The Bells of St. Mary's

"The Bells of St. Mary's" premiered in December of 1945 and starred Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley and Ingrid Bergman as Sister Benedict, two teachers trying to save their run-down parochial school from the wrecking ball.  Father O'Malley is new to the school and believes in liberal theories of teaching; Sister Benedict, on the other hand, has been instructing at the school for years and believes in firm discipline. One early scene involves the priest introducing himself to the sisters and as he speaks, he's puzzled at why everyone is laughing; a kitten has jumped into his hat sitting on the piano behind him.

Another funny scene involves Sister Benedict, in her habit, training student Eddie in the art of "pugilism", after he was tripped by the school bully.  Father Benedict helps a weaker student named Patsy with her essay, and after some prodding, discovers that her mother and father are estranged; the priest relocates Patsy's dad and brings the couple back together again.

The cutest scene of "The Bells of St. Mary's" occurs at Christmas time.  The Grade 1 class prepares a pageant in which they sing Happy Birthday to baby Jesus, played by the younger sibling of one of the students.  Rather than remaining in the manger, "toddler" Jesus keeps jumping out.

In the meantime, their neighbour, Mr. Bogardus, has built an office building next door and dreams of St. Mary's being torn down so he can build a parking lot.  However, Sister Benedict has been praying that Mr. Bogardus will donate the building to the parish to use as their new school.  The crotchety businessman goes to the doctor who diagnoses him with a bad heart.  What is the prescription?  Give with your heart and it will be full (and healthy).

"The Bells of St. Mary's" received eight Academy Award nominations and became a staple in American cinematography.



Photo courtesy http://cf1.imgobj.com.

Ken Burns: King of the Documentary

"He told me that my whole work was an attempt to make people long gone come back alive." 

(Ken Burns, quoting his father-in-law)

A distant relative of the famous poet, Robert Burns, Ken Burns was born in Brooklyn, New York. The son of a biotechnician and a cultural anthropologist, Burns was surrounded by books; he devoured the family encyclopedia.  Tragedy struck early when, at 3, his mom was diagnosed with cancer and passed away eight years later.  Her death helped shape his career.

At 17, Burns received an 8 mm movie camera for his birthday and made his first film footage.  He attended Hampshire College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in film studies and design in 1975, studying under photographers Jerome Liebling and Elaine Mayes.  Burns and a college classmate created Florentine Films named after Florence Massachusetts, Mayes' hometown.  He worked for both the BBC and Italian television for a short time.

Burns' father-in-law predicted his future:  "He told me that my whole work was an attempt to make people long gone come back alive."  In 1976, Burns started adapting David McCullough's book The Great Bridge for television.  He believed that the bridge, one of America's greatest landmarks, affected many Americans.  Five years later, Burns documentary, The Brooklyn Bridge, premiered on PBS.  The new film maker was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982.

Burns soon became known for his "technique of cutting rapidly from one still picture to another, in a fluid, linear fashion".  He added first hand narration read by celebrities.  In the background, he played haunting melodies or time period pieces -- classic Ken Burns.

It was not until 1990 that Burns hit the big time with his chef d'oeuvre, The Civil War.  Forty million viewers watched the initial broadcast and Burns became a household name.   He has since made at least two dozen documentaries, the most recent being Jackie Robinson, which aired last month on PBS.  More are forthcoming in 2017 and 2018.

Note:  For a list of all of Ken Burns' documentaries, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns.

Ken Burns working on the Civil War courtesy http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Ken-Burns-editing-Civil-War.jpg.