The Song of Bernadette (film)
The Song of Bernadette | |
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File:The Song of Bernadette film poster.jpg Theatrical poster by Norman Rockwell | |
Directed by | Henry King |
Screenplay by | George Seaton |
Produced by | William Perlberg |
Starring | Jennifer Jones William Eythe Charles Bickford Vincent Price |
Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
Edited by | Barbara McLean |
Music by | Alfred Newman |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date | April 1945[1] |
Running time | 155 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.6 million[3] |
Box office | $5 million (US/ Canada rentals)[4][5][6] |
The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 biographical drama film based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Franz Werfel. It stars Jennifer Jones in the title role, which tells the story of Bernadette Soubirous (later canonized Saint Bernadette) who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported eighteen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The film was directed by Henry King, from a screenplay written by George Seaton.
The novel was extremely popular, spending more than a year on The New York Times Best Seller list and thirteen weeks heading the list. The story was also turned into a Broadway play, which opened at the Belasco Theatre in March 1946.[7]
Plot
François Soubirous (Roman Bohnen), a former miller now unemployed, is forced to take odd jobs and live at the city jail with his wife (Anne Revere), his two sons, and his two daughters. One morning he goes to find work, and is told to take contaminated trash from the hospital and dump it in the cave at Massabielle.
At the Catholic school (run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers) that she and her sisters attend, fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous (Jennifer Jones) is shamed in front of the class by Sister Vauzous, the teacher (Gladys Cooper), for not having learned her catechism well. Her sister Marie (Ermadean Walters) explains that Bernadette was out sick with asthma. Abbé Dominique Peyramale (Charles Bickford) enters and awards the students holy cards, but is told by Sister Vauzous that Bernadette does not deserve one because she has not studied, and that it would not be fair to the other students. Peyramale encourages Bernadette to study harder.
Later that afternoon, on an errand with her sister Marie and school friend Jeanne (Mary Anderson) to collect firewood outside the town of Lourdes, Bernadette is left behind when her companions warn her not to wade through the cold river by the Massabielle caves for fear of taking ill. About to cross anyway, Bernadette is distracted by a strange breeze and a change in the light. Investigating the cave, she finds a beautiful lady (Linda Darnell) standing in brilliant light, holding a pearl rosary. She tells her sister and friend, who promise not to tell anyone else. They do tell, however, and the story soon spreads all over town.
Many, including Bernadette's Aunt Bernarde (Blanche Yurka), are convinced of her sincerity and stand up for her against her disbelieving parents, but Bernadette faces civil and church authorities alone. Repeatedly questioned, she stands solidly behind her seemingly unbelievable story and continues to return to the cave as the lady has asked. She faces ridicule as the lady tells her to drink and wash at a spring that doesn't exist, but digs a hole in the ground and uses the wet sand and mud. The water begins to flow later and exhibits miraculous healing properties. The lady finally identifies herself as "the Immaculate Conception". Civil authorities try to have Bernadette declared insane, while Abbé Peyramale, the fatherly cleric who once doubted her and now becomes her staunchest ally, asks for a formal investigation to find out if Bernadette is a fraud, insane, or genuine.
The grotto is closed and the Bishop of Tarbes (Charles Waldron) declares that unless the Emperor (Jerome Cowan) orders the grotto to be opened, there will be no investigation by the church. He says this will be a test for Bernadette's "lady". Shortly thereafter, the Emperor's infant son falls ill and, under instructions from the Empress (Patricia Morison), the child's nanny obtains a bottle of the water. Arrested for violating the closure order, she appears in court, identifies herself as the Empress' employee, and pays the fines of the other persons who attempted to enter the grotto, so that they need serve no time in jail. The magistrate permits her to go and to take the bottle of water with her. The Emperor's son drinks the water and recovers. The Empress believes that his recovery is miraculous, but the Emperor is not sure. The Empress upbraids him for doubting God, and at her insistence, the Emperor gives the order to reopen the grotto. The Bishop of Tarbes then directs the commission to convene. The investigation takes many years, and Bernadette is questioned again and again, but the commission eventually determines that Bernadette experienced visions and was visited by the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
Bernadette prefers to go on with an ordinary life, work, and possible marriage, but Peyramale does not think it is appropriate to turn Bernadette loose in the world, and persuades her to become a nun at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, the Saint Gildard Convent. She is subjected to normal although rigorous spiritual training and hard work, but also emotional abuse from a cold and sinister Sister Vauzous, her former school teacher, who is now mistress of novices at the convent. Sister Vauzous is skeptically jealous of all the attention Bernadette has been receiving as a result of the visions. She reveals this to Bernadette, saying she is angry that God would choose Bernadette instead of her when she has spent her life in suffering in service of God. She says Bernadette has not suffered enough and wants a "sign" proving Bernadette really was chosen by Heaven.
Bernadette makes a revelation to Sister Vauzous which is later diagnosed as tuberculosis of the bone. The condition causes intense pain, yet Bernadette has never complained or so much as mentioned it. The jealous sister, realizing her error and Bernadette's saintliness, begs for forgiveness in the chapel, and vows to serve Bernadette for the rest of her life. Knowing she is dying, Bernadette sends for Abbé Peyramale (who in reality died a few years before Bernadette) and tells him of her feelings of unworthiness and her concern that she will never see the lady again. But the lady appears in the room, smiling and holding out her arms. Only Bernadette can see her, however, and with a cry of "I love you! I love you! Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me", she reaches out to the apparition, and falls back dead. Peyramale utters the final words of the film, "You are now in Heaven and on earth. Your life begins, O Bernadette".
