The Singing Nun

source: The Singing Nun

Loosely based on Soeur Sourire, a Belgian nun who had a hit record, the catchy Dominique ("Dominique a neek a neek"), this average biographical drama features Debbie Reynolds in the title role, as Sister Ann, who's named her guitar Sister Adele. It was directed by Henry Koster, and features a screenplay written by John Furia Jr. and Sally Benson that was based on Furia Jr.'s story. Its Score was nominated for an Academy Award, Harry Schuman's last Oscar nomination. The cast also includes Ricardo Montalban as Father Clementi, Greer Garson as the 'liberal' head nun of the mission - Mother Prioress, Agnes Moorehead as the mission's 'cranky' cook Sister Cluny, Chad Everett as Robert Gerarde, a friend of Ann's before she'd joined the convent who's now a record producer that 'discovers' her with his friend Father Clementi's help, Katharine Ross as Nicole Arlien, the 'struggling to make ends meet' older sister of the song inspiring youngster Dominic (Ricky Cordell), whose alcoholic father is played by Michael Pate, and Juanita Moore as Sister Mary. Sister Ann's album is such a success that Ed Sullivan himself, with his assistant Fitzpatrick (Tom Drake), comes to Belgium to broadcast the song Dominique to his (worldwide?) live television audience. Jon Lormer appears (uncredited) as the Bishop who approves the marketing of Sister Ann's songs. Reynolds's character struggles with her commitment to God vs. the recognition she receives for her singing. Meanwhile Everett's character tries to influence her to give up her vows for continued fame and (her own vs. the mission's) fortune, and him. Her interaction with the Arlien family, particularly one specific incident (late in the film), helps her to decide her future and choose her path.

As a fictional picture it works plenty on Hollywood formulaic offers, based on a true sad story of real Nun who committed suicide years later with her lover, in the sixties probably it won't sell instead this alternative production driven to self-called adjusted families, the delusional plot dovetails in a far-fetched stereotyped concept of religion, whatever might be, aside all this The Singing Nun is a great family entertainment in every aspect, upon the positivism look, the people needs a fantasy in their lives, this proposition is fulsomely achieved with Debbie Reynolds, first by her natural charisma and great proficiency to sing all those marvelous tunes, also the movie asserts a social morality explicit, letting the audiences uphold it plenty, for me an easy going and harmless presentation, with a great cast, mainly by beauty Greer Garson as angelic kind as Mother Prioress and of course the grumpy Agnes Morehead as Sister Cluny, the miscasting stays to Ricardo Montalban, even in very convincing act is hard to believe him as a priest, fully enjoyable for all ages and religions!!! Resume: First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

What a silly, Hollywood-ized movie where Debbie Reynolds plays a real-life nun (in full make-up, no less) who once had a romance with a man (played by Chad Everett, no less) but decides that singing to an imaginary being (and wearing lipstick and mascara) is the life she prefers even though the man, now a record producer, is still carrying a torch for her. In reality, "The Singing Nun" was a big, homely lesbian who had a female lover and later took her own life -- and she never wore makeup either. The only memorable and accurate thing about this fiction is the hit song she had and I dare anyone to try and get it out of your head after hearing it. "Dominque" is playing over and over in my head as I write this and I may go insane!

This movie is basically a family movie. Although children under the age of ten probably would not appreciate it. The Singing Nun will leave you with positive messages and upbeat feelings. Wholesome Debbie Reynolds is perfect for a nun. Other great actors such as Greer Garson, Ricardo Montalban, Agnes Moorehead, and Katharine Ross further lead to the enjoyment of the film. It is hard to picture Ricardo Montalban as a priest. He is totally handsome and debonair in whatever he does. However, it is Debbie Reynolds who is the star. The Singing Nun has picturesque scenes and you feel warm and fuzzy throughout the film. The music is very good as well. It's a film that the whole family can watch together. Sit back, relax and enjoy. I give it four thumbs up.

