St. Mary's mid-city school when it is threatened with a demolition order for lack of repair funds. While he and the school superintendent Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry about how the children should be handled in work and play, they join in prayer and machination to persuade the owner of the new building next door to give it to the school. When Father O'Malley learns that Sister Benedict is ill, he arranges for her transfer. It is a great disappointment to her as her school moves into its new building, but her prayers that bitterness shall be removed from her heart are answered. Inevitably there is strong emphasis on star values here, but the merits of direction are not inconsiderable.
Review
McCarey's style is plain but well-spoken prose. He favours the framed picture and the symmetrical design, and within those conventions he builds some effective patterns with white starch and dark habit, to swamp and dissolve them in rich piling up of velvet blacks. Deservedly, with this and Going My Way, Crosby looks like making Father O'Malley a hardy annual. Bergman produces the requisite mixture of liveliness and religious calm. Joan Carroll, as a worried adolescent, and Henry Travers as a worried business man, are effective in the supporting cast.
Synopsis and Review from Monthly Film Bulletin.Vol.13 No.151 July 1946 p.95
The Monthly Film Bulletin was published by the BFI between 1934 and 1991. Initially aimed at distributors and exhibitors as well as filmgoers, it carried reviews and details of all UK film releases. In 1991, the Bulletin was incoporated into Sight and Sound magazine.
