The Trouble with Angels
Encyclopedia
The Trouble with Angels is a comedy film
about the adventures of two girls in an all girls school run by nuns. The movie was directed by Ida Lupino
and stars Rosalind Russell
and Hayley Mills
(In her first non Walt Disney
film). The featured players include Marge Redmond
(who later appeared as a nun named Sister Jacqueline in the television series The Flying Nun
which premiered the following year) as math teacher Sister Liguori, Mary Wickes
(who also later on in her career played a nun in Sister Act
and its sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
) as gym teacher Sister Clarissa, and Portia Nelson
as art teacher Sister Elizabeth (who also played a nun in The Sound of Music
).
), a fictional all-girls Catholic
boarding school
in Pennsylvania
, operated by an order of nun
s. Russell plays the Mother Superior, who spends the movie at odds with Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills
), a rebellious teenager, and her misery-loves-company friend Rachel Devery (June Harding
). The episodic storyline follows the young women through their sophomore, junior and senior high-school years. After spending much of the film resenting the authority of the Mother Superior, Mary receives the "call"
senior year and, after graduation, remains at the school as a novitiate
of the order.
Life with Mother Superior by Jane Trahey about her own high-school years at a Catholic school near Chicago in the 1930s. While in the novel the school was portrayed as a boarding school outside the city, Trahey actually attended what is now Providence-St. Mel's High School, which was only a day school. Many of the incidents mentioned in the book were actually based on Trahey's experiences at Mundelein College
in Chicago, Illinois. The character of Mary Clancy (Mills) was based on Jane's actual friend, Mary, who later became Sister John Eudes, a Sinsinawa Dominican nun
.
. All interior shots were filmed at Columbia Studios at Sunset & Gower in Hollywood. The film was budgeted at $2 million.
-produced teen comedies as a comedic actress. It would be the last successful film of her career, as her next film, The Family Way
, would spark controversy in England
due to a nude scene with Mills. Though the incident was minor, it effectively hurt Mills' blossoming career as a young actress.
The Trouble with Angels enjoyed good reviews and enough success to warrant a sequel (Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
). However, Mills opted not to reprise her role as the progressive protagonist and was replaced by Stella Stevens
, who played Sister George, foil to Rosalind Russell’s Mother Superior. Variety
magazine said "An appealing story idea...hip Mother Superior nun who outfoxes and matures two rebellious students in a Catholic girls' school...has lost impact via repetitious plotting and pacing, plus routine direction".
appears in a small role. Previously, Rosalind Russell played Lee's mother in the 1962 film Gypsy
.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
about the adventures of two girls in an all girls school run by nuns. The movie was directed by Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
and stars Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
and Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
(In her first non Walt Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
film). The featured players include Marge Redmond
Marge Redmond
Marge Redmond is an American actress.-Background/Family:Margery Redmond was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1924. She was the first wife of the late actor Jack Weston, with whom she developed her acting craft at the Cleveland Play House after they married in 1950...
(who later appeared as a nun named Sister Jacqueline in the television series The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field as Sister Bertrille...
which premiered the following year) as math teacher Sister Liguori, Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes was an American film and television actress.-Career:Wickes was born as Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, of German Irish Protestant extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, where she...
(who also later on in her career played a nun in Sister Act
Sister Act
Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film released by Touchstone Pictures. Directed by Emile Ardolino, it features musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman and stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent and has to pretend to be a...
and its sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit is a 1993 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act...
) as gym teacher Sister Clarissa, and Portia Nelson
Portia Nelson
Portia Nelson was an American popular singer, songwriter, actress, and author. She was best known for her appearances in the most prestigious 1950s cabarets, where she sang an elegant repertoire in a soprano noted for its silvery tone, perfect diction, intimacy, and meticulous attention to words...
as art teacher Sister Elizabeth (who also played a nun in The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
).
Synopsis
The movie is set at St. Francis Academy (also the name of the school in Sister Act 2Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit is a 1993 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act...
), a fictional all-girls Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, operated by an order of nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s. Russell plays the Mother Superior, who spends the movie at odds with Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
), a rebellious teenager, and her misery-loves-company friend Rachel Devery (June Harding
June Harding
June Harding is a former actress who appeared in several 1960s TV shows. She is best known for appearing opposite Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell in the Columbia Pictures film The Trouble with Angels...
). The episodic storyline follows the young women through their sophomore, junior and senior high-school years. After spending much of the film resenting the authority of the Mother Superior, Mary receives the "call"
Calling (religious)
A calling, in the religious sense of the word, is a religious vocation that may be professional or voluntary and, idiosyncratic to different religions, may come from another person, from a divine messenger, or from within oneself.-History:The idea of a vocation or "calling" has played a...
senior year and, after graduation, remains at the school as a novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of the order.
Background
The Trouble with Angels was based on the memoir,Life with Mother Superior by Jane Trahey about her own high-school years at a Catholic school near Chicago in the 1930s. While in the novel the school was portrayed as a boarding school outside the city, Trahey actually attended what is now Providence-St. Mel's High School, which was only a day school. Many of the incidents mentioned in the book were actually based on Trahey's experiences at Mundelein College
Mundelein College
Mundelein College was the last private, independent, Roman Catholic women's college in Illinois. Located on the edge of the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods on the far north side of Chicago, Illinois, Mundelein College was founded and administered by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed...
in Chicago, Illinois. The character of Mary Clancy (Mills) was based on Jane's actual friend, Mary, who later became Sister John Eudes, a Sinsinawa Dominican nun
Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters
Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Order of Preachers is a Catholic religious order for women. The mother house is located in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin in the Diocese of Madison.-Overview:...
.
Production
The Trouble with Angels was filmed from September to December 1965. The St. Francis Academy in the film was filmed on location at St. Mary's Home for Children in Ambler, PennsylvaniaAmbler, Pennsylvania
Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, approximately 16 miles north of Philadelphia.- Village of Wissahickon:...
. All interior shots were filmed at Columbia Studios at Sunset & Gower in Hollywood. The film was budgeted at $2 million.
Impact
The film marked a departure for Mills, who was attempting to emerge from her juvenile leads in Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
-produced teen comedies as a comedic actress. It would be the last successful film of her career, as her next film, The Family Way
The Family Way
The Family Way is a 1966 British comedy-drama film based on Bill Naughton's play All in Good Time . It began life in 1961 as a television play entitled Honeymoon Postponed....
, would spark controversy in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
due to a nude scene with Mills. Though the incident was minor, it effectively hurt Mills' blossoming career as a young actress.
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a movie comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. The film is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels and was written by Blanche Hanalis from a story by Jane Trahey, and directed by James Neilson....
). However, Mills opted not to reprise her role as the progressive protagonist and was replaced by Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
, who played Sister George, foil to Rosalind Russell’s Mother Superior. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine said "An appealing story idea...hip Mother Superior nun who outfoxes and matures two rebellious students in a Catholic girls' school...has lost impact via repetitious plotting and pacing, plus routine direction".
Cameo
Burlesque performer Gypsy Rose LeeGypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
appears in a small role. Previously, Rosalind Russell played Lee's mother in the 1962 film Gypsy
Gypsy (1962 film)
Gypsy is a 1962 American musical film produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass is based on the book of the 1959 stage musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable by Arthur Laurents, which was adapted from Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee.Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for...
.