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The Bells of St. Mary's

Director: Leo McCarey (Dir) Release Date: 1945 Premiere Information: New York opening: 6 Dec 1945 Production Date: 1 Mar--14 May 1945; retakes late Jun 1945 Duration (in mins): 126 Duration (in feet): 11,330 Duration (in reels): 13			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:	Bing Crosby	(Father O'Malley)
	Ingrid Bergman	(Sister Mary Benedict)	By arrangement with David O. Selznick
	Henry Travers	(Horace P. Bogardus)
	William Gargan	(Joe Gallagher)
	Ruth Donnelly	(Sister Michael)
	Joan Carroll	(Patsy Gallagher)
	Martha Sleeper	(Mrs. Gallagher)
	Rhys Williams	(Dr. McKay)
	Dickie Tyler	(Eddie )
	Una O'Connor	(Mrs. Breen)
	Bobby Frasco	(Tommy)
	Aina Constant	(Nun)
	Gwen Crawford	(Nun)
	Eva Novak	(Nun)
	Matt McHugh	(Clerk in store)
	Edna Wonacott	(Delphine)
	Jimmy Crane	(Luther)
	Tim Hawkins	(Child)
	George Noakes	(Child)
	Bobby Dolan	(Child)
	Michael Orr	(Child)
	Dewey Robinson	(Truck driver)
	Jimmy Dundee	(Taxi driver)
	Joseph Palma	(Workman)
	Minerva Urecal	(Landlady)
	Peter Sasso	(Blind man)
	Cora Shannon	(Elderly woman)

Summary:

When Father O'Malley is designated priest of St. Mary's church and its concomitant elementary school, he is warned that the strong-willed nuns drove the previous priest into a rest home. Unfamiliar with the precepts of running a school, O'Malley incurs the disapproval of Swedish American Sister Mary Benedict, the Mother Superior and school principal, when as his first official act, he grants the students a holiday. As Sister Benedict escorts O'Malley on a tour of the dilapidated school building, she points to the building under construction across the way and confesses that it is her dream to have its owner, wealthy, old curmudgeon Horace P. Bogardus, donate his building to the church. Later, O'Malley meets Bogardus when he complains about the children playing on the fence surrounding his building. Bogardus warns O'Malley that unless the church agrees to sell him the school to use as a parking lot, he will ensure that the city council will condemn it. After leaving Bogardus, O'Malley is approached by a desperate woman, who begs the priest to allow her little daughter Patsy to attend the school. The woman, full of self-recrimination, relates the sad story of how her husband, a musician named Joe Gallagher, deserted her soon after the birth of their child and how she has had to depend on the generosity of men to support her young daughter. Sympathetic, O'Malley agrees to care for the troubled Patsy, who experiences difficulty adjusting to the school. As the office building nears completion, Sister Benedict visits Bogardus in his new quarters and envisions a modern classroom and gymnasium there. Overworked and aggravated, Bogardus is then paid a housecall by his physician, Dr. McKay. As the doctor is recommending relaxation and rest, Bogardus recoils at the sound of the school choir across the schoolyard and slams the window shut, causing it to shatter. One day, O'Malley visits Patsy's mother with news that he has located her husband, who is now anxiously waiting to meet her in the hallway. Mrs. Gallagher runs into the hall, and the couple is reunited after being separated for many years. At the same time, Patsy, excited at the thought of her upcoming graduation, goes to visit her mother to show off her commencement dress. Spotting her mother speaking to Gallagher, Patsy believes that he is one of her mother's clients and flees the building. Patsy fails her exams, but O'Malley urges Sister Benedict to pass the girl in order to boost her confidence. The sister adamantly refuses, however, arguing that the school must maintain its standards. Informed that she has failed her courses, Patsy somberly returns her graduation dress. Soon after, Sister Benedict becomes ill and O'Malley sends for Dr. McKay. As they await the doctor's arrival, Sister Benedict chides O'Malley for writing to the Mother General about Patsy. Although Sister Benedict protests that she is just tired and demoralized by her inability to save St. Mary's, the doctor insists on examining her in his office the next day. On the doctor's way out, O'Malley questions him about Bogardus' heart condition and suggests that good deeds can cure a bad heart. The next day, O'Malley meets Bogardus after he has just visited his physician. Bogardus is preoccupied by the doctor's diagnosis of his condition, but is consoled by O'Malley, who encourages him to perform good deeds. Taking the priest's advice, Bogardus dashes into the street to save a stray dog. After ushering an elderly woman onto her bus, Bogardus then proceeds to the church. Astonished by the sight of Bogardus bowed in prayer, Sister Benedict approaches him and, after confessing that he has acted selfishly, he offers the nun his new building to use as a school, making her giddy with happiness. The good news is soon clouded by Dr. McKay's diagnosis that Sister Benedict is suffering from the early stages of tuberculosis and should be sent to a dry climate and relieved of all strenuous duties. Although the doctor cautions O'Malley to keep the sister's condition secret from her, the priest fears that sending her away without an explanation will lead her to believe that she was transferred at his behest. As the sister arranges the furniture in the new classroom, O'Malley notifies her that she is being transferred, causing her to react with disbelief and sorrow that she will no longer be working with children. Soon after, the girls prepare for their commencement ceremony as Patsy watches longingly in the distance. Upon seeing her mother and her male escort enter the schoolyard, she ducks behind a post to hide, and when Sister Benedict observes her actions, she realizes that Patsy never told her mother that she has failed. Anguished, Patsy asks for the nun's help and admits that she deliberately failed so that she could remain at the school. When O'Malley introduces Patsy's parents to Sister Benedict, Patsy is dumbfounded to learn that the stranger is actually her father. After Mrs. Gallagher promises Patsy a real home and a new life, O'Malley remarks that the couple has come to watch their daughter graduate. Finally comprehending the enormous handicap under which Patsy has suffered, Sister Benedict relents and allows the girl to graduate. After the ceremony, Sister Benedict visits the chapel one last time to pray for guidance. When she departs, bent in sorrow, O'Malley, overwhelmed with compassion, tells her the truth about her condition. Immensely relieved, the sister fills with joy as she bids farewell to the priest.

