The Song of Bernadette (1943)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

George Seaton (screenplay)
Franz Werfel (novel)

Release Date:

April 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Here is greatness . . . wonder . . . and majesty . . . no human words can describe!

Plot:

In 1858 France, Bernadette, an adolescent peasant girl, has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the city dump...

Plot Keywords:

Church | France | Virgin Mary | Dump | Prayer

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

William Eythe	...	Antoine Nicolau
Charles Bickford	...	Father Peyramale
Vincent Price	...	Prosecutor Vital Dutour
Lee J. Cobb	...	Dr. Dozous
Gladys Cooper	...	Sister Marie Therese Vauzous
Anne Revere	...	Louise Soubirous
Roman Bohnen	...	François Soubirous
Mary Anderson	...	Jeanne Abadie
Patricia Morison	...	Empress Eugenie
Aubrey Mather	...	Mayor Lacade
Charles Dingle	...	Jacomet
Edith Barrett	...	Croisine Bouhouhorts
Sig Ruman	...	Louis Bouriette
Blanche Yurka	...	Aunt Bernarde Casterot
Ermadean Walters	...	Marie Soubirous

Also Known As:

Franz Werfel's The Song of Bernadette (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

156 min | 158 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9317) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Netherlands:AL (2008) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:12 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Henry King himself directed the screen tests, instructing his actresses to look beyond the camera at a shining light. Jennifer Jones was the immediate front runner, as - according to King - she didn't just look, she saw.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Lady asks Bernadette to wash herself in the spring, Bernadette digs a hole and smears her face and hands with dark black mud. Moments later as the onlookers mock her, her aunt and mother take her away and the mud is gone from both her hands, while only slight fingermarks of mud remain on her cheeks.

Quotes:

Dr. Dozous: There was something about the girl that precluded laughter.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Music for the Movies: The Hollywood Sound (1995) (TV)

Jennifer Jones' deeply prayerful performance silently touches the hearts of all who watched this beautiful film...

Religious figures became big success in distinguished films like "Going My Way," "The Keys of the Kingdom," "The Bells of St. Mary's," and "The Song of Bernadette."

The film is the story of a simple peasant girl who wins the quality of a 'Saint.' Bernadette was born in an isolated French village called Lourdes, in January 7, 1844...

Jennifer Jones, in a well deserved Academy Award as Best Actress, performs Bernadette Soubirous, the eldest of 9 children from a poverty-stricken family, who would not find happiness in this world, but only in the next...

In 1858, at the age of 14, while gathering firewood, the pious Bernadette had numerous visions of a 'beautiful Lady' on a hillside, on the left bank of a stream... She reveals her identity with the words: "I am the Immaculate Conception."

Bernadette, faithfully, takes great care that her statements never exceed precisely what she has seen... The entire region is soon in an uproar over the events... Bernadette stands firmly defending the 'genuineness' of these visions despite strong opposition from her frightened parents (Anne Revere and Roman Bohnen), the local clergy (Charles Bickford) and civil authorities as the Imperial prosecutor, Vital Dutour (Vincent Price).

Events have become more stressful... Interrogations and prison are a constant threat... The small town is also put under strain... Swelling to several times its population, tensions increase as expectations on one poor child carrying the residents and visitors on an emotional roller coaster...

To escape public attention, Bernadette goes to a quieter life... She is granted admission into the novitiate in the Convent of the Sisters of Nevers... There she completes her religious instruction and passes her remaining years in prayer and seclusion... She was happy and loved for her kindliness and wit, despite almost constant sickness and pain, and despite Sister Marie-Thérese (Gladys Cooper) repeated harassment... This nun couldn't believe in her... She always wanted a proof...

Jennifer Jones is superb as the honest girl who declares that she is not very brilliant, but who never hesitates from her insurance of a miraculous contact...

Henry King's sensitive direction is marked by energy and interest, maintaining a steady clear vision on the heart of the story and its characters...

Alfred Newman's highly music is tender and spiritual...

I highly recommend this beautiful movie... And for the readers who are interested in Bernadette's story, I add that the town of Lourdes, situated at the foot of the Pyrénées, southwest of Toulouse, becomes a pilgrimage town... The underground spring in the grotto, revealed to Bernadette, was declared to have miraculous qualities... And since then this 'healing place' becomes a major pilgrimage center for sick or disabled multitudes...

Bernadette was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1933... Her feast day is February 18, in France and the chapel of the St. Gildard Convent at Nevers, contains her holly body...