NR | 2h 6min | Drama, Comedy | 1945
Producer, director, and screenwriter Leo McCarey’s box-office hit “Going My Way” (1944) inspired his sequel, “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945). The films introduced Father O’Malley to audiences, a character McCarey created and dramatized.
Rare even for those years, McCarey’s sequel won greater popular acclaim than his original. The sequel won less critical acclaim (one Oscar to the original’s seven) but would have bettered the original’s haul of Oscars had it not been mere months separating their production and the similarities between the two films in character and theme.
Screenshot of Bing Crosby as Father O’Maley from “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” (Public Domain)
The story revolves around people caught up in the past, present, and future of St. Mary’s church and school. Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby, then the first actor to be Oscar-nominated twice for the same character) is the new parish priest….