The Pop Stars Moonlighting Blogathon 2020 – The Miracle of the Bells (1948)

This is a submission for the The Pop Star Moonlighting Blogathon being run by Gill of RealWeegieMidget

Tnx for letting me take part!

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“It’s a shame. A house like this. I think your church needs a press agent Father. – Bill

“God doesn’t need a press agent.” – Father Paul

“I’m not so sure, once upon a time if I remember rightly, he had 12 very good press agents. Top men.” – Bill

“My my, I never thought of the apostles as press agents.” – Father Paul

“Well, what else were they? They sold the biggest story that ever happened to the whole world and without the benefit of newspapers and radio. Terrific job.” – Bill

Number of Times Seen – 1 (10 Mar 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A press agent bring the body of a recently deceased actress back to her hometown and tries to understand what happened to her.

My Take on it – When searching for films to watch for this blogathon, I came across this one.
I knew nothing about it besides the fact that it was one of Frank Sinatra’s earliest films were he has a prominent role.

They do a great job telling this story in a fascinating way that keeps this quite enjoyable throughout.

Really liked the way that they tell things using lots of flashbacks in order to help us get a better grip on everything going on .

Things move backwards and forwards in time and this is done in a clever way that helps keep things within perspective of when the events occurred in time.

Fred MacMurray is great in the lead role and really makes us believe the kind of work tat he needs to do as a press agent for a rising star in Hollywood.

Frank Sinatra tho really stands out here in a supporting role as a priest trying to understand the story of this young star who’s life was cut so short.

This actually helps both the audience and the characters try and learn about the past in order to get a clearer picture about the present.

This movie also does a great job showing us the way that various elements factor in to the decision making process in Hollywood especially in regard to how and when a film should be released.

Lee J. Cobb is perfectly cast as the film executive who looks at every aspect of the situation from various perspectives in order to make a well informed economic decision.

They do a nice job giving the viewer a better understanding of things especially from both the personal and religious viewpoint.

Bottom Line – Really enjoyable movie that is able to tell a story like this from a very fascinating perspective. Liked the way that the story is told in flashback sequences and things move back and forth in time throughout the course of the film. MacMurray is great in the lead role and really makes us believe everything that he needs to do here as a press agent. Sinatra is also great in the role of a local priest trying to help him sort through the past in order to get a better understanding of everything going on. The movie gives a nice perspective on the various factors used in the decision making process of the studio heads with regards to release and production of a movie. Cobb is perfectly cast as a film executive in this film. The story works quite well and allows us to get a clear understanding of everything going on both from a religious and a personal viewpoint. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Rumor had it that Ben Hecht took the screenplay assignment on condition he didn’t have to read the book. Quentin Reynolds, who is credited onscreen as screenwriter, supposedly read the book and reported its contents to Hecht. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)

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