A Few Points Noticed from a First Viewing

When Mrs. Spence recites the Methodist Discipline, she mentions tobacco, dancing, gambling, and probably a few other things, but I was slightly floored that she OMITTED ALCOHOL! This is a HUGE BIG DEAL with some Methodists even NOW (and I could cite examples). Also, this conversation took place well before Prohibition passed nationwide in 1917, so it was not a given that alcohol was illegal all over the country at the time. Neither was it still in effect when the film came out so it wasn't that either. Before 1917 there were wet and dry states. I think the family was still in Iowa during this part so maybe it was a dry state.

When did placing the American flag at the front of a church (on what would be termed the platform or dais) become a thing? The scene prominently featuring the flag took place during the First World War so it could well have been a practice then. In my experience I have seen the American flag placed anywhere from very prominently at the front of the church to well to the side depending on who was doing the placing and even heard a few mutterings suggesting it didn't belong there at all.

The thing with the choir harpies (mangling one of my favorite hymns, and very hilariously) and the attack on the children's choir. OH HELL YEAH! If or when I write a book about my young years, it will include an episode of a certain choir-singing, backstabbing Sunday School teacher. Lovely rendering of the children's hymn from Hansel and Gretel with a beautiful second verse, wonder who was responsible for that? (Performed by members of the Robert Mitchell Boys' Choir with the addition of 12 girls.) Also, applause or lack thereof. There was utter silence following the hymn, absolutely correct for the time period. Once in grade school when our music teacher sang a religious song (which you could do then without being arrested) the class gave him loud applause and he reproved us saying religious music was meant to give the glory to God and should not be applauded. This was in the early 1970s and made a deep impression. Somehow over the following years this rule went right out the window and now even a choir's weakest offering is met with at least some applause. I have even seen a minister who asked that his rendering of a religious song not be applauded who was applauded anyway. One will notice the rule was not against applause in church. A few moments later, little Fraser starts a round of thunderous applause, but it is for the children's choir taking over, not for the hymn itself.

The mother mentioning that little Fraser "came as a surprise." The exact same situation happened with the Methodist minister's family across the street, who had a girl and boy nearly the exact ages that Eileen and Hartzell were when Fraser was born, and had a baby boy, who it was whispered was at least an afterthought if not an outright mistake!

There was one continuity error concerning the Great Depression, when Dr. Spence visits the old man in the garage who commends him on helping people through the Depression. Since the oldest son, Hartzell, was born in 1907 and was still in high school, this can have taken place no later than about 1924 when the Depression didn't start until 1929.

The big question I had was about the cathedral Dr. Spence supposedly built "with a little help from his friends" in Denver in the mid to late 1920s. I wanted to know if it was still standing and could find no mention of it anywhere, only that the First United Methodist Church of Fort Dodge, Iowa (which has at least three Methodist Churches), dedicated in 1915, is known as the "One Foot in Heaven" church due to being built when Dr. Spence was pastor. Is it possible the whole thing about Denver was kinda fudged because Denver being a large city the church biddies couldn't be identified as specific small town residents? Were the Spences ever in Denver at all, and was Dr. Spence involved in building a second church? Because in 1915 Hartzell would have been only eight years old and can't possibly have been the subject of the kind of vicious gossip he was in the movie, so I wondered if that actually happened elsewhere or at all. Inquiring minds want to know.