FILM
1948 "Miracle of the Bells" (New York CityPremiere March 16, 1948)
Starring: Fred MacMurray, Alida Valli, Frank Sinatra, Lee J.Cobb
Produced by: Jesse L. Lasky Jr. and Walter MacEwen
Directed by: Irving Pichel
Granting her final request, a Hollywood press agent (MacMurray) bringsthe dead
body of an actress Olga Treskovna (Valli), who died after makingher first and
only film, back to her hometown for burial. To arousepublic interest, and to
get the reluctant studio head to release thefilm, he asks all the local
churches to ring their bells for three days.Sinatra plays Father Paul the
priest of the smaller and poorer Polish St.Michael's church where Olga's body
is to buried in accordance with Olga'swishes.
(DVD & Blu-Ray Release date: 2013-05-14)
Title:The Miracle of the BellsDirector:Irving PichelRelease Date:27 March
1948Premiere Information:World premiere in New York: 16 March 1948
HISTORYThe opening credits of the film read: "Jesse L. Lasky Productions, Inc.
presents Russell Janney's The Miracle of the Bells ." Contemporary news items
add the following information about the production: Lasky and co-producer
Walter MacEwen purchased Janney's novel in Oct 1946 for $100,000 plus five
percent of the producers' gross up to the first $4,000,000. After $4,000,000,
Janney was to receive ten percent of the producers' gross, with no maximum
limit set. Four other parties negotiated for the book's screen rights,
including William Cagney, who wanted the property as a vehicle for his brother,
James Cagney. At that time, Lasky and MacEwen reportedly made James Cagney a
"percentage offer" to play the part of "Bill Dunnigan." Janney was announced as
the picture's screenwriter at that time. Clark Gable and Cary Grant were also
considered for the lead male role. Many actresses were considered for the part
of "Olga," including Barbara Bel Geddes, Ingrid Bergman, Jennifer Jones, Joan
Fontaine and Greer Garson. In 1946, Bergman appeared as "Joan of Arc" in the
Maxwell Anderson stage play Joan of Lorraine . (Ironically, shortly after the
release of this film, RKO distributed Joan of Arc , Walter Wanger's screen
adaptation of Anderson's play, starring Bergman.) Lasky and MacEwen also
considered casting an unknown actress in the part and tested Jana Garth, who
also had played "Joan of Arc" on stage, and Ricky Soma, an eighteen-year-old
New York ballerina. Maxwell Hamilton, who plays a reporter in the picture, was
the editor of Motion Picture magazine.
In Feb 1947, John Cromwell was announced as the film's director, but he
was replaced by Irving Pichel. Lasky borrowed Pichel from Paramount for the
production. Lasky and MacEwen considered doing the picture in Technicolor, but
eventually concluded that the story would "work better" in black and white. A
reproduction of a Pennsylvania mining town was built at RKO's Forty Acres ranch
in Culver City. HR announced in Jun 1947 that a featurette about the making of
the film was to be shot and used in movie theaters to advertise the
multi-million dollar production. Although the national release of the film
coincided with Easter week of 1948, HR announced in Oct 1947 that the film was
to be shown in Los Angeles in Dec 1947 in order to qualify for the 1947 Academy
Awards. The picture did not receive any Academy Award nominations, however.
In Mar 1948, NYT reported a rumor that the actual contribution of radio
personality Quentin Reynolds, who is credited onscreen with Ben Hecht as a
screenwriter, was "reading the novel and reporting its contents to Mr. Hecht,
the latter having taken the assignment of writing the screenplay on the
provision that he didn't have to read the book." According to NYHT , Hecht, a
declared Anglophobe, had his name removed from British release prints of the
film. In Aug 1948, Raymond Polniaszek, an undertakeer from Glen Lyon,
Pennsylvania, sued RKO for $500,000 in damages on the grounds that he had been
caricaturized as "Nick Orloff" in the film, according to a LADN article.
Polniaszek claimed that he participated in a number of real-life events that
were depicted in both the novel and the film, including the burial of a woman
named Olga Trotski. The disposition of that suit has not been discovered.
Modern sources add the following information about the production:
Before casting Frank Sinatra in the role of "Father Paul," Lasky sought
approval from the Catholic Church, which voiced no objections to the performer.
Sinatra, who had actively sought the part, then announced his intention to
donate his acting salary to the Church. Sinatra's scenes were written by DeWitt
Bodeen. Reviewers commented on Sinatra's simple, a capella rendition of the
song "Ever Homeward."The film encountered distribution difficulties in England
because of a boycott against the films of Ben Hecht. Hecht had made derogatory
comments about the presence of Britain in Palestine.[4]The premier for the film
is another interesting story. It took place on Friday, March 26, 1948 at the
then "Park Theater" on Brownsville Road in the little Coal Mining town of
Library, Pennsylvania. Although the movie was not filmed in Library, the town
was chosen to host the premier because it "most resembled a typical American
mining community, like the one portrayed in the movie." Accompanying the
premier, a large motorcade escorted movie stars Charles Coburn, Ruth Warrick
and Leo Carrillo into the town of Library. The stars visited the War Memorial
just down the road from the theater, where they addressed the enormous crowd of
locals who showed up for the pomp and celebration. The theater is still
standing today, and over the years has been converted for other uses, such as a
Dance Studio and a Boxing Gym.[
Reception[edit]
The Miracle of the Bells was dismissed by critics, and was mentioned in the
satirical film book The Golden Turkey Awards, which poked fun at Frank
Sinatra's portrayal of Father Paul. Time magazine excoriated the film upon
release, declaring in their review that "St. Michael ought to sue".[ In recent
decades the film has developed a better reputation due to its realistic
portrayal of coal miners in small town America.
Box office
The film recorded a loss of $640,000