| The Song of Bernadette | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster byNorman Rockwell | |
| Directed by | Henry King |
| Screenplay by | George Seaton |
| Based on | The Song of Bernadette 1941 book byFranz Werfel |
| Produced by | William Perlberg |
| Starring | Jennifer Jones William Eythe Charles Bickford Vincent Price Lee J. Cobb Gladys Cooper |
| Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
| Edited by | Barbara McLean |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 155 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.6 million[2] |
| Box office | $5–7 million[3][4][5] |
The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 Americanbiographicaldrama film based on the1941 novel of the same name byFranz Werfel. It starsJennifer Jones in the title role, which portrays the story ofBernadette Soubirous, who reportedly experiencedeighteen visions of theBlessed Virgin Mary from February to July 1858 and wascanonized in 1933. The film was directed byHenry King, from ascreenplay byGeorge Seaton.
The novel was extremely popular, spending more than a year onThe New York Times Best Seller list and thirteen weeks heading the list. The story was also turned into a Broadway play, which opened at theBelasco Theatre in March 1946.[6]
In 1858, 14-year-oldBernadette Soubirous lives in poverty with her family inLourdes, France. She is shamed by her Catholic school teacher,Sister Vauzou, for falling behind in her studies because of herasthma. That afternoon, while fetching firewood with her sister Marie and a friend, Bernadette waits for them in theMassabielle grotto. Distracted by a strange breeze and a change in the light, Bernadette sees a beautiful lady clad in white, standing on a rock niche. Bernadette tells her companions what she saw, and they promise not to tell anyone else. However, Marie tells their mother when they return home, and the story soon spreads all over Lourdes.
Many, including Bernadette's Aunt Bernarde, are convinced of her sincerity, standing up for her against her disbelieving parents. Bernadette continues to repeatedly visit the grotto as requested by the lady, accompanied by other citizens of Lourdes. WhileAbbéDominique Peyramale refuses to get involved, civil authorities threateningly interrogate Bernadette, but she confounds them with her simplicity and stands behind her story. On one visit, the lady asks Bernadette to drink and wash at a seemingly nonexistent spring. Bernadette obediently digs a hole in the ground and smears her face with dirt. Though she is initially ridiculed, water later begins to flow, which exhibits miraculous healing properties; ailing people soon begin flocking to Lourdes.
On Bernadette's last visit to the grotto, the lady finally identifies herself as the "Immaculate Conception." When civil authorities try to have Bernadette declared insane, Peyramale, who once doubted her, now becomes her staunchest ally and asks for a formal church investigation to verify if Bernadette is a fraud, insane, or genuine.
The grotto is fenced off, and theBishop of Tarbes declares that unlessthe Emperor orders the grotto to open, there will be no investigation. When The Emperor'sinfant son is cured of his illness by water from Lourdes,the Empress demands that the grotto be reopened. The Bishop of Tarbes then directs the commission to convene. The investigation takes many years, and Bernadette is questioned again and again, but the commission eventually determines that Bernadette truly experienced the visions and was visited by theVirgin Mary.
Believing it unsuitable for her to live an ordinary life, Peyramale persuades Bernadette to join theSisters of Charity of Nevers. Bernadette undergoes rigorous spiritual training and works hard at the convent but is also subjected to emotional abuse from Sister Vauzou, now mistress of novices at the convent. Vauzou tells Bernadette that doubt consumes her, and that she cannot believe that Bernadette, who has never suffered, would be chosen by God when she has spent her life suffering in his service.
Though Bernadette agrees that she has not suffered, she then reveals a tumor hidden under the skirt of her habit, much to Vauzou's horror. The doctor diagnosestuberculosis of the bone; the condition causes unspeakable pain, yet Bernadette had never mentioned it. Vauzou, realizing her error, prays for forgiveness and vows to serve Bernadette for the rest of her life. Despite the severity of her illness, Bernadette refuses to partake of the grotto's healing waters.
On her deathbed, Bernadette sends for Peyramale and confesses her feelings of unworthiness while sorrowfully maintaining that she may never see the lady again. However, the lady appears in the room, smiles, and gestures to Bernadette warmly. Bernadette joyfully cries out to the apparition before finally dying. Upon her death, Peyramale remarks, "You are now in Heaven and on earth. Your life begins, O Bernadette."
The film's plot follows the novel byFranz Werfel, which is not a documentary but a historical novel blending fact and fiction. Bernadette's real-life friend Antoine Nicolau is portrayed as being deeply in love with her and vowing to remain unmarried when Bernadette enters the convent. No such relationship is documented as existing between them. In addition, the government authorities, in particular, Imperial Prosecutor Vital Dutour (played byVincent Price) are portrayed as being much more anti-religion than they actually were;[7] in fact, Dutour was himself a devoutCatholic who simply thought Bernadette was hallucinating. Other portrayals come closer to historical accuracy, particularlyAnne Revere andRoman Bohnen as Bernadette's overworked parents,Charles Bickford asFather Peyramale (although his presence at Bernadette's deathbed was an artistic embellishment; in reality, Peyramale had died a few years before Bernadette), andBlanche Yurka as formidable Aunt Bernarde.
The portrayal of SisterMarie Therese Vauzou is also inaccurate. There is no evidence that Sister Vazou was Bernadette's elementary school teacher or that they met prior to the time that Bernadette entered the convent.
The film combines the characters of Vital Dutour and the man of letters Hyacinthe de La Fite, who appears in the novel and believes he hascancer of the larynx. La Fite does not appear at all in the movie. In the film, it is Dutour who is dying of cancer of the larynx at the end, and who goes to the Lourdes shrine, kneels at the gates to the grotto and says, "Pray for me, Bernadette."
The film ends with the death of Bernadette and does not mention the exhumation of her body or hercanonization, as the novel does.
Igor Stravinsky was initially informally approached to write the film score. On February 15, 1943, he started writing music for the "Apparition of the Virgin" scene. However, the studio never approved a contract with Stravinsky, and the project went toAlfred Newman, who won an Oscar. The music Stravinsky had written for the film made its way into the second movement of hisSymphony in Three Movements.[8]
Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times gave the movie a mostly negative review, praising the acting, especially Jones's, but regretting the movie's "tedious and repetitious" narrative, its emphasis on "images that lack visual mobility" and "dialectic discourse that will clutter and fatigue the average mind," and the decision to make Bernadette's "lady" visible to viewers.[9]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 88% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[10]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Outstanding Motion Picture | William Perlberg (for20th Century Fox) | Nominated | [11] [12] |
| Best Director | Henry King | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Jennifer Jones | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Charles Bickford | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Gladys Cooper | Nominated | ||
| Anne Revere | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | George Seaton | Nominated | ||
| Best Art Direction–Interior Decoration – Black-and-White | Art Direction:James Basevi andWilliam S. Darling; Interior Decoration:Thomas Little | Won | ||
| Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Arthur C. Miller | Won | ||
| Best Film Editing | Barbara McLean | Nominated | ||
| Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Alfred Newman | Won | ||
| Best Sound Recording | Edmund H. Hansen | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Picture | Won | [13] | |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Jennifer Jones | Won | ||
| Best Director | Henry King | Won | ||
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 5th Place | [14] | |
The Song of Bernadette was presented onHollywood Star Time April 21, 1946. The 30-minute adaptation starredVincent Price,Lee J. Cobb,Pedro DeCordoba, andVanessa Brown.[15]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) Trochu provides background information on Bernadette's "inquisitors", revealing that they were not atheists or even freethinkers.
Marian apparitions inLourdes, France (1858) | ||
| Apparitions | .JPG) | |
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