The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Very well executed

Perfect cast and a good story

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I am 66 years old and went to a Catholic school run by holy sisters. My first grade teacher dressed almost exactly like Ingrid Bergman. The movie is very authentic in its portrayal of a school run by nuns. I have seen it many times. (SPOILER!) I really do cry when Father O'Malley tells Sister Benedict that she is leaving because she has TB. Bergman's acting is superb throughout, and Bing Crosby is a natural as a Catholic priest. One of my favorite movies of all time. This is how I grew up.

Black-and-white, no killing, no car chase, no hatred, no simplistic solutions, no popular philosophy, combine to disappoint under-educated, overly-ego driven, amateur critics. The greatest issue the world faces is, and has always been, how we treat each other, and this movie debates that issue in several ways, independent scenes, linked by common characters with opposing philosophies. Should we set strict academic standards and adhere to them? Should boys be encouraged to be aggressive in self-defense? Should subordinates defer to higher authority? Are we obligated to be charitable? Is total, brutal honesty always the best policy? Many self-appointed "geniuses" KNOW the correct answer to those and more questions the movie asks, but I don't, after a lifetime of urban teaching, after breaking up over 200 fights, physically, after watching 40% or more of my students drop out, and seeing dozens die. (Note: the doctor not telling the nun she had TB was common in the era, and the songs were fantastic in my opinion.)

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM VERY HONEST ABOUT THESE FILMS. The unconventional Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is assigned to St. Mary's parish, which includes a run-down inner-city school building on the verge of being condemned. O'Malley is to recommend whether or not the school should be closed and the children sent to another school with modern facilities; but the sisters feel that God will provide for them.They put their hopes in Horace P. Bogardus (Henry Travers), a businessman who has built a modern building next door to the school which they hope he will donate to them. Father O'Malley and the dedicated but stubborn Sister Superior, Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), both wish to save the school, but their different views and methods often lead to disagreements. One disagreement involves a student (Richard Tyler) who is being bullied by another. A more serious one regards the promotion of an eighth-grade student, Patsy (Joan Carroll), whom the parish has taken in while her mother (Martha Sleeper) attempts to get back on her feet.This film is exceptional. I just saw this for the first time last year and I was floored. I loved everything about this film. From the story itself to the casting. The is a little long and people with short attention spans will most likely be bored. If you love Christmas movies and Old Hollywood Movies then put this on your "Must See List"

Sequels were not as common in classic Hollywood as they are in the modern era, and when sequels were made it was not to continue an action blockbuster franchise, as now, but usually to resurrect a popular character or set of characters. The 1944 hit Going My Way had created a wonderful character in Father Chuck O'Malley – the young in-touch priest who has unconventional ideas which always prove correct; an ostensibly religious figure yet one who manages to transcend all religious barriers.And of course there could be no Father O'Malley without Bing Crosby. His performance is a kind of melding of this concept of the perfect priest and Crosby's own laidback, instantly likable persona. This is all done in the tiniest, most introverted gestures and expressions. It's the little moments that bring out his personality, such as the fleeting glance skywards when he tells a little white lie to Ingrid Bergman. Bergman herself is excellent as usual, and this role in particular seems to draw something very natural out of her. Two examples in particular stand out. First is the boxing lesson she gives, which looks as if she is really teaching the young lad. Second is when she sings Varvindar Friska, presumably a song she knew in real life before making the picture, and the final high note turns into a little laugh as Crosby walks in – an endearing and revealing moment. The only problem I have with this cast is seeing sweet old Henry Travers playing the curmudgeonly antagonist. Admittedly, Travers later has a change of heart, but there is still something about his being a baddie in the first place that I find troubling.The other link in the Going My Way chain to return for The Bells of St Mary's is director Leo McCarey. McCarey again brings his gentle and apparently simple touch to the proceedings. There are some nice examples of here how he will keep two or more characters in the frame at once, rather than cutting between them. Sometimes this becomes fairly elaborate, such as when Bergman is watching the fight going on in the background, and Crosby appears in the doorway behind her. It keeps the scene balanced to just two set-ups back and forth between the fight and the watchers, but still lets us know Crosby is watching without Bergman knowing he's watching. All this means that when McCarey does give us a close-up it really means something, and connects us intimately with that character in that moment.So really, The Bells of St Mary's ought to be just as good as its predecessor, right? Well, not exactly. The problem lies in its screenplay. Going My Way featured so many charming characters, solid and well-written down to the smallest parts. Good as Ingrid Bergman is, the dynamic her character has with Crosby's is no match for the one of Barry Fitzgerald. Going My Way had many different subplots, but they all seemed of a piece, each flowing naturally into each other. The Bells of St Mary's has far fewer strands, yet seems more disjointed. Character arcs – such as Travers's transition from self-centred businessman to altruistic cheerful chappy – are trite and facile. The result is that, on the surface, The Bells of St Mary's is every bit the gem that Going My Way was, but as a whole experience, it is almost everything the previous picture was not.