While I understand that everything in the world's largest theocracy, the United States of Jesusland, needs to be marketed to Christians, I do think that Warner Bros may be stretching it a bit here. For one thing, Protestantism is the name of the game these days and their Films of Faith Collection focuses wholly on Catholic themes. Perhaps they made this decision based on the TV ratings from the Pope’s funeral last year, one never knows. While I love a theme and admire the (probably unintended) kitschy ambition of the collection, their selection of films simply doesn't gratify me. That being the case, I have created my own collection of Catholic screen gems, focusing on nuns.
Song of Bernadette (1943) Jennifer Jones as the young girl who sees the Virgin Mary, Vincent Price as a cynical politician, and Gladys Cooper as a mean, jealous Mother Superior.
Bells of St Mary’s (1945) Bing Crosby is a singing priest with unconventional ways.
Black Narcissus (1947) Deborah Kerr, Jean Crain, Kathleen Byron, and Sabu – mad nuns, enough said.
Heaven Knows Mr Allison (1957) Deborah Kerr is a nun stranded on an island in the south Pacific with Robert Mitchum during WW2.
The Nun’s Story (1959) Audrey Hepburn plays a nun whose faith and vows are forever being tested. Will she be able to conform to the ways of the church or will she leave the order?
Lilies of the Field (1963) Sydney Poitier plays an unemployed construction worker who happens upon a group of German nuns in the Arizona desert. The best part is when he teaches them Southern spirituals.
The Sound of Music (1965) Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Anna Lee, and Richard Haydn - A postulant falls in love and leaves the order. To music.
The Trouble with Angels (1966) Where Angels Go...Trouble Follows (1968) Rosalind Russell, Mary Wickes, Hayley Mills, Susan Saint James, and others. The first one is the best. Nuns and their charges navigate the complexities of Vatican II and the swinging sixties.
The Singing Nun (1966) Sister Ann’s singing gets her a record deal and everyone is listening to her light-hearted songs, but is she prepared for her new found fame?
The Flying Nun (TV 1967-70) Sally Fields – the misadventures of a nun whose enormous wimple enables her to fly.
A couple of films that feature nuns rather less prominently than the others, but are worth the price of admission:
Applause (1929) This vehicle for Ziegfeld piano sitter Helen Morgan tells the story of Kitty Darling, a faded burlesque star who sends her daughter to a convent to prevent her from following in her footsteps. Beautiful scenes of pre-Vatican II nuns walking with their trailing medieval habits amidst statuary and white swans.
Portrait of Jennie (1948) Jennifer Jones again, this time with Joseph Cotten. Lilian Gish plays the aging nun who remembers the mysterious Jennie from years before when she was sent to a convent after her trapeze artist parents died in a freak accident.
Nuns in Hollywood
Nun's Habits
Nun Dolls
Official Vatican Website
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