A Man Called Peter (1955)
Based on the true story of a young Scottish lad, Peter Marshall, who dreams of only going to sea but finds out there is a different future for him when he receives a "calling" from God to be a minister. He leaves Scotland and goes to America where after a few small congregations he lands the position of pastor of the Church of the Presidents in Washington, D.C. and eventually he becomes Chaplain of the U.S. Senate.
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Save your money for something good and enjoyable
It is a performances centric movie
Absolutely brilliant
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
As a biographical film, the viewer is called upon to consider their faith, their relationship with Jesus, and whom they choose to worship. Peter Marshall denied his will to be a captain at Sea to follow the will of God. Within 10 years of following His lead, God groomed Peter to play a significant and important role in a prim New York society and eventually in the Senate. Hollywood produced this film with full sermons which were needed in 1955, a time when Hollywood was under investigation for communism. The message contained in this rare film remains relevant as our current Senate and the intentions of our countries leaders are called into question. Praise God for His wisdom by enabling the voice of Peter Marshall to live on.
I have always liked the late Richard Todd as an actor, he was very watchable and had real charisma and integrity. However this movie is just about the dullest biopic I have ever seen. From the very start it is less than convincing. Pure propaganda for the God squad who really should join the 21st century instead of living in the 13th century wracked with superstition and belief in miracles and magic. I had never seen this movie before and looked forward to becoming engrossed in a story about someone with whom I was totally unfamiliar. I tried, I honestly did, but my attention wandered and I could not stomach the holier than thou thread which pervaded this debacle. A pity it was not better written as I am sure there is an actual story to be told rather than this pap. Not a good movie to choose to see Richard Todd's talent.
This was the most beautiful and most inspiring movie in Cinemascope of the 50s decade. Very well directed and a box office hit in rural America and other parts of the world (lines to see it formed around the block all over Scottland, but also in cities like Havana, Madrid, London, Dublin, etc.), yet the Academy of Arts and Science ignored it as best film and passed on nominations to its players. It won only one award for screenplay adaptation (from the best selling biography). The reason for this may have been that Jean Peters, its star, quit the screen all too suddenly after its release, and Fox made no effort to push or promote the film within the academy when nominations were being selected. Releasing companies normally do that. Richard Todd certainly delivered the best performance of his career in a very difficult role. The strikingly beautiful Jean Peters amazed critics with a down to earth and totally believable performance that certainly merited a best actress nomination. And Marjorie Rambeau (of Tobacco Road fame)won other awards as supporting actress for her portrayal(including Critic's Choice), but wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award. If you check the 1955 nominees for best acting, you'll discover that only Susan Hayward, for I'll Cry Tomorrow, was at par with Peters' portrayal in this flick. True of the film as well. It was a much better picture than most of those nominated. Fox had scheduled this film as the first in Cinemascope to be released, with Peters and Richard Burton in the lead roles, but producer Lamarr Troti died; and so, Fox offered The Robe as an alternative-which was an inferior film in regards to content, facts and script. At any rate, see this film believing it did win "best picture of 1955". As it ends you'll likely become certain that it did.
It's refreshing to see a film about faith without all the dogmatic posturing and self-righteousness so prevalent among today's more evangelical "clergy".This is a good film biography of a remarkable man, whose true calling to the ministry influenced so many lives. His inclusive message of the all-encompassing love of God and the Christ spirit seems more meaningful today than in its own time.The best part of the film are Marshall's own concise and lucid sermons, lifted straight from the page and thrillingly delivered by the actor Richard Todd. The actor listened carefully to recordings of Marshall's speaking style and the memories others had of it and carefully replicated it. One doesn't hear public speaking like THIS anymore, without a microphone, the text delivered with style and passion.This film changed my life as a teenager, forty years ago, introducing me to the spiritual life. I then read the book from which it derives (even better than the picture), all the collections of Marshall's sermons and prayers then in print (the prayers even more wonderful than the sermons!) and these books carried me through many bleak times in my life, as did the subsequent books by Peter's wife.I hope this film can do the same for you.