If the real Jeanne Deckers had never made that recording in 1963 she probably would have been a much happier person, probably still in blessed obscurity in a convent somewhere on the globe. Only probably though because she was in conflict with the church she gave her life to. At the time the film The Singing Nun came out I well remember the critical roasting it got. Like Going My Way this is how the Roman Catholic Church likes to see itself portrayed. This film was such a ode to the faith, I'm wondering how the most famous Catholic lay person in the world, Bing Crosby, didn't get involved in it. Young Sister Anna, in real life known as Sister Sourire enters a convent in Belgium presided over by Mother Prioress Greer Garson and is part of the parish where Father Ricardo Montalban presides. The young nun with her guitar is played by Debbie Reynolds and her combination of music and faith wins over just about everyone around her. Including young recording executive Chad Everett who has her cut and album that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. I still remember her record of Dominique played right around the same time the Fab Four from Liverpool were bursting on the American consciousness. But as soon as she arrived, The Singing Nun went back into the convent, in the film she and fellow sister Juanita Moore go off to Africa as missionaries. By the way Moore has the best performance in the film. Debbie Reynolds performs the songs of The Singing Nun well and the musical numbers are well staged. Would that The Singing Nun did have a happily ever after life after fame. She didn't in fact. During the film Reynolds of course takes a strong anti-abortion position as per the Church teachings. In real life she did leave the convent and became an activist for birth control. She also had tax problems from our government, hardly the last celebrity to deal with that. She and a woman who had been her life companion for 10 years committed a double suicide together in 1985. She seems to have gone against her faith in any number of ways. Read the Wikipedia article on The Singing Nun, it will be quite an eye opener. It's a story that definitely needs telling and maybe one day someone will tell it.

Actually, this is not really as bad a movie as some would say it is. I think that it would have been more appreciated if it hadn't come out on the heels of the super-money maker "Sound of Music" which saved 20th Century Fox from going down-under into bankruptcy because of the very flopish Cleopatra which starred Liz and Dicky-Boy! We, here we have the Aba Daba Honeymoon girl Debbie Reynolds, who converted to the Jewish Religion because of her marriage to Eddie Fisher, playing a Christian Catholic Nun! Debbie Reynolds had really come a long way in there career from the days of playing Maureen the sister of the Daughter of Rosie O'Grady with June Haver to playing Helen Kane in Three Little Words; Three Weeks With Love, with Jane Powell who was also born on April Fools Day same as Debbie was, having a record hit with her and Carleton Carpenter singing Aba Daba Honeymoon. Then she later went to game in Singing in the Rain, playing a dog reincarnated into a female human form, and later in the wonderful Unsinkable Molly Brown, but to Debbies credit, n The Singing Nun she does some of her finest singing and it's incredible to hear her since she really never had one singing lesson exact for some coaching in her M.G.M. days, and coaching is not the same as taking singing lessons. Her singing is wonderful to hear! Then we have the rest of the cast trying to not look embarrassed for agreeing to appear in this film. You sometimes think that Ricardo Montalban is looking around thinking, "Where's Esther Williams to throw me in a swimming pool to do a water ballet to save this turkey!" Agnes Moorehead looks like she's trying to still play Endora on Bewitched. Tom Drake looks like he's looking around to see if Judy Garland will save him by doing some kind of singing duet. Greer Garson is playing the Mother Superior trying to still be Mrs. Minever. Chad Everett is still acting like Dr. Gannon in which he could say, as he did almost every Medical Hospiital show he was on "It's an aneurysm!" I wonder if that's what he thought of the movie? Debbie Reynolds was in an interview on Turner Classics and even though she and Gene Kelly hated each other in the making of Singing In The Rain, she did say that if it wasn't for what she learned from him she wouldn't have lasted in this business for 60 years. So, put it all together, The Singing Nun is not that bad of a movie, and you should see it in a movie theater with it's wide-screen and stereophonic sound to really appreciate it for what it is which is a great entertainment package for the whole family to enjoy together. Wonder what ever happened to that kind of movie? But, again, to give her credit, Debbie Reynolds does her finest singing ever, and she is a real joy to watch in this film!

