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The Bells of St. Mary's

The Bells of St. Mary's

Drama · Comedy · 1945

Father O'Malley is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements.

Movie details

The Bells of St. Mary's

“The Whole World's in Tune... with Bing and Bergman together at their most brilliant best!”

1945 Drama · Comedy 2h 6m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Father O'Malley is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Bells of St. Mary's?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Leo McCarey

Written by

Dudley Nichols · Leo McCarey

Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Father O'Malley

Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman

Sister Mary Benedict

Henry Travers

Henry Travers

Horace P. Bogardus

William Gargan

William Gargan

Joe Gallagher

Ruth Donnelly

Ruth Donnelly

Sister Michael

Joan Carroll

Joan Carroll

Patsy Gallagher

Martha Sleeper

Martha Sleeper

Mary Gallagher

Court is in session

Put The Bells of St. Mary's on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.