Production Company:	Rainbow Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company:	RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Director:	Leo McCarey	(Dir)
	Harry Scott	(Asst dir)
Producer:	Leo McCarey	(Prod)
Writer:	Dudley Nichols	(Scr)
	Leo McCarey	(Story)
Photography:	George Barnes	(Dir of photog)
	Jack Warren	(2d cam)
Art Direction:	William Flannery	(Art dir)
	Albert D'Agostino	(Supv art dir)
Film Editor:	Harry Marker	(Ed)
Set Decoration:	Darrell Silvera	(Set dec)
Costumes:	Edith Head	(Des of the costs)
Music:	Robert Emmett Dolan	(Mus score)
Sound:	Richard Van Hessen	(Sd)
	James G. Stewart	(Sd)
Special Effects:	Vernon L. Walker	(Spec eff)
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Songs:	"The Bells of St. Mary's," words and music by Douglas Furber and A. Emmett Adams; "Aren't You Glad You're You?" words and music by Johnny Burke and James Van Heusen; "In the Land of Beginning Again," words and music by George W. Meyer and Grant Clarke; "Varvindar friska," English words by Eddie Lisbona and Bob Musel; "Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)," words and music by John Francis Wade; "O Sanctissima," traditional hymn.
Composer:	A. Emmett Adams
	Johnny Burke
	Grant Clarke
	Douglas Furber
	Eddie Lisbona
	George W. Meyer
	Bob Musel
	James Van Heusen
	John Francis Wade

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number
Rainbow Productions, Inc.	7/5/1945 dd/mm/yyyy	LP1000

PCA NO:	10824
Physical Properties:	b&w:
	Sd:	RCA Sound System


Genre:	Drama
Sub-Genre:	Religious

Subjects (Major):	Churches
	Faith
	Priests
	Nuns
	Schools
	Swedish Americans
	Transformation

Subjects (Minor):	Businessmen
	Graduations
	Heart disease
	Irish Americans
	Mothers and daughters
	Physicians
	Reconciliation
	Students
	Tuberculosis

Note:	According to a 1945 NYT news item, David O. Selznick was paid $175,000 to lend Ingrid Bergman to RKO. As part of the deal, Selznick also acquired the screen rights to Little Women (see below) and A Bill of Divorcement (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40 ; F3.0338). This was the first effort of Rainbow Productions, Inc., an independent production company owned by Leo McCarey, Bing Crosby, B. G. DeSylva, David Butler and Hal Roach, Jr. According to a 1944 news item in NYT , in 1942, McCarey, who was at the time under contract to RKO, outlined the story to Crosby, who was intrigued but unavailable because of his contract with Paramount. Crosby was freed to make the picture when DeSylva, then an executive producer at Paramount, agreed to lend Crosby to RKO in exchange for a commitment with McCarey, who then wrote and directed Going My Way for Paramount (see below). Crosby first played the role of "Father O'Malley" in Going My Way , which was released prior to The Bells of St. Mary's and won an Academy Award for his performance in Going My Way . The HR review adds that McCarey based Bergman's character on his aunt, Sister Mary Benedict of the Immaculate Heart Convent in Hollywood, CA. HR news items yield the following information: In Feb 1945, Anna Q. Nilsson was tested for one of the leads. The closing street scene was shot on Paramount's New York street set. Although an Apr 1945 news item places Myra Nelson and Marion Lessing in the cast, their participation in the released film has not been confirmed. Bobby Dolan, the little boy who narrated the nativity scene in the film, was the son of Robert Emmett Dolan, the film's musical director. The film was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film Editor, Best Score and Best Song ("Aren't You Glad You're You"). It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Recording. According to a modern source, the film became the year's top box-office picture and was the biggest hit in RKO history. In the 1950s, Republic acquired the picture for its film library and re-issued it in 1959. On 7 Oct 1959, CBS broadcast a televised version of the story, starring Claudette Colbert, Robert Preston and Glenda Farrell.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Box Office	1 Dec 1945.
Daily Variety	23 Nov 45	p. 3.
Film Daily	23 Nov 1945.
Hollywood Reporter	21 Feb 45	p. 2.
Hollywood Reporter	23 Feb 45	p. 13.
Hollywood Reporter	26 Feb 45	p. 10.
Hollywood Reporter	1 Mar 45	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	4 Apr 45	p. 10.
Hollywood Reporter	11 Apr 45	p. 9, 11
Hollywood Reporter	4 May 45	p. 14.
Hollywood Reporter	27 Jun 45	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	23 Nov 45	p. 3.
Hollywood Reporter	10 Dec 45	p. 6.
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest	5 May 45	p. 2434.
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest	1 Dec 45	p. 2734.
New York Times	1 Apr 1944.
New York Times	4 Mar 1945.
New York Times	7 Dec 45	p. 26.
Variety	28 Nov 45	p. 10.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



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