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    The Bells of St. Mary's

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    If not a sequel to Going My Way, The Bells of St. Mary's is in the very same vein, now with a Mother Superior ( Bergman ) as Principal of the School with Parish Priest Bing Crosby overall head of Church and School. At times it's a battle of Mother Superior versus the usually happy go-lucky-priest. But it's all the small daily incidents of life in this diocese which make up a mosaic of life that is priceless. Bells was a tremendous success doing great justice in a follow up act to Going My Way. There are moments of emotion, so touching as to seemingly make US a very part of that St. Mary's diocese from 1945, Ingrid Bergman is so good as the Mother Superior, her performance here real, vivacious with a slight touch of impishness. She has done some incredible dramatic work through the years, but this lighter scripted piece proved to be one of her greatest. She won The New York Film Critics Prize as Best Actress of the Year including other major prizes. At the OSCARS in 1946, it really came down to either Bergman or Joan Crawford for the Best Actress Prize. Bergman, with many Best Actress Awards for ST. MARY's seemed impossible to beat. So the venerable JOAN CRAWFORD skipped the Oscars altogether to not show disappointment at her loss. Now with a two year hiatus since being released by MGM Studios, finally convincing all at Warner Brothers she could play the awesome MILDRED PIERCE, from her so-called sick bed, Joan heard the words: "And the Best Actress in a Leading Role goes to JOAN CRAWFORD for Mildred Pierce." She hit a home-run with her first film in 3 years. Joan became a #1 World Star again. Ingrid had won for Gaslight the previous year so it was unlikely of a repeat win, that having happened only once previously with Louise Rainer. Bergman and Crawford both gave outstanding performances, the Academy probably choosing Joan as hers was truly an uphill battle.

    10
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    pietroantoni@  25.12.2014 age: 36-49 14,540 reviews

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