| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Rosalind Russell | ... | ||
| Binnie Barnes | ... |
Sister Celestine
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| Camilla Sparv | ... | ||
| Mary Wickes | ... |
Sister Clarissa
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| Marge Redmond | ... |
Sister Liguori
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| Dolores Sutton | ... | ||
| Margalo Gillmore | ... |
Sister Barbara
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| Portia Nelson | ... |
Sister Elizabeth
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| Marjorie Eaton | ... |
Sister Ursula
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| Barbara Bell Wright | ... |
Sister Margaret
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| Judith Lowry | ... |
Sister Prudence
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| Hayley Mills | ... | ||
| June Harding | ... | ||
| Barbara Hunter | ... | ||
| Bernadette Withers | ... |
Valerie
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Coming of age story for two girls, Mary Clancy and Rachel Devery, who find themselves as students at the St. Francis Academy, a Catholic boarding school for girls. The story spans three years and follows the girls and their many pranks including setting off fire alarms, smoking cigars in the basement and putting bubble baths in the nuns' sugar bowls. As the girls mature, they gain a greater respect for their teachers and the commitment and devotion required to be a nun, leading one of them to make a life changing decision. Written by garykmcd
"The Trouble With Angels" starts out as a fairly standard Hayley Mills teen comedy. She and June Harding play the roles of two reluctant students at St. Francis, a Catholic school run by nuns. Rosalind Russell is excellent in the role of Mother Superior as is the rest of the cast.
The story is fairly simple so there isn't much to say about it. The girls are rebellious and play many pranks on the sisters, but gradually, as the movie progresses and the girls reach their final year at St. Francis it transitions gently and believably into a very touching and poignantly bittersweet ending. It never fails to get to me emotionally.
I'm a sucker for a good tear-jerker and in terms of sheer lachrymosity this one rates right up there with "My Dog Skip", "The Return of the King", "The Bishop's Wife", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Born Free" and "The Family Way" and the final episode of "The Flame Trees of Thika" (the last two also starring Hayley Mills). Something about kids and animals and saying goodbye - it always starts the waterworks going for me.
The secret, as always, is to create characters that you really get to know and care about. It also helps to have good music and Jerry Goldsmith wrote a very memorable score for this film.
I highly recommended this movie for kids who haven't yet been jaded by the rubbish that Hollywood produces these days.