History in Color: The Bells of St Mary’s
Bing Crosby as Fr Chuck O’Malley and Ingrid Bergman as Sr Mary Benedict in the 1945 film The Bells of St Mary’s. Directed by Leo McCarey, like Crosby a Catholic, the movie revolves around the pair’s activities to save the titular church from the clutches of property developers. One sequence in the film is set at Advent and Christmas, with Crosby singing “Adeste Fideles” and children of the parish school putting on a charming, apparently improvised, Nativity Play. The Nativity Play can be viewed on YouTube
The Bells of St Mary’s is referenced in another Christmas classic. In a scene in 1946’s It’s A Wonderful Life (directed by Frank Capra, also a Catholic), its title is seen on a cinema’s marquee. In 2019, The Southern Cross’ Top 15 Christmas movies included both films.
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