MovieChat Forums > The Trouble with Angels (1966) Discussion > Last Hollywood film to show the Catholic...

Last Hollywood film to show the Catholic Church in a POSITIVE light?

posted 17 years ago by BillK-5
19 replies | jump to latest

I have long loved this film, but have been racking my brain to try and figure out if there were any
major Hollywood films made later that showed the Catholic Church in any type of positive light.

Even the film's "sequel," "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" showed the church as uptight and
outdated.

What's fun is to go back and rewatch the film and try and pick out each of the individual experiences that convinced Mary to enter the novitiate.

Except for the swooning over Jack Lemmon and Burt Lancaster, it holds up every bit as well today as it
ever did.

Now if the idiots at Columbia can be convinced to give it a proper anamorphic widescreen release instead of the Pan & Scan-only DVD release of a few years back.

For now I'll have to settle for my letterbox recording from Turner Classic Movies…

[–] bredbenner 17 years ago

You're probably right. Hollywood didn't make many more movies that showed the religion in a positive light. Although about seven years later, in The Exorcist, Catholic priests were made to look good.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rpniew 17 years ago

I'm realistic about the Catholic Church's problems, but I am really getting fed up with the way it is being portrayed. At best, it's portrayed in films and television as being hopelessly out of touch; at worst, every priest is being played as a pedophile. I know the Church's reaction to recent scandals hasn't helped their image very much, but how does Hollywood get away with the incessant bashing? Even when 24 portrayed the Moslem community in a negative light, they tried to show some semblance of balance. Replace "Catholic" with "Moslem", "Jewish", or "Black" and imagine the public outcry that would occur. (And, yes, I know Black isn't a religion; I'm talking about the characterization of an entire group.)

[–] Evcannon123 13 years ago

Seeing as how it's a pedophile enabling, child raping cult I think recent portrayals are spot on!

[–] jcb-nyc 12 years ago

Public school systems, yes.

You should be pretty familiar with that, since you're in, what, the sixth grade now?

[–] Evcannon123 12 years ago

No actually I am 51 years old. What are you? Suffering from syphlitic dementia> Must a a child raping priest.

[–] mikwalen 11 years ago

What a sad, bitter person you are.

[–] marktayloruk (2502) 3 years ago

It has been revealed that far too many priests and nuns were child abusers. I'm opposed to boarding schools on principle.

[–] roypart 17 years ago

I believe Sister Act was one of the most recent movies to portray the Catholic church in a positive light. By the way I'm a straight male in my 30's and I'd just watched TTwA tonight for the first time on TCM, and I loved it. The line by Haley Mills about her being a "midget with a bad habit" had me laughing out loud. Even the ending got me misty eyed.

[–] Nimble-Bird 17 years ago

Except for the swooning over Jack Lemmon and Burt Lancaster, it holds up every bit as well today as it ever did.

Oh I beg to differ! I think anyone from ANY era would find them swoonworthy!! (...if not, as Elayne Benes would say, spongeworthy!! )

Carpe DO'em!!

[–] lnoft97 17 years ago

Well, the Catholic Church has hurt a lot of people and turned off a lot more. It's just a big fat target, and no wonder. But I think all religions get mocked, more or less (Jewish mothers, anyone?), it's human nature. Roger Ebert has expressed admiration for the church and his Catholic education when he was growing up. He is quick to point this out in some of his writings when 'they' attack the church.

[–] QueenoftheDookie 17 years ago

Well the last one I remeber seeing was back in oh 98 I think called Wide Awake about a little boy trying to find god after his grandpa dies. Rosie O'Donald was in it, ya know before she because a psycho bitch, lol, she was a nun. It's an M. Night Shyamalan movie, I was surprised when I read that.

EVERYBODY DO THE COOL DANCE!

[–] holmswede 13 years ago

Well, that statement about "The Trouble with Angels" being the last Hollywood film to show the Catholic Church in a POSITIVE light" is a little querulous. Fore example, a couple years later, Hollywood studios produced "In the Shoes of the Fisherman" (with Anthony Quinn, David Janssen, Laurence Olivier and Burt Kwok, among many others) which placed the Catholic Church at the crux of saving the world from nuclear war as a solution to pending starvation. And that's just one example. As an earlier poster pointed out, it is a big and long-lived organization and so presents a big target and lots of human foibles infiltrating its every policy.

[–] michael1951 13 years ago

Just for one example, Romero (1989), imdb.com/title/tt0098219, with Raul Julia as Archbishop Oscar Romero.

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[–] Flora_Poste 13 years ago

"Dead Man Walking," which is based on the work of Sister Helen Prejean. That woman really lives her faith.

[–] Pyanfar 12 years ago

"Saving Grace" with Tom Conti. I'm not Catholic and have no desire to be, but if a real life Pope like Conti's charcter in the film was ever elected, I might have to think about it.

[–] belles-chaussettes 11 years ago

I keep thinking of this movie with Pope Francis.

[–] forn (30) a year ago

So obviously it wasn't the last movie to show the Catholic Church in a positive light. But they certainly don't make many such movies like that anymore. Back in those days there were more movies about Catholics, and with Catholic characters. It was kind of a genre of its own. I guess it's because the Catholic Church was a bigger part of the country back then.

I love this movie, and there are very spiritual parts in it, whether you are Catholic or not, but especially for Catholics I suppose. Like when Mother Superior says she found something better, when asked why she gave up becoming a fashion designer. And Mary's little fascinated moments with the day to day life of the nuns.

[–] [email protected] (2017) 10 months ago

The Daredevil tv series portrayed the Church and Catholicism in a good light. But other than that, I can only think of Korean films that portray the Church positively.