Cast
- Jennifer Jones as Bernadette Soubirous
- Charles Bickford as Abbé Dominique Peyramale
- William Eythe as Antoine Nicoleau
- Gladys Cooper as Marie Therese Vauzou, Mistress of Novices for Bernadette
- Vincent Price as Vital Dutour, Imperial Prosecutor
- Lee J. Cobb as Dr. Dozous
- Anne Revere as Louise Casterot Soubirous, Bernadette's mother
- Roman Bohnen as François Soubirous, Bernadette's father
- Mary Anderson as Jeanne Abadie, Bernadette's friend
- Patricia Morison as Empress Eugenie
- Jerome Cowan as Emperor Napoleon III
- Aubrey Mather as Mayor Lacade
- Charles Dingle as Jacomet
- Edith Barrett as Croisine Bouhouhorts
- Sig Ruman as Louis Bouriette
- Blanche Yurka as Bernarde Casterot, Bernadette's aunt
- Ermadean Walters as Marie Soubirous, Bernadette's sister
- Marcel Dalio as Callet
- Pedro de Cordoba as Dr. LeCramps
- Linda Darnell as the Immaculate Conception (uncredited)
- Alan Napier as Dr. Debeau, the psychiatrist (uncredited)
- Connie Leon as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Edward Van Sloan as Doctor (uncredited)
Historical accuracy
The plot follows the novel by Franz Werfel, which is not a documentary but a historical novel blending fact and fiction. Bernadette's real-life friend Antoine Nicolau is portrayed as being deeply in love with her and vowing to remain unmarried when Bernadette enters the convent. No such relationship is documented as existing between them. The government authorities, in particular Imperial Prosecutor Vital Dutour (played by Vincent Price) are portrayed as being much more anti-religion than they actually were,[8] and in fact Dutour was himself a devout Catholic who simply thought Bernadette was hallucinating. Other portrayals come closer to historical accuracy, particularly Anne Revere and Roman Bohnen as Bernadette's overworked parents, Charles Bickford as Father Peyramale, and Blanche Yurka as formidable Aunt Bernarde.
The film ends with the death of Bernadette and does not mention the exhumation of her body or her canonization, as the novel does.
The film combines the characters of Vital Dutour and the man of letters Hyacinthe de La Fite, who appears in the novel and believes he has cancer of the larynx. La Fite does not appear at all in the movie. In the film it is Dutour who is dying of cancer of the larynx at the end, and who goes to the Lourdes shrine, kneels at the gates to the grotto and says, "Pray for me, Bernadette."
Music
Igor Stravinsky was initially informally approached tor write the film score. On 15 February 1943, he started writing music for the "Apparition of the Virgin" scene. However, the studio never approved a contract with Stravinsky, and the project went to Alfred Newman, who won an Oscar. The music Stravinsky had written for the film made its way into the second movement of his Symphony in Three Movements.[9]
Awards and honors
The film was a great success both critically and financially. The Song of Bernadette won four Oscars in the 1943 Academy Awards:[10]
- Best Actress in a Leading Role - Jennifer Jones
- Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White - James Basevi, William S. Darling, and Thomas Little
- Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
- Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
In addition, the film was nominated for a further eight categories:[11]
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Charles Bickford
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Gladys Cooper
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Anne Revere
- Best Director
- Best Film Editing
- Best Picture
- Best Sound, Recording - E. H. Hansen
- Best Writing, Screenplay
In the first Golden Globe Awards in 1944, the film won three awards:
- Best Director – Motion Picture
- Best Motion Picture – Drama
- Best Motion Picture Actress - Jennifer Jones
Also, the film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[12]
- 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated[13]
Radio adaptation
The Song of Bernadette was presented on Hollywood Star Time April 21, 1946. The 30-minute adaptation starred Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb, Pedro DeCordoba, and Vanessa Brown.[14]
See also
References
- ^ The Song of Bernadette at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ "The Song of Bernadette (1944)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ Stanley, Fred (7 March 1943). "A NEW SPIRITUAL RESURGENCE IN HOLLYWOOD: Studios Now Look Favorably On Religious Themes". The New York Times. p. X3.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 8 January 1964 p 69
- ^ "Top Grossers of the Season". Variety. 5 January 1944. p. 54.
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 220. ISBN 978-0810842441.
- ^ "The Song of Bernadette". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ Trochu, François (1 January 1957). Saint Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879. Tan Books. ISBN 978-1787201194. Trochu provides background information on Bernadette's "inquisitors", revealing that they were not atheists or even freethinkers.
- ^ Walsh, Stephen (30 September 2011). Stravinsky: The Second Exile: France and America 1934-1971. p. 144. ISBN 978-1407064482. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ "Movie Award Goes to Jennifer Jones". The New York Times. United Press. 2 March 1944. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 41 (2): 32–41. Spring 2015.
Further reading
- John Bear, The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
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- 1943 films
- 1940s biographical films
- 1940s drama films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American films
- American biographical films
- American black-and-white films
- Best Drama Picture Golden Globe winners
- English-language films
- Films scored by Alfred Newman
- Films about Catholic nuns
- Films about Christianity
- Films about religion
- Films about Roman Catholicism
- Films based on American novels
- Films directed by Henry King
- Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance
- Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe-winning performance
- Films set in France
- Films set in the 1850s
- Films set in the 1860s
- Films set in the 1870s
- Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award
- Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
- Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
- Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe
- Our Lady of Lourdes
- Portrayals of the Virgin Mary in film
- Cultural depictions of Napoleon III