The Keys of the Kingdom (film)
The Keys of the Kingdom | |
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Theatrical film poster
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Directed by | John M. Stahl |
Produced by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
Written by | Nunnally Johnson Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
Based on | The Keys of the Kingdom 1941 novel by A. J. Cronin |
Starring | Gregory Peck Thomas Mitchell Vincent Price Rose Stradner Edmund Gwenn Benson Fong Roddy McDowall Sir Cedric Hardwicke |
Narrated by | Sir Cedric Hardwicke |
Music by | Alfred Newman |
Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
Edited by | James B. Clark |
Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
Release dates
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December 15, 1944 |
Running time
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136 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3 million[1] |
The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1944 American film based on the 1941 novel The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin. The film was adapted by Nunnally Johnson, directed by John M. Stahl, and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It stars Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, and Vincent Price, and tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a Catholic priest who goes to China to evangelize.
Contents
Plot
Father Francis Chisholm (Gregory Peck) is visited in his old age by Monsignor Sleeth (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) at his parish in Tweedside. The Monsignor informs Father Francis that the Bishop thinks it would be better if he retires, as Father Francis' somewhat unorthodox recent teachings have become a distraction. The Monsignor retires to his room in the rectory, and finds Father Francis' diary that recounts his story from 1878. As the Monsignor begins to read the diary, a flashback begins.
One night during his childhood, Francis' father was beaten by an anti-Catholic mob during a rainstorm. As his mother attempts to lead her husband to safety, they both die in a bridge collapse, leaving young Francis an orphan. He is raised by his aunt, and the next we see of Francis, he is leaving for the seminary with his childhood friend, Anselm "Angus" Mealey (Vincent Price). Francis studies at seminary for a year, but is unsure about all of the Church's teachings. He still finds himself in love with Nora, a girl from his home. However, he finds out that after he left, Nora had a child out of wedlock with another man, and she dies before Francis can return to see her. This prompts him to go back to seminary and follow through with his studies, and Francis becomes a priest.
Francis' first two assignments as a priest are unfulfilling to him, so the Bishop asks Francis to be a volunteer missionary to China. Francis readily accepts the position, even though that means it would take him far from home as well as far from Judy, Nora's daughter. Francis arrives in Paitan, Chekhow Province in China to find the mission destroyed by floods, and not rebuilt because the true Christians all left, leaving only those who attended to receive free rice. Because the Church hadn't given the mission money for rice in over a year, "the faith left them when the rice gave out." Francis rents a small room in the city to evangelize, but because he has no money or influence, he is attacked by those same "rice Christians" who were supposed to help him.
A local man named Joseph (Benson Fong) hears Francis is in town, and offers to help him rebuild the church out of Christian duty and not for money. Francis then receives medical supplies from his childhood friend Dr. Willie Tulloch (Thomas Mitchell), which allows Francis to offer services to the sick. Francis is summoned to the home of local official, Mr. Chia (Leonard Strong), to heal Chia's only son of his infection. Joseph is apprehensive because if Chia's son dies, Francis will be in danger, but Francis goes anyway. He saves the boy, but Chia and his household are ungrateful because Francis' methods and faith were so contrary to the local tradition. A few weeks later, Chia comes to Francis in order to convert to Christianity, but Francis rejects him because he would not be converting for the proper reasons. Instead, Chia thanks Francis by giving the mission many acres of land and all of Chia's workers in order to build a thriving mission.
Two years later, the buildings are almost done, but the nuns arrive a day earlier than planned and Francis is disheveled when they show up. Francis' relationship with the Reverend Mother Maria-Veronica (Rose Stradner) is tense, but they put aside personal differences when the town is the scene of a battle between republic and imperial troops. Willie visits from Scotland and is able to create a makeshift hospital, but the church is destroyed in a fire set by imperial troops. Willie is then shot, and eventually dies. The imperial general then gives Francis a choice: either all food and money from the mission are given to the general or the mission and everyone inside of it is destroyed. Joseph and Francis come up with a plan to sabotage the imperial troops, and Francis is forced to leave his impartiality and blows up the imperial troops.
Later, Angus arrives -- now a Monsignor -- as he is making a review of world missionary sites. He tells Francis that the Church cannot pay for the rebuilding of the mission, and that Francis has the lowest conversion rates in the world. Angus implores Francis to convert rich Chinese and live in luxury in order to impress the locals, but Francis refuses. Meanwhile, the Reverend Mother apologizes for her "shameful" behavior towards Francis and begs for forgiveness, which she receives.
