The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) on Netflix
Father Chuck O'Malley takes over St. Mary's, a nun-run school. Sister Mary Benedict trusts prayer to save it; Horace P. Bogardus, building offices next door, wants the land for a parking lot.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.2/1010,668 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes85%
Trailer
Plot summary
St. Mary's is an inner-city parish whose elementary school is staffed by nuns under Sister Mary Benedict. The diocese has assigned Father Chuck O'Malley to judge what to do with the aging building, and he arrives to find himself pastor as well. To pay for repairs, the sisters sold the school playground to Horace P. Bogardus, a businessman and city council chairman whose modern office building is rising on the site. Sister Mary Benedict expects him to donate it to the church. Bogardus tells Father O'Malley that unless the church sells him the school for a parking lot, the council will condemn it. Mary Gallagher asks the school to take her daughter Patsy as a boarding student, and the girl struggles with her lessons.
Cast
- Richard Tyleras Eddie Breen
- Edward Coch Jr.as Baby Jesus (uncredited)
- Aina Constantas Nun (uncredited)
Show all 20 cast
- Jimmy Craneas Luther (uncredited)
- Gwen Crawfordas Nun (uncredited)
- Bobby Dolan Jr.as Bobby (uncredited)
- Bobby Frascoas Tommy Smith (uncredited)
- Peggy McKimas Schoolgirl (uncredited)
- Betty Jean Nicholsas Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Bing Crosby's Best Actor Oscar nomination for playing Father Chuck O'Malley made him the first actor in history to be nominated twice for the same character in different films; he lost to Ray Milland for The Lost Weekend.
- The film turned a profit of $3,715,000, making it the most profitable movie in the history of RKO, and adjusted for inflation it is the 57th highest-grossing film domestically of all time.
- The Bells of St. Mary's became tied to the Christmas season, partly through a scene with a school Christmas pageant, a plot point about an unlikely prayed-for gift, and its December 1945 release.
