COME TO THE SABLE (1949)

Loretta Young and Celeste Holm (recently Oscar’d as Best & Supporting Actress, and they’d get nominations in those categories here too) are meant to be irresistible as French Nuns come to New England to fulfill a wartime promise to build a Children’s Hospital. (Presented in the first shot as a sort of female version of The Three Two Wise Men.) Determined and conniving, they wheedle new-fashioned ‘indulgences’ from the faithful in a series of light comic set pieces to gain property, services & donations before their land option runs out. A big success at the time, and still much liked, unblinkered types may find it more insufferable than inspiring; aiming low, it scores in creepy sentimentality. Slackly produced as a prestige item (note how the brassy 20th/Fox opening fanfare goes missing for religioso music), it cozies up to Leo McCarey’s GOING MY WAY/’44 and especially BELLS OF ST. MARY’S/’45 (habit-wearing Nuns playing sports & driving stick shifts; a tough old codger shamed into donating land; ‘Pop’ song as plot device), but with director Henry Koster showing little of McCarey’s inexplicable ability to get away with schmaltz, coincidence & pious sentimentality.

WATCH THIS, NOT THAT: As mentioned above, try BELLS OF ST. MARY’S, the superior sequel to the generally (if mistakenly) preferred GOING MY WAY/’44.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: There’s a pretty satisfying trick ending here. But for some reason, the script gives it away a couple of reels before the end.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A devout Catholic in spite of her secret out-of-wedlock child with Clark Gable (just like the movies, she took a break from Hollywood to come back months later with a new ‘adopted’ daughter everyone knew was hers), Loretta Young took her Catholic leadership role very seriously. A hypocritical scold, she insisted on the purest of sets, even keeping a ‘swearing jar’ to collect 50¢ per cuss word from cast & crew. So, the story goes . . . Ethel Merman & Celeste Holm, pals from when Holm’s BLOOMER GIRL and Merman’s ANNIE GET YOUR GUN were playing on Broadway, met up on the set when Ethel was in L.A. 

MERMAN: Celeste, what’s the ‘tipping jar’ for? 

HOLM: Oh, it’s Loretta’s thing. Not a 'tipping jar,' it's a 'swear jar.' Loretta takes the money to the Church.

MERMAN: (waving, then stuffing a Fiver in the jar; loudly) Hey, Loretta! Here’s five bucks . . . go fuck yourself.