Very well executed

The Worst Film Ever

Expected more

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) and Rachel Devery (June Harding) arrive at the same time to begin their sophomore year in St. Francis School for Girls, somewhere in