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IMDbPro

The Nun's Story

  • 19591959
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,638
1,435
The Nun's Story (1959)
Trailer for The Nun's Story
Play trailer3:12
1 Video
72 Photos
  • Drama
After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,638
1,435
  • Director
    • Fred Zinnemann
  • Writers
    • Robert Anderson(screenplay)
    • Kathryn Hulme(book)
  • Stars
    • Audrey Hepburn
    • Peter Finch
    • Edith Evans
Top credits
  • Director
    • Fred Zinnemann
  • Writers
    • Robert Anderson(screenplay)
    • Kathryn Hulme(book)
  • Stars
    • Audrey Hepburn
    • Peter Finch
    • Edith Evans
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 106User reviews
    • 32Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 8 Oscars
      • 11 wins & 24 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Nun's Story
    Trailer 3:12
    The Nun's Story

    Photos72

    Audrey Hepburn and Peter Finch in The Nun's Story (1959)
    Audrey Hepburn and Peggy Ashcroft in The Nun's Story (1959)
    Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story (1959)
    Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story (1959)
    Audrey Hepburn and Peter Finch in The Nun's Story (1959)
    3623-100 "Nun's Story, The" Audrey Hepburn and Peter Finch
    3623-108 "Nun's Story, The" Audrey Hepburn on the set
    33-308 Audrey Hepburn "Nun's Story" 1959 Warner Bros.
    3623-6 "Nun's Story, The" Audrey Hepburn on the set
    3623-5 "Nun's Story, The" Audrey Hepburn on the set
    Audrey Hepburn in the Belgian Congo during the making of "The Nun's Story"
    Audrey Hepburn in the Belgian Congo during the making of "The Nun's Story"

    Top cast

    Edit
    Audrey Hepburn
    Audrey Hepburn
    • Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal)as Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal)
    Peter Finch
    Peter Finch
    • Dr. Fortunatias Dr. Fortunati
    Edith Evans
    Edith Evans
    • Rev. Mother Emmanuel (Belgium)as Rev. Mother Emmanuel (Belgium)
    • (as Dame Edith Evans)
    Peggy Ashcroft
    Peggy Ashcroft
    • Mother Mathilde (Africa)as Mother Mathilde (Africa)
    • (as Dame Peggy Ashcroft)
    Dean Jagger
    Dean Jagger
    • Dr. van der Malas Dr. van der Mal
    Mildred Dunnock
    Mildred Dunnock
    • Sister Margharita (Mistress of Postulants)as Sister Margharita (Mistress of Postulants)
    Beatrice Straight
    Beatrice Straight
    • Mother Christophe (Sanatorium)as Mother Christophe (Sanatorium)
    Patricia Collinge
    Patricia Collinge
    • Sister William (Convent Teacher)as Sister William (Convent Teacher)
    Rosalie Crutchley
    Rosalie Crutchley
    • Sister Eleanoras Sister Eleanor
    Ruth White
    Ruth White
    • Mother Marcella (School of Medicine)as Mother Marcella (School of Medicine)
    Barbara O'Neil
    Barbara O'Neil
    • Mother Didyma (Wartime Hospital)as Mother Didyma (Wartime Hospital)
    Margaret Phillips
    Margaret Phillips
    • Sister Pauline (Medical Student)as Sister Pauline (Medical Student)
    Patricia Bosworth
    Patricia Bosworth
    • Simone (Postulant who changed her mind)as Simone (Postulant who changed her mind)
    Colleen Dewhurst
    Colleen Dewhurst
    • Archangel Gabriel (Sanatorium)as Archangel Gabriel (Sanatorium)
    Stephen Murray
    Stephen Murray
    • Chaplain (Father Andre)as Chaplain (Father Andre)
    Lionel Jeffries
    Lionel Jeffries
    • Dr. Goovaerts (School of Tropical Medicine)as Dr. Goovaerts (School of Tropical Medicine)
    Niall MacGinnis
    Niall MacGinnis
    • Father Vermeuhlen (Leprosarium)as Father Vermeuhlen (Leprosarium)
    Eva Kotthaus
    Eva Kotthaus
    • Sister Marie (Sanatorium)as Sister Marie (Sanatorium)
    • Director
      • Fred Zinnemann
    • Writers
      • Robert Anderson(screenplay)
      • Kathryn Hulme(book)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was one of Audrey Hepburn's favorite of her films. It was also one of her most financially successful.
    • Goofs
      When the patient in the Congo hospital is being attended by several people, the voice of the actor playing the patient is obviously dubbed over by actor Dean Jagger, who plays Sister Luke's father in the film.
    • Quotes

      Sister Luke: You can cheat your sisters, but you cannot cheat yourself or God.

      Rev. Mother Emmanuel: Have you struggled long enough to say surely that you've come to the end?

      Sister Luke: I think I've been struggling all these years, Reverend Mother. In the beginning each struggle seemed different from the one before it. But then they began to repeat, and I saw they all had the same core: obedience. Without question, without inner murmuring. Perfect obedience as Christ practiced it. As I no longer can.

      Rev. Mother Emmanuel: Yes?

      Sister Luke: There are times when my conscience asks which has priority. It or the Holy Rule? When the bell calls me to chapel, I often have to sacrifice what might be the decisive moment in a spiritual talk with a patient. I'm late every day for chapel or refectory or both. When I have night duty I break the Grand Silence because I can no longer cut short a talk with a patient who seems to need me. Mother, why must God's helpers be struck dumb by five bells in the very hours when men in trouble want to talk about their souls?

    • Connections
      Featured in Hey Dad..!: Testing Time (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Voi Che Sapete
      from "The Marriage of Figaro"

      Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as W. A. Mozart)

      Played by Gabi and her father on the piano, and recurring throughout the film's score.

    User reviews106

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    A Very High-Quality Film
    I was amazed how a long, fairly slow film like this could capture and keep my attention all the way through.....but it did. This is really a quality film, as those who have seen it for years, will attest. It's so well done, in all phases, that when the two-and-a-half hours are up, you just marvel and what you've witnessed.

    Anyone who has tried to live a perfect life, to please God and never offend Him with sins of any nature, knows it is impossible. It is a noble pursuit, but an exercise in futility that can lead to utter frustration. That is the dilemma we witness here in this film through the life of a well-meaning and sweet-as-can-be Belgian lady: "Gabrielle van der Mal" who is renamed "Sister Luke" after completing her training as a nun in the 1930s. Audrey Hepburn is superb as this woman, who has the greatest of spiritual intentions and a heart not only for God but to be a great nurse and follow in her father's footsteps, a famous physician in his country.

    Can't she be both? The answer, of course, is "yes," but that's not the answer she receives periodically at the convent, or interprets because she's so tough on herself, and it causes great inner conflict.

    Hepburn doesn't have tons of dialog in here and doesn't require it. The different looks on her face during this long story, especially when there is disappointment, are priceless. They are so subtle, but so telling. I am one who would vote for this film as Audrey's best performance, which is saying a lot.
    helpful•30
    2
    • ccthemovieman-1
    • Nov 17, 2009

    FAQ8

    • Is "The Nun's Story" based on a book?
    • Why did Gabrielle want to become a nun?
    • Why was Gabrielle's name changed to "Sister Luke"?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 18, 1959 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Geschichte einer Nonne
    • Filming locations
      • Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,500,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 29 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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