Out of the Convents and Into the Movie Theaters
THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS, 1966
Ida Lupino's The Trouble With Angels was one of my favorite films featuring nuns. Hayley Mills and June Harding play troublesome adolescents enrolled in St. Francis Academy for Girls. The staunch Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) spends most of her time disciplining these 'bad girls' who themselves show little mercy when it comes to putting the school's 'goody-goody' types in their place. Of course, in the movie sequel, one of the girls graduates the academy only to enter the convent herself.
Guess she enjoyed being around those women of the cloth after all.
THE FLYING NUN, 1967-1970
Sally Field's most aspiring role wasn't Norma Rae and it wasn't her part in Smokey and the Bandit either. Rather, she crept into many of our hearts as Sister Bertrille, the flying nun. Who can forget her wacky antics, charming sense of fashion, and cheeky responses to Mother Superior?
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, 1970
To our left is the Sound of Music's "Mother Abbess". More sister-actors from the Sound of Music are represented below.
This was never a favorite movie of mine, but there are lots of nuns - especially at the beginning of the film. Actually, my Austrian-born High School German teacher enjoyed describing the many factual inaccuracies depicted in the film, most of which had to do with how the movie-makers represented the von Trapp's escape-route, which would have been geographically impossible.
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| The Sound of Music's Sister Berthe (the zany one) |
The Sound of Music's Sister Margarite (the gracious one) |
The Sound of Music's Sister Sophia (the non-descript one) |
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begins our tour of nuns in mass media.
Wanna see more?
Do you have any pictures, stories or sister-ly illuminations you'd like to share?
Send your comments to: margaret@cea.edu -- and don't forget to say your prayers for bountiful box office sales -- or you won't go to heaven!
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