Come to the Stable

Charming old-fashioned dramedy about a pair of nuns (Loretta Young, Celeste Holm) who travel from France to the small New England town of Bethlehem with the intention of building a children's hospital there. They meet various characters while they try to raise the necessary funds for the construction of the hospital. A simple but heartwarming story, suitable for Christmas viewing but good to watch any time of the year. Loretta Young and Celeste Holm are both perfect for their roles. The always enjoyable Elsa Lanchester is the movie's scene stealer as a quirky artist who takes the nuns in. The rest of the cast includes Hugh Marlowe, Thomas Gomez, Regis Toomey, Dorothy Parker, Mike Mazurki, and Dooley Wilson. It's a beautiful-looking film whose sets and cinematography both received Oscar nominations (it received seven Oscar nods overall). It features the nice song "Through a Long and Sleepless Night," sung by the obviously dubbed Hugh Marlowe and Dorothy Parker. Dripping with sentiment, humor, and good will, it's a lovely film. 'The kind they don't make anymore,' as they say.

Come to the Stable (1949)

*** (out of 4)

Excellent performances and a touching story highlight this comedy/drama about a pair of nuns (Loretta Young, Celeste Holm) who travel from France to New England where they plan on building a children's hospital. Without any type of funds, the nuns try to gather enough money for their dream to come true but they're going to have to depend on some characters who aren't all that thrilled about the hospital. This film was nominated for seven Oscars but it seems to have been forgotten, which is a real shame because this is a pretty touching little gem that works on many levels. What really stands out are the terrific performances with Young and Holm both turning in strong work. There wasn't a single second that I ever looked at their characters and saw actors because the two were so good that you'll have no trouble believing that they are nuns. They're surrounding by some fine actors including Hugh Marlowe as a neighbor who doesn't want to church built. Elsa Lancaster plays an elderly, lonely woman who first takes the nuns in and Thomas Gomez is terrific as a gambler who owns the property where the sisters are wanting to build the hospital. The movie tries walking a fine line between laughs and drama and for the most part it works. I think there are a few bits that push too hard for comedy and you'll see one such scene early one when the "joke" about the nuns driving too fast is played to the extreme. The main reason this movie works is due to its more dramatic and religious moments. The film is never preachy nor does it try to convert people; instead it just makes you feel good. The sequence where the nuns go to the gambler to try and get him to give away the land ends is a very dramatic sequence that I won't ruin but it's incredibly touching. Another terrific scene is when the nuns try to get the local Bishop to buy into their ideas even though it seems impossible that they'll be able to pull them off. Apparently this drama was so successful when first released that a sequel was planned but never produced. It's easy to see why this movie would bring a crowd in but it deserves to be better known today.

"Come to the Stable" is a charmingly entertaining tale of two French nuns attempting to establish a children's hospital through their faith in God and their fellow man. This story, set in the post-WWII New England,is not a Christmas movie per se but it does embody the spirit of the season. Loretta Young and Celeste Holm are wonderful as the nuns - Loretta as the feisty Sister Margaret and Celeste as Sister Scholastica with the unshakeable faith. Elsa Lanchester is yet again exceptional, this time in her role as the reluctant aide to the nuns. Hugh Marlowe is wonderful as the harried and frustrated songwriter/neighbor.

This movie is about determination and faith and accomplishing the improbable. Sit back and allow this magnificent cast to entertain you. The experience will be well worth it.

Loretta Young and Celeste Holm are two nuns from a French convent on a mission to establish a children's hospital in a rural village much to the consternation of composer Robert Masen (Hugh Marlowe) who would like to see his place in the country stay just like it is. Against all odds the indomitable sisters move Masen and several other unlikely contributors into making the hospital a reality. It's fine family viewing with a warmth an innocence unseen in today's more cynical Christmas pics.

I saw this charming, slickly produced film as a young parochial grammar school kid at a theater in downtown Boston (near where my family lived at the time) and remember being tremendously amused at the scene where the two sisters, played by Loretta and Celeste (saddled with having to approximate a French accent), blithely tore up a parking ticket, placed on the windshield of their borrowed open WW II-era Jeep, thinking it was just an advertisement. Sister Celeste tosses the pieces into the air as they drive off from in front of New York's St. Patrick Cathedral where they'd illegally parked. (I doubt that she felt obliged to confess that little venial sin, do you?) There's a lot more to be amused and entertained by, of course, and the behind-the-camera artisans, as well as the well-chosen actors, especially Hugh Marlowe and Elsa Lanchester as well as Misses Young and Holm, all contributed some very professional work. Henry Koster, the director, was an old hand at keeping a project such as this from slipping entirely into a bath of over-the-top sentimentality.

So much has changed since those somewhat more innocent times and a gentle story such as this, with two ladies encased in those heavy, enveloping habits (with only their perfectly made-up faces visible to the world, by the way), is almost inconceivable today. See it and be transported back to a time when goodness, sincerity, and religious beliefs that don't descend into fanaticism were the order of the day, at least in Hollywood movies aimed at the family trade.

One interesting little tidbit: in one scene Hugh Marlowe's character (a song writer) sings the Academy Award-nominated song, "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" (which didn't win - and you'll hear why), and his singing voice was dubbed by Ken Darby, who was chiefly responsible for directing most of the choral work in many of Twentieth's films for many years. I have a suspicion that Mr. Darby probably rejected quite a few male candidates who wanted to join the Fox studio's choir if they didn't sound any better than he did!