The Miracle of the Bells

A film I had never seen before, and it is highly recommended for all those who believe in faith and miracles. A Hollywood press agent, Fred MacMurray, inspires a new actress to attain higher goals in movies; she is played by Valli, who underplays her role with much emotion. Lee J. Cobb plays the tough producer and director. She dies just before the film ends, so the film is shelved by the money men. But this press agent believes in her and goes back to her hometown of Coaltown, PA where there are only a few old churches. One of them is Catholic, and Frank Sinatra plays the Catholic priest, who the press agent tries to get him and all the other pastors and ministers of the other churches to ring their bells constantly at her funeral. The day comes and the Catholic Church is loaded with townspeople who witness angelic sculptures in the pulpit turning to look at the body of the actress, and causing a national stir of publicity. All of this causes the producer director to come to terms and release the film publicly. But there is more involved in this film because it shows how sincerely faith of any kind can cause miracles to happen. I found this film to be highly entertaining and highly underrated for the period of time it was made in 1948

Having viewed Miracle of the Bells at least 20 times, I still get inspired by its central theme, that the world is a good place and we can each make it a little better. What many "Bells" viewers might not know is that the (Alida) Vali role is based on a historical person named Olga Treskovna who came from Northeastern Pennsylvania. Some exteriors and rear-screen projection scenes were shot in and around Glen Lyon and Nanticoke, PA (where much of the action takes place). The real Olga Treskovna is buried in St. Michael's Cemetery (of course the Parish cemetery of St. Michael's Church which has recently been razed.) The real statue of St. Michael, however, is at this writing still in the church yard. After more than half a century, it's still an inspirational movie with great performances from Lee J. Cobb, Fred Mac Murray and Vali despite several warts of weak acting here and there by others.

If you get a chance check out the post I left on Helen Burgess's page on this site. Helen Burgess was a young contract player for Paramount who made four films. One of them was Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman where she played the second lead female role as Louisa Frederici Cody under Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, and James Ellison. She died of pneumonia at the age of 19 as the film was being released. This would have been a breakout role for her and she might have had a long screen career.

I'm sure that the creators of this film had Helen Burgess in mind when they made it. It's good in spots, I like the performances of Fred MacMurray, Alida Valli, Lee J. Cobb and Philip Ahn which another reviewer very correctly singled out.

I guess since Bing Crosby made such a hit as a priest Frank Sinatra had to try it. He lays one big omelet as Father Paul. He had to wait until Meet Danny Wilson for a part he could carry on acting as well as singing.

This film was also made in the days of John L. Lewis as head of the United Mine Workers. One of the big issues for that union was the pollution that caused the premature deaths of a lot of their members and families. In that sense Miracle of the Bells was a very socially relevant movie for its time and even today.

MIRACLE OF THE BELLS is often thought of as a Christmas movie because of a memorable Christmas Eve scene that occurs early in the film and because of the religious and spiritual themes present throughout. Not your standard Yuletide chestnut by any means, MIRACLE is a film of seriousness and substance that just occasionally feels weighted down by its earnest intentions. Alida Valli plays a young actress who rises from humble beginnings in a Pennsylvania coal mining town to become a sort of messiah-like figure for "her people" (her health is also doomed from having inhaled coal dust as a child). Fred MacMurray is the Hollywood Press agent who gives her a boost on the ladder of success in and falls in love with her in the process.

MacMurray is his genial and likable best, and the Italian-born Valli (THE THIRD MAN) is luminous. The film is worth seeing alone to see Frank Sinatra play a priest. He is surprisingly effective in the role. We often forget that in the early part of his career Sinatra had an angelic innocence about him, totally different from the Ratpack/swinger persona he would later cultivate. I make it a point to watch any movie with Lee J. Cobb in it, as he always had such a tremendous presence in films. He gives a fine performance as the movie mogul.

An occasional bit of levity would have been welcome in this very earnest film; but it nonetheless maintains an impressive, almost bleak post-war atmosphere - especially early on with Fred MacMurray's elegiac voice-overs recalling his dead sweetheart Alida Valli, and his dealings with a cynical funeral parlor director. The movie is refreshingly free from stereotypical '40's "schmaltz."

Despite being a little overlong, MIRACLE OF THE BELLS is a handsome film and one well worth seeing this Christmas season – or any other season, for that matter. I particularly recommend this movie if you happen to be Catholic.

I discovered this movie about ten years ago, on TV. The next day, a co-worker asked if I had watched it; I said yes, and we both agreed we had been moved by it. For my co-worker, this was not surprising; she was a Catholic. But for me, a Jewish semi-secular humanist, it was odd to admit I had felt something close to faith because of a late-40s studio picture. The message of "The Miracle of the Bells" is that regardless of one's faith, there is the possibility of hope. The goodness that exists in human beings is not brought out by rigid observance to rules, but by acts of kindness and understanding. I don't want to say how this comes about or whether there really is a miracle in the Biblical sense. That is for viewers to find out. But the film brings tears to my eyes. Alida Valli is amazing-watch her face, her eyes, especially in the sequences where she plays Joan of Arc-she seems lit from within by faith. I love the scene in the Chinese restaurant, a scene of friendship and love. I wish this movie, like its heroine, was more well-known. I try to help it along by mentioning it whenever I can as one of those little gems, a quiet picture that may make you think, a nice example of Hollywood fantasy films of the 1940s, and a movie that will help you feel better if you feel down.I know I just rented it for that reason.