The Bells of St. Mary's (1946) on Netflix

At a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building.

Father O'Malley, the unconventional priest from 'Going My Way', continues his work for the Catholic Church. This time he is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements.

—Greg Helton <ghelton@airmail.net>

Father Chuck O'Malley is assigned as the pastor of an inner-city Catholic school and has to work with its dedicated but stubborn principal, Sister Mary Benedict. O'Malley and Sister Mary Benedict quarrel frequently. He feels the school should be closed and the children sent to a nearby school with modern facilities, but all of the sisters believe that God will provide for them. Specifically, they put their hopes on Horace P. Bogardus, a businessman who has built a modern building right next door to the school and whom they hope will donate his new edifice to them.

—garykmcd

The next placement for Father Chuck O'Malley, a Catholic priest with modern sensibilities, is St. Mary's parish, he primarily sent to make recommendations on what to do about the crumbling, aged building, renovate, rebuild, sell among the options. Upon his arrival, he learns that he is also taking over as parish pastor, the parish centered on a school run by the sisters, led by the Sister Superior, Mary Benedict, a parish school with which he has no experience. He has a difference of opinion on many items with Sister Benedict, some open, some hidden under the surface. In the latter category, Father O'Malley learns that the sisters convinced the diocese to sell an adjacent property to businessman Horace P. Bogardus so that they could make some necessary band-aid repairs to prevent the building from being condemned. Sister Benedict is convinced that her and the sisters' prayers will lead to Mr. Bogardus *giving* them the new office building going up on that site as the new school. In speaking to hard-nosed Mr. Bogardus, Father O'Malley learns that Bogardus wants to buy St. Mary's remaining property outright for a parking lot for his office complex, he certain that the building will be condemned nonetheless with the diocese on the hook for demolition if they don't sell. The Father's thinking is more in line with Bogardus. The more open disagreements between the Father and Sister center on the children and what is best for them individually, the most contentious case being that of Patsy Gallagher beyond even whether Patsy should have been admitted as a student. Through it all, a non-disclosed issue leads to a rift between the two that not even their vow to God to love their fellow man may be able to mend.

—Huggo