Where Angels Go Trouble Follows!

Columbia and Roz Russell had a huge hit in Trouble With Angels and this film is the sequel. While Roz Russell's peers had to do horror films to stay in the public eye, Roz -along with Kate Hepburn and Lucille Ball-remained top of he bill movie stars. Ms. Russell repeats her role as Mother Superior and this film is cast with a lot of great character actors including Mary Wickes and Milton Berle. I am pleased this film casts the Catholic religion in a positive light, and why not? Ms. Russell was a devout Church going Catholic.

Ms.Russell is likely the most glaring example of a major star and actress that never won an Oscar.

Stella Stevens appears as a young modern thinking nun sometimes at odds with Mother Superior. Ms. Stevens is to me the most under appreciated star I have ever seen pass thru Hollywood with a gallery of great performances where she played Hookers, Tramps, Drug Addicts and also delightful in comedy such as this one and a two movies with Dean Martin, The Silencers and How To Save A Marriage and Ruin Your Life. A lovely actress, who somehow never reached the true levels of super-stardom Ms. Stevens deserved and I feel earned. I suggest film students study Stevens work in Synanon, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Nutty Professor, The Poisedon Adventure, et al. A great actress who let her work speak for itself. In Stevens' heyday Stella Stevens worked with Gene Hackman, Roz Russell, Glenn Ford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley, Jeffrey Hunter, and film makers such as Hal Wallis, and Sam Peckinpah. I wish Stella Stevens had worked with Billy Wilder who would have surely gotten an Oscar nomination for this fine Actress.

Old fashion Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) is struggling to change with the times. Sister George (Stella Stevens) is the young rebellious nun. They take the girls of St. Francis Academy on a cross-country bus trip.

This is a sequel to the 1966 movie with Rosalind Russell returning. Hayley Mills didn't return. This one is missing her star power. Stella Stevens is perfectly fine, but not the same thing. Among the girls, I do recognize Susan Saint James despite her very short hair do. She is supposed to be the new Hayley Mills although that's asking a lot. With this one, they are trying to tap into the counter-culture and the changing times. The comedy is rather tame with some boy-crazy teen drama. The biker gang section is trying to do some interesting darkness. Milton Berle makes a short appearance as a John Ford type character. There are some interesting stops along the way, but it's not adding up to anything bigger.

This was the sequel to "The Trouble with Angels", which was an excellent mid-'60s teen movie. To some, "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" was a disappointing follow-up. To me, I have always liked both very much, but I always preferred this one a little more out of the two. The reason being, it reflects the late '60s so much, it's so dated and borderline campy. This is what is appealing about the movie. The plotline is basic: a cross country trek to a religious convention, and all of the trials and tribulations the girls go through while they are on route. What 'makes' this movie is Stella Stevens as the hip & groovy liberated Nun that pickets against "the man", stands up to bikers, and later finds out what role she plays is in her students life. If you go in expecting this movie to be like the original, then you are setting yourself up for a big disappointment. If you liked other late '60s movies like "How Sweet It Is", "Impossible Years","Divorce, American Style", "Yours, Mine, and Ours" and "The Love God?", then you will definitely enjoy this late '60s groovy movie.

This is another of those cases when I have seen the sequel before I saw the original, and from what I have seen this is another in those rare cases in which the sequel is better than the original. This film worked for me on two levels. On one level it was a pretty decent story about Marvel Ann (who was more of a peripheral character in the original) and how she tries to cope with her feelings about being a sort of ugly duckling. This is especially true in her scenes with her more attractive best friend Rosabelle (played by a very young Susan Saint James in her pre-"MacMillan and Wife" days). Also, the other main story that this film covers is the relationship between Reverend Mother (again played by Rosalind Russell) and Sister George (played by Stella Stevens). The relationship between those two is a reflection of what was going on in the Catholic church during the mid to late 1960's as this film came out a few years after Vatican II. Reverend Mother represents the old church and Sister George represents the younger face of Catholicism that is trying to change with the times. This is a wonderful film that really works as both a comedy and a drama.

I was pleasantly surprised that this movie still holds charm after all these years. I originally saw it when I was much younger, and the only things I remembered were the railroad tracks and the song that is played throughout the film. After watching it with a more mature film-viewing mind, it's still worthwhile. Extremely campy. Clearly dated, but very illuminating. The subject matter is probably more relevant if you have religious leanings, although they aren't required. And oddly, I felt like the song was very Monkees-esquire, but never knew that it had a direct connection. Search it out for a trippy, lovey time in 1968.

I wonder if the dance sequence was an inspiration for Austin Powers?