The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) returns, this time to take over a parochial school run by troublesome nuns. Nuns so troublesome that the previous priest had to be carried out and sent to a sanatorium. Kids have kid problems, school has financial problems, Bing sings songs.

Despite the build up, there is surprisingly little conflict. O’Malley and Ingrid Bergman’s Sister Mary have disagreements, but they are handled very cordially. Nothing that would send someone to a nut house. Una O’Connor is underutilized here.

The first big problem is money. The convent had to sell the kids playground to the local comedic millionaire for maintenance. Millionaire built a giant building on it and now wants the rest for parking. The nuns are hoping he gives them the building for a new school. Quite plausible. It'll be another year before Clarence earns his wings.

The second pertains to a single mother who wants her daughter to attend. This is a curious subplot. The girl was born in wedlock (because production code), but dad disappeared to play in a band. When asked how she has been supporting her all this time, she says in her own words that she’s “no good”. So, one wonders how being no good is a source of income for a single mother. Perhaps she means Entertaining Lonely Men for Fun and Profit. There are elements later in the film that support this hypothesis.

Despite Crosby and Bergman’s obvious onscreen chemistry, a movie about a convent cannot have any romantic undertones. A priest was on set to make sure of that, so Bing and Ingrid decided to play a prank. In the very last scene they embraced for a passionate kiss.

Going My Way was a huge hit, winning seven Oscars. Sequels don’t do as well as the original so less money and resources are usually brought to the production, fulfilling the prophecy. But there was faith in this sequel and RKO got Bergman on loan. Again, it was a huge hit and was nominated for seven Oscars, winning one. Bing was nominated for the same character in two different films, Bergman for the third time in three years, and I believe this is the first sequel to be nominated for best picture. I’m surprised they didn’t force a third film down the pipeline.

The story follows a school year, and during that time Christmas happens. Thus it is tangentially a Christmas movie. But what The Bells of St. Mary's really is, is a pleasant if undemanding watch. Old Hollywood was good at creating a world that seemed very enticing to live in. AMRU 3.5.