The Singer Not the Song

Another of these movies where Dirk Bogarde got lost.Why on earth did he have to get involved in that business?The screenplay has enormous pretensions and suggests homosexual tendencies between the priest and the all dressed-in-black Bogarde as well as a love which blonde Mylène Demongeot feels for the same priest!which is a bit too much!Luis Bunuel could have got away with it,but the director here is not in the same league.The screenplay is incoherent and the three leads are finally unconvincing.The title is absurd (Bogarde likes the singer (the priest?) but not his song(his Christian message?).It was also to be a Rolling Stone song with a nice dulcimer arrangement by Brian JOnes in the mid-sixties.

But here Bogarde's fans can have a look,but be warned:it's the actor,not the movie.

This unusual 'Western' is all a bit of mess. But some of the ingredients are rather tasty and juicy and so, it is actually quite enjoyable.

John Mills, as the priest, supposedly Irish but who's accent is only about 10% that, does OK but doesn't shine. Apparently Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift were first choices for his part. And on set, he didn't get on with arch rival desperado outlaw, Dirk Bogarde - and it shows.

Bogarde's high-camp dandy of an outlaw would make you laugh if this film wasn't so serious. To many, the ongoing religiosity - I won't go so far to say 'sermonising' between the Church (Catholic, in this case) - could be a turn-off.

I was trying to place the film's setting, period wise but can't find mention of it but would guess 1930-40s and a remote village in Mexico (actually Spain). Aside of its two English leads and the above, the final third in the triangle is a beautiful blonde French young actress, Mylene Demongeot. As I said, quite a mish-mash that makes a tastier dish than it should.

Trying to simplify the plot, I'll say that Mills takes over from another priest who is disenchanted and can't wait to get out. Mills, the idealist and good-doer can't believe him when he says that the Church is hated in the village, led by the local gangster, Bogarde. This desperado punishes any that assist or even go to church. Demongeot is the daughter of a local man who helps the priest. Apparently, she's in love with Mills, who presumes it's Bogarde that is her crush.

One day, a drunk man who Mills prays for comes to his lodgings after and tries to kill him. Bogarde saves his life and shoots the man, dead. The police, who have never had anything concrete to nail the crook on, try to arrest him but not only does Mills neither hand him over but absolves his sins. Thinking that he has redeemed an evil man....

And so it goes on. The girl is beautiful and nice to look at, Bogarde struts around gamely like a peacock and Mills is reliably nice.

The title - one of its strong points - refers to the man (the priest) rather than his song (Church, The Bible) as Bogarde came to have respect and admiration for Mills, rather than what he stood for.

The direction is a bit stodgy and as I saw it on commercial TV, it was cut up by frequent ads and in 4:3 ratio. And soft. And long, at 2.5 hours (on ITV)

Who thought that it would be a good idea to have the two main male parts played by actors with posh English accents in a film set in Mexico, I saw no trace of an Irish accent from John MIlls that's been mentioned by others. An interesting film let down by poor casting, Dirk's character should have been a lot more butch as he was as threatening as Julian Clary. John's priest should have been a lot younger. Set in the 1960s but in the style of the 1930's, a very odd jumble of a film.

This movie leaves so many various impressions on a viewer, it is impossible to form a final opinion. To begin with, it is a British western, with two great British actors in the leads. Then, there is the actress, looking quite like Bardot. And then, even the atmosphere reminded me of "Et Dieu... crea la femme" in certain scenes (Bogarde called it camp, and you can see why). During certain scenes you are thinking that it will go the way of other movies with similar plot ("Satan never sleeps" is an example), ending in infinite praise of the religion, without measure or sense. But then it turns the other way and surprises you. And in the end you come to see that even some deep religious deeds can be interpreted as acts of latent homosexual love... I know it sound bad but, somehow, unlike modern movies, the topic is introduced subtly. Anyway, you should see it yourself and decide whether you like it or not...

Slow-moving but compelling psychological Western about a determined priest who arrives at a small town that seems to be mysteriously dominated by a local bad guy, and decides to fight him in his own peaceful way; their confrontations make the movie. Literate script (just a quote: "Isn't that your job, Father; To keep hoping that any soul can be saved, even mine?", asks the bandit), exceptional acting by the two leads (and very unexceptional acting by Mylene Demongeot). (***)