Ten years pass, and Francis' mission is flourishing, and the area is peaceful. The Reverend Mother tells Francis that American Methodists are building a mission inside town, and Francis goes to visit them. Francis becomes friends with the Methodist missionaries, and peace continues. More years pass, and as Francis prepares to depart China, he learns that Angus is now Bishop.
The flashback ends, and Monsignor Sleeth admits to Francis that he read the diary. Francis is flattered, and Sleeth tells Francis that he won't tell the Bishop anything is amiss at Francis' parish, leaving Francis be as he spends his remaining time doing what he loves doing: serving a parish.
Cast
- Gregory Peck as Father Francis Chisholm
- Thomas Mitchell as Dr. Willie Tulloch
- Vincent Price as Anselm "Angus" Mealey
- Rose Stradner as Reverend Mother Maria-Veronica
- Roddy McDowall as Francis Chisholm, as a boy
- Edmund Gwenn as Reverend Hamish MacNa'b
- Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Monsignor Sleeth
- Dennis Hoey as Alec Chisholm, Francis' father
- Ruth Nelson as Lisbeth Chisholm, Francis' mother
- Edith Barrett as Aunt Polly Bannon
- Peggy Ann Garner as Nora, as a girl
- Jane Ball as Nora, as an adult
- James Gleason as Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske
- Anne Revere as Agnes Fiske
- Benson Fong as Joseph
- Leonard Strong as Mr. Chia
- Philip Ahn as Mr. Pao, envoy for Mr. Chia
- Arthur Shields as Father Tarrant, at Holywell
- Sara Allgood as Sister Martha
- Ruth Ford as Sister Clotilde
- Richard Loo as Major Shen
- H.T. Hsiang as Hossanah Wang
- Si-Lan Chen as Philomena Wang
- Eunice Soo-Hoo as Anna, as a toddler
Production
Alfred Hitchcock, a Catholic, liked the novel very much and hoped to direct it, but the plans fell through. Actors considered for the role of Father Chisholm included Spencer Tracy, Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Gene Kelly, and Henry Fonda. Ingrid Bergman was considered for the part of Mother Maria-Veronica, though Rose Stradner, the wife of producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, was cast instead.
Awards
The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the following categories: [2]
- Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gregory Peck)
- Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White (James Basevi, William S. Darling, Thomas Little, and Frank E. Hughes)
- Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Arthur C. Miller)
- Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Alfred Newman)
Music
Alfred Newman incorporated Irish and Chinese elements into the score. The theme at the heart of the track, "The Hill of the Brilliant Green Jade", is associated with a Chinese nobleman who befriends Father Chisholm after he has saved his son’s life. Newman later reused the melody in his Oscar-winning score for the 1955 film Love is a Many-Splendored Thing. Richard Rodgers lifted the tune for the song “I Have Dreamed” in the 1951 musical The King and I.[3]
Adaptations to other media
The Keys of the Kingdom was adapted as a radio play on the November 19, 1945 episode of Lux Radio Theater featuring Ronald Colman and Ann Harding. It was also adapted on the August 21, 1946 episode of Academy Award Theater with Gregory Peck reprising his leading role.
References
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External links
- The Keys of the Kingdom at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). The Keys of the Kingdom at IMDb
- The Keys of the Kingdom at the TCM Movie Database
- The Keys of the Kingdom film synopsis at Crazy for Cinema
- The Keys of the Kingdom film review at Variety
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- English-language films
- 1944 films
- 1940s drama films
- American drama films
- American black-and-white films
- Cantonese-language films
- American epic films
- American films
- Films based on British novels
- Films about religion
- Films about Christianity
- Films about Roman Catholicism
- Films about Catholic priests
- Films based on works by A. J. Cronin
- Films directed by John M. Stahl
- Films set in China
- Films set in Scotland
- Films set in the 1870s
- Films set in the 1880s
- Films set in the 1890s
- Films set in the 1900s
- Films set in the 1910s
- Films set in the 1920s
- Mandarin-language films
- Nuns in fiction
- Religious epic films
- 20th Century Fox films
- Film scores by Alfred Newman
- Screenplays by Nunnally Johnson
- Screenplays by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Films produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz