DVD Break: The Song of Bernadette (1943)





The Song of Bernadette - (1943) - (DVD) - (B/W) - (watched at friend's house)

This is the second movie we watched that evening and my favourite of the two.  This movie was the winner of four Oscars including Best Actress for Jennifer Jones who played the titular character, Saint Bernadette.  This was her first starring role and the acting is magnificent.  I really appreciated this movie as though, of course, I knew about Lourdes, I did not know the full story behind the apparitions or much about Bernadette.  This is probably one of the best religious movies to come out of Hollywood.  They don't make sympathetic movies like this today, and for the time it was made it was not overly sentimental or didactic at all.  A truly excellent historical period piece.  There are a couple of well-known actors from the day in the movie but the only name that will ring true with most viewers of today is Vincent Price.  He had a well-played role as the villain, a government prosecutor who wanted Bernadette disproved.  It was through one of the guests that evening, a movie buff and catholic history expert, that I learned that Price was a Catholic himself and didn't particularly enjoy playing this role because of his beliefs.  Price is one of my favourite actors and I do love his roles and acting before he was type-cast as the prince of horror films.  They show what an accomplished actor he was, though I *do* love all his horror movies too!  A fantastic movie that again, we all thoroughly enjoyed!

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