6.3
The body of a young actress is brought to her home town by the man who loved her. He knows that she wanted all the church bells to ring for three days after she was buried, but is told that this will cost a lot of money. The checks that he writes to the various churches all bounce, but it is the weekend and, in desperation, he prays that a miracle will happen before the banks reopen. It does, but not in the way he hoped.
Fred MacMurray
William 'Bill' Dunnigan
Alida Valli
Olga Treskovna
Frank Sinatra
Father Paul
Lee J. Cobb
Marcus Harris
Harold Vermilyea
Nick Orloff
Charles Meredith
Father Spinsky
James Nolan
Tod Jones
Veronica Pataky
Anna Klovna
Philip Ahn
Ming Gow
Frank Ferguson
Dolan
Frank Wilcox
Dr. Jennings
Dorothy Sebastian
Miss Katie Orwin (uncredited)
Robert Bacon
Soldier in 'Joan of Arc'
Walter Bacon
Townsman
Sam Bagley
Crew Member
Brooks Benedict
Drunken Man
Oliver Blake
Slenka
Eddie Borden
Crew Member
Chet Brandenburg
Crew Member
Steve Carruthers
Worshiper
George Cathrey
Reporter
George Chandler
Max
Noble 'Kid' Chissell
Worshiper
Bill Clauson
Bellringer's Son
Mabel Colcord
Parishioner Witnessing Miracle
Roger Creed
Soldier in 'Joan of Arc'
Paul Cristo
Soldier in 'Joan of Arc'
Roy Darmour
Reporter
Ned Davenport
Priest in 'Joan of Arc'
Bert Davidson
Bob Briggs
James Dime
Miner
Al Eben
Miner
Herbert Evans
Nobleman in 'Joan of Arc'
Franklyn Farnum
Worshiper
Jack Gargan
Assistant Director
Robert Haines
Radio Listener
Jimmie Horan
Actor in Movie
Perry Ivins
Druggist
Dorothy Neumann
Miss Millhouser
Frank Pharr
Bellringer
Michael Raffetto
Harold Tanby, Harris' Assistant
Syd Saylor
Freddy Evans, the Pianist
Tom Stevenson
Milton Wild
Ray Teal
Koslick, Miner
Charles Wagenheim
Mr. Kummer
Max Wagner
Baggage Man
Regina Wallace
Martha
Billy Wayne
Tommy Elmore
Ian Wolfe
Grave Digger
Jean Spangler
Woman in Church
Director
Irving Pichel
Lyricist
Sammy Cahn
Novel
Russell Janney
Screenplay
Ben Hecht
Screenplay
Quentin Reynolds
July 9, 2022
6
This is actually quite an uplifting tale of an actress (Alida Valli) who wants to be buried back in her home town. Snag is, her one and only film is considered a bit of a stinker by the producer (Lee J. Cobb) and so when she dies the day after it's completion, a well-meaning Hollywood press man (Fred MacMurray) has to resort to creating a bit of a public interest storm to facilitate her last wish. To that end, he manages to convince local priest (Frank Sinatra) to let the body lie in his church and for the bells to ring for three days... It's told cleverly, partially using flashback, in a gently paced manner that does demonstrate some of the finer aspects of humanity countered by some of the less kind ones. Unfortunately, it does tend to over-correlate the better aspects of the story with the church a bit too much; not exactly a religious white-wash, but certainly a little naively simplistic when it comes to the characteristics of the benign journalist against the evil, malevolent producer. On the face of it, it is quite a fun film with a good performance from MacMurray and a slightly implausibly saintly Sinatra; but just a touch too sugary for me...
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$2,000,000.00
Revenue:
$2,100,000.00