Bing Crosby plays a priest in Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary's
About this episode
The episode discusses the portrayal of the Catholic Church and priesthood in the films 'Going My Way' and 'The Bells of St. Mary's' starring Bing Crosby.
Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) bring us back to a very different period in American culture, where the immensely popular singer Bing Crosby could make a movie playing a priest of essentially spotless character, and that movie could win six Oscars and be popular enough to get a sequel with the same character. But is that enough to make a great Catholic film, or to make midcentury Hollywood a model of what edifying cinema should be? These films, both directed by the great Leo McCarey, are entertaining to be sure, and heartwarming in their way. But as a portrayal of the Catholic Church and the priesthood, they are pretty shallow – holding up as ideal a young, hip priest because he sings, plays ball with the kids, and is kind and charismatic, without anything particularly spiritual about his actions or motives. A New Yorker review at the time said these films portrayed the Church "as a kind of settlement house where good works and jollity provide a lively substitute for religion". While we can enjoy these films for what they were, when we talk about a Catholic movie today, we are looking for something with more existential heft, spiritual and artistic depth…
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