The Trouble with Angels (1966)

Director:

Ida Lupino

Writers:

Blanche Hanalis (screenplay)
Jane Trahey (novel)

Release Date:

30 March 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's the habit forming comedy the whole family can enjoy!

Plot:

Two high-spirited young students at St. Francis Academy For Girls keep things hopping for the challenged Mother Superior and her staff of bewildered Sisters.

Plot Keywords:

Mother Superior | Student | School | Nun | Convent

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Rosalind Russell	...	Mother Superior (Rev. Mother)
Binnie Barnes	...	Sister Celestine
Camilla Sparv	...	Sister Constance
Mary Wickes	...	Sister Clarissa
Marge Redmond	...	Sister Liguori
Dolores Sutton	...	Sister Rose Marie
Margalo Gillmore	...	Sister Barbara
Portia Nelson	...	Sister Elizabeth
Marjorie Eaton	...	Sister Ursula
Barbara Bell Wright	...	Sister Margaret
Judith Lowry	...	Sister Prudence
Hayley Mills	...	Mary Clancy
June Harding	...	Rachel Devery
Barbara Hunter	...	Marvel-Ann Clancy
Bernadette Withers	...	Valerie

Also Known As:

Life with Mother Superior (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:S | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Eaves Movie Ranch - 105 Rancho Alegre Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The exterior shots were filmed at St. Mary's Home, an orphanage, in Ambler, Pennsylvania. The main building looks like a stone castle and is still standing. It was featured prominently in the film but all the interior shots were done in a studio in California.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Rachel knocks over the bust in the art room, there is already debris on the floor from something else (probably another bust used in a take) and when Rachel goes to pick up the pieces of the newly broken bust, she picks up the stuff that was already there.

Quotes:

Mary Clancy: I'm not a child. I'm a midget with bad habits.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Kids in the Hall: (#1.3)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Rachel Says Goodbye

My favorite "personal" film of all time.

There is more TRUTH in this honest and extremely funny movie about two young hellfires coming of age in a convent school than in all the subsequent expose-type movies, like Monsignor, purporting to reveal the truth behind the hypocracies (admittedly there, but extremely exaggerated) of the Catholic church. Having spent 9 years in female-only Catholic school, I must report that this movie strikes not a single false chord. The movie, instead, accurately portrays nicely the relationship a Catholic feels with God.

The girls are rebellious, defiant, and a bit hyperactive, very reminiscent of my own restless youth. The nuns are equally real, reflecting exasperation and frustration when appropriate, but always within proper boundaries.

One amazing thing about this film is the seamless transitions it constantly makes from drama and comedy and back again. Even the physical humor, while screamingly funny, is always contained within real situations. Moments with Rosalind Russell, Camilla Sparv, Marge Redmond, and Marge Redmond are filled with extraordinarily real emotions, and the last 20 minutes seamlessly weaves the serious and the comic into a truthful pastiche which is respectful without ever being preachy, and infused with a heavy dose of Russell's unique personality.

Don't miss the opportunity to share this timeless classic with your daughters!