The Singing Nun (1966)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

John Furia (story)
Sally Benson (writer) ...

Release Date:

2 April 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

GOT A HEART? Here's the picture for it!

Plot:

A Belgian nun, Sister Ann is sent to another order where she's at first committed to helping troubled souls like...

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Singing Nun | Convent | Priest | Recording Studio

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins

Cast

Debbie Reynolds	...	Sister Ann
Ricardo Montalban	...	Father Clementi
Greer Garson	...	Mother Prioress
Agnes Moorehead	...	Sister Cluny
Chad Everett	...	Robert Gerarde
Katharine Ross	...	Nicole Arlien
Ed Sullivan	...	Himself
Juanita Moore	...	Sister Mary
Ricky Cordell	...	Dominic Arlien
Michael Pate	...	Mr. Arlien
Tom Drake	...	Fitzpatrick
Larry D. Mann	...	Mr. Duvries
Charles Robinson	...	Marauder
Monique Montaigne	...	Sister Michele
Joyce Vanderveen	...	Sister Elise

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:11

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Loosely based on the true story of Soeur Sourire, who had a #1 pop hit in America with "Dominique". Unfortunately, the lovable nun was a one-hit wonder whose life did not continue happily after her brief blush of chart success. After leaving the church for a full-time music career, she ran into heavy financial problems and eventually took her own life.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Sister Ann and several other convent members perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, the women are forbidden to wear stage makeup--even though all of them have been sporting obvious foundation, blush, lipstick, mascara and even false eyelashes during rest of movie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1971)

Soundtrack:

Dominique

The Singing What????

Actually, this is not really as bad a movie as some would say it is. I think that it would have been more appreciated if it hadn't come out on the heels of the super-money maker "Sound of Music" which saved 20th Century Fox from going down-under into bankruptcy because of the very flopish Cleopatra which starred Liz and Dicky-Boy! We, here we have the Aba Daba Honeymoon girl Debbie Reynolds, who converted to the Jewish Religion because of her marriage to Eddie Fisher, playing a Christian Catholic Nun! Debbie Reynolds had really come a long way in there career from the days of playing Maureen the sister of the Daughter of Rosie O'Grady with June Haver to playing Helen Kane in Three Little Words; Three Weeks With Love, with Jane Powell who was also born on April Fools Day same as Debbie was, having a record hit with her and Carleton Carpenter singing Aba Daba Honeymoon. Then she later went to game in Singing in the Rain, playing a dog reincarnated into a female human form, and later in the wonderful Unsinkable Molly Brown, but to Debbies credit, n The Singing Nun she does some of her finest singing and it's incredible to hear her since she really never had one singing lesson exact for some coaching in her M.G.M. days, and coaching is not the same as taking singing lessons. Her singing is wonderful to hear! Then we have the rest of the cast trying to not look embarrassed for agreeing to appear in this film. You sometimes think that Ricardo Montalban is looking around thinking, "Where's Esther Williams to throw me in a swimming pool to do a water ballet to save this turkey!" Agnes Moorehead looks like she's trying to still play Endora on Bewitched. Tom Drake looks like he's looking around to see if Judy Garland will save him by doing some kind of singing duet. Greer Garson is playing the Mother Superior trying to still be Mrs. Minever. Chad Everett is still acting like Dr. Gannon in which he could say, as he did almost every Medical Hospiital show he was on "It's an aneurysm!" I wonder if that's what he thought of the movie? Debbie Reynolds was in an interview on Turner Classics and even though she and Gene Kelly hated each other in the making of Singing In The Rain, she did say that if it wasn't for what she learned from him she wouldn't have lasted in this business for 60 years. So, put it all together, The Singing Nun is not that bad of a movie, and you should see it in a movie theater with it's wide-screen and stereophonic sound to really appreciate it for what it is which is a great entertainment package for the whole family to enjoy together. Wonder what ever happened to that kind of movie? But, again, to give her credit, Debbie Reynolds does her finest singing ever, and she is a real joy to watch in this film!