As I've been told, when the big boys at 20th Century Fox first saw The Sound of Music in their studio projection room, they said, "This is going to bomb all over the place, so let's get it out in the theaters, make as much money as we can off this fiasco and pull it back in. So, remember that in those days, you didn't know what the preview would be until the film started rolling in the movie theater, and if my memory serves me correct, it was given a sneak preview in Minneapolis, and after the first half played, everyone screamed, clapped and whistled, and after the second half it sounded like the roof of theater was caving in because of the positive response, so Fox said, "Now wait a minute! Maybe we've got something here that we're not aware of, so they released The Sound of Music nationwide on a Reserve Seat basis, and when the critics saw it, they all reported that it would put everyone in a diabetic comma and would last a year, but they were wrong, and the rest is history! O.K., so "The Singing Nun" is not The Sound of Music! Big deal! So, The Sound of Music was just about playing out its 3 year run in most theaters, and as usual, someone in Hollywood says, "Let's cash in on the popularity of the movie and do our own musical about a bunch of Nuns, and Metro Goldwyn Mayers effort was "The Singing Nun" with Jewish convert Debbie Reynolds playing a Nun; that sings as well as Debbie Reynolds, and in all fairness, the movie might not be what the big boys at M.G.M. wanted, but it gave Debbie Reynolds the chance to do her finest singing ever! Her vocals in the movie, as far as I'm concerned, are superb! So, what about the cast and the film itself. Here's Greer Garson at the end of her career, Marshall Thompson, at the end of his, Ricardo Montalban famous for swimming with Esther Williams in her swimming musicals, Agnes Moorehead still looking like she'd like to cast a nasty on Darrin in Bewitched, and Chad Everett still looking like Doctor Gannon who claimed more animism's in his hospital T.V. show than would ever see on T.V. Soap General Hospital or Greay's Anatomy! The Singing Nun is not a good movie, but it's not a bad one either, and in ways it's very entertaining, but once again, it does afford Debbie Reynolds to do her finest singing ever in any of her films! Her singing in The Singing Nun is superb and spiritually uplifting, and fulfilling!

holy cow, what a lousy movie. but fascinating in its hideousness: Debbie Reynolds, a woman of obvious intelligence, talent and humor, forced to trudge through two hours of dreary piety and hollow mischief without vomiting all over her blinding-white habit; Katharine Ross turning up as Dominique's troubled older sister with the hidden cheesecake shots; Chad Everett's bizarro sexual attraction to his former sweetheart (and babysitter?) Debbie Reynolds (why didn't Sister Ann set him up w/ Katharine Ross? at least they were born in the same millennium); Greer Garson parading around like Little Nellie of Holy God; Agnes Moorehead, long rumored to be Debbie Reynolds' lover (whose appearance in this dog might offer the most substantive proof of same) as Sister Sourpuss (avec requisite heart of gold); Juanita Hall as Sister St. Mammy, the token Negro (and therefore inhumanly bland) nun; Ricardo Montalban feigning sweaty, desperate cheer; and the kid playing Dominique so sickening the Von Trapp family would truss him up and roast him alive. don't get me wrong: i ADORE nun movies, particularly the guitar-playing, motorcycle-riding, occasionally flying nuns of the post-Vatican II era; only "change of habit" (Sister Mary Tyler Moore wooed by Dr. Elvis Presley) rivals "the singing nun" for face-scalding embarrassment. everyone who likes nun movies should see both of these—though if you're a diabetic, not as a double feature.

I was a very young Catholic school student when this movie came out (see my comments about the TV show "The Flying Nun"). At the time, it was STRONGLY suggested by the sisters teaching us that we go to see this movie. It was playing right down the street. At the time, it seemed so light and breezy, and the music was so in tune with what we were being taught. Of course, since then, A LOT has happened, and the true-life story of the real "Singing Nun" took such a bizarre turn and ended in such weird fashion, that I think I'd have a hard time watching this version now.