The Bells of St. Mary's

Starring: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, Rhys Williams, Una O'Connor, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper
Directed by: Leo McCarey
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama
1945

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) joins a new church and clashes politely with the head nun (Ingrid Bergman) on how to run the parochial school.

Review:

Tim: After the very good Going My Way, I was excited to learn about The Bells of St. Mary's, the sequel of the continued adventures of Father O'Malley. This film was released one year after the Academy Award winning original, and is a very solid, entertaining sequel. While I still like Going My Way better, this film is a very worthwhile sequel.

It is interesting that although the story is different here, it is still very familiar. Father O'Malley is the new priest, and he makes a bit of an awkward entrance. He clashes somewhat with the established authority, while looking for a way to bring in additional money to the church. Along the way, he sings and connects with and helps members of the congregation. It's actually surprising how similar the two films are. And yet, director Leo McCarey is careful not to make this film redundant. The differences are unique enough so that this really feels like an organic continuation of the story. I enjoyed watching this movie.

Bing Crosby won the Academy Award for Best Actor with his first performance of Father O'Malley. He is not quite as good the second time, but he still gives a very, very good performance. What is pretty stunning is that he was once again nominated for Best Actor. While he did not win, he was the first actor in history to be nominated twice for playing the same character, in two different movies. That is pretty amazing, and speaks to how well Crosby played this part.

A great addition to the cast is Ingrid Bergman. She plays Sister May Benedict, the head nun, and who goodnaturedly clashes with O'Malley on occasion in the film. Bergman is always a terrific actor, and she is a strong match for Crosby. She really embodies that stern but kind demeanor so many nuns have in the Catholic church. She has a few tremendous moments in the film, where she is able to really showcase her acting ability. Perhaps my favorite scene is when she's teaching a young boy to watch. Pay close attention to Bergman here- she is absolutely terrific. It's a cute scene, but it becomes a classic with Bergman's performance. She was nominated for Best Actress, although she did not win.

I'd like to make a quick aside here. In 1944, Going My Way received three Academy Award nominations for acting- Bing Crosby for Actor, and Barry Fitzgerald for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Interesting enough, at those same awards, Ingrid Bergman won Best Actress for Gaslight. A year later, in 1945, Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman make this film, and are both nominated for acting Oscars. So, the two "Father O'Malley" films received 5 Academy Award nominations for acting, and brought home 2 trophies. That is pretty impressive.

Now, while I thoroughly enjoyed this film, there are a few flaws with the movie. The biggest problem I had with Going My Way was the Hollywood-ish ending where O'Malley sells a song he wrote to a record company for big bucks. It was just so outlandish, I had a hard time buying it. Instead of fixing this weakness, The Bells of St. Mary's exacerbates it. The story here involves a mean, selfish old man who is building a very expensive building right next to St. Mary's. The nuns want him to donate the building, and are praying that he has a change of heart. This is obviously SPOILER territory, but this whole thing ends in the most ridiculous, Hollywood, twinkle-your-toes conclusion imaginable. I really liked the movie up to this point, but the silliness of the conflict's resolution just pushed me over the edge. I would have loved these movies even more without the absurd conclusions.

While The Bells of St. Mary's only won 1 Academy Award (for Best Sound Recording), it was nominated for 7 others- Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, Best Musical Score, and Best Picture. That is pretty stunning. While it lost out on most of them, 8 Academy Award nominations is pretty excellent. These 8, combined with the 10 Academy Award nominations and 7 wins of Going My Way means the Father O'Malley movies combined for 18 nominations and 8 wins. That's pretty astounding, and speaks to the quality and care with which these movies were made.

While I would have to give the edge to Going My Way, The Bells of St. Mary's is a very good film, and gets extremely close to the first film. They really don't make movies like this anymore- a fun, entertaining film for the whole family that touches on religion, helping your fellow man, charitable acts, goodness, and kindness. I really enjoyed this movie, and I desperately wish they had made more of these films. As is, I'll take the two we got, because they are very good.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Going My Way