Guai con gli angeli

Another of my favorite classics from childhood was 1966's THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS, a sassy and entertaining comedy from a time long forgotten about two teenagers (Hayley Mills, June Harding) who meet at a Catholic convent school called St. Francis Academy, who become fast friends and cause nothing but headache for the Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell). I remember seeing this movie in the theaters during its original theatrical release and enjoying it immensely. Rosalind Russell and Hayley Mills were both at the top of their game as the protagonists in this comedic cat and mouse game between student and administrator where you know something has got to give at some point and it actually does. Laughs and warmth abide in this entertaining family comedy, the likes of which we will never see again.

I absolutely love this movie. It is absolutely charming. Haley Mills does a great job as Mary Clancy, an orphaned teenage girl who is sent to a convent school by an uncle who thinks the nuns will "straighten her out" and who, in reality mostly doesn't want to be bothered by Mary or his own daughter. June Harding is a bit annoying as Rachel Devery, but I suspect that the character is supposed to be annoying (she's clumsy, a bit whiny and has a weird habit of licking her fingers and slicking down her bangs.) Her story is that her father was sick of the progressive school she was attending (aptly named "New Trends Academy"). The girls become friends immediately and a begin a four year "reign of terror" at the convent. And Rosalind Russell is great as Mother Superior, who in spite of her aggravation with Mary, comes to know that Mary NEEDS the convent school, whether Mary herself knows it or not.

What I like best about this movie is that the pranks the girls play and the scrapes that they get themselves into are funny without being malicious, violent or dangerous. My six year old has recently fallen in love with the original "The Parent Trap" and "Pollyana" and I plan to show her this soon. I was born the year this came out, so I don't know for sure, but I would guess that it was not marketed as a "kid" movie, and yet it is totally appropriate movie for young girls. The same certainly can't be said for most movies today that are marketed as "kid flicks". While I don't shield my daughter from all these movies today, it is nice to know that I can pop this movie in and she and I can snuggle up together and enjoy a movie with no violent or mean humor (Home Alone, Dennis the Menace), no vulgarity and really nothing offensive at all. I also find it refreshing that the characters grow and mature into better and wiser people by the end, which is rare in movies.

I'd just like to add that I have heard complaints that Haley Mills was too old to play the role of Mary. While it is true that Mary was probably supposed to be about 13 at the opening of the film, and around 17 or 18 at the end, and Haley was 20 when it was made, this never bothered me. When I first saw it, I didn't know her age, and she didn't look 20 to me!

There is more TRUTH in this honest and extremely funny movie about two young hellfires coming of age in a convent school than in all the subsequent expose-type movies, like Monsignor, purporting to reveal the truth behind the hypocracies (admittedly there, but extremely exaggerated) of the Catholic church. Having spent 9 years in female-only Catholic school, I must report that this movie strikes not a single false chord. The movie, instead, accurately portrays nicely the relationship a Catholic feels with God.

The girls are rebellious, defiant, and a bit hyperactive, very reminiscent of my own restless youth. The nuns are equally real, reflecting exasperation and frustration when appropriate, but always within proper boundaries.

One amazing thing about this film is the seamless transitions it constantly makes from drama and comedy and back again. Even the physical humor, while screamingly funny, is always contained within real situations. Moments with Rosalind Russell, Camilla Sparv, Marge Redmond, and Marge Redmond are filled with extraordinarily real emotions, and the last 20 minutes seamlessly weaves the serious and the comic into a truthful pastiche which is respectful without ever being preachy, and infused with a heavy dose of Russell's unique personality.

Don't miss the opportunity to share this timeless classic with your daughters!

"The Trouble With Angels" starts out as a fairly standard Hayley Mills teen comedy. She and June Harding play the roles of two reluctant students at St. Francis, a Catholic school run by nuns. Rosalind Russell is excellent in the role of Mother Superior as is the rest of the cast.

The story is fairly simple so there isn't much to say about it. The girls are rebellious and play many pranks on the sisters, but gradually, as the movie progresses and the girls reach their final year at St. Francis it transitions gently and believably into a very touching and poignantly bittersweet ending. It never fails to get to me emotionally.

I'm a sucker for a good tear-jerker and in terms of sheer lachrymosity this one rates right up there with "My Dog Skip", "The Return of the King", "The Bishop's Wife", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Born Free" and "The Family Way" and the final episode of "The Flame Trees of Thika" (the last two also starring Hayley Mills). Something about kids and animals and saying goodbye - it always starts the waterworks going for me.

The secret, as always, is to create characters that you really get to know and care about. It also helps to have good music and Jerry Goldsmith wrote a very memorable score for this film.

I highly recommended this movie for kids who haven't yet been jaded by the rubbish that Hollywood produces these days.

My family and I have always loved this movie and its sequel.

I was really young when it was being filmed here in Pennsylvania and remember seeing the big Christmas tree in front of the castle in the Winter just as you see it in the movie.

June Harding played a wonderful role in this movie as the clumsy, dim witted Rachel. Too bad that her career didn't go further because she had such good potential doing physical comedy. Hayley Mills was terrific as the rebellious Mary Clancy who always took chances and who always got caught. Harding and Mills together getting into all kinds of mischief was really funny.

We took a tour of the castle and its interior a few years back and it looks exactly the same now as it did in the movie and this movie is 38 years old!! The grounds of it have changed very little over the years and the movie served as a time capsule for it. It was formerly known as Lindenwold Castle and is now known as Mary's Home for Children. You can find more information about the castle on the internet.

In this movie the most believable character was played by Mary Wickes who is the epitome of a Catholic School nun. Those of you who attended Catholic school (againt their will or not) will know what I mean.

She was just too realistic and I got a kick out of her wearing those black high top sneakers! !! It was nice to see her reprising her "Nun Role" again in the "Sister Act" movies.

"The trouble with angels" is a funny entertaining movie good for the whole family.