THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S

THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S - 1945

RATED -NR but a VERY family friendly film

STARRING - Ingrid Bergman & Bing Crosby

AWARDS - One Academy Award (Best Sound) and seven other Academy nominations including Best Picture.

RATINGS - 39 Amazon (4.5/5), 1,633 IMBD (7.4/10) TV Guide (5/5)

THEMES - Faith, reconciliation, teamwork, love

STORY - Probably saying Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman in the same sentence would be enough. They were both at the top of their game. Crosby is Father O'Malley who is the new pastor assigned to help the financially troubled St. Mary's. Bergman is Sister Benedict who runs the school. She has great faith that all of their problems will be resolved by praying and O'Malley sees the solutions from a more worldly view. They immediately clash when O'Malley gives the students a holiday his first day on the job, much to Bergman's frustration. That is only the beginning of their differences. They both live under the tension of financial pressure that may force them to sell the school. They had already sold their playground to raise money to repair the ancient building. Will the school survive and will they survive each other? Will faith and prayer carry the day or will it be up to O'Malley to work a more practical solution? A wonderful story and, of course, a few songs thrown in. A reminder that 'feel good' movies can be entertaining and while the 'realism' of the 1940's may not be the 'realism' of today, it is a very worthwhile film. A genuine classic. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 11/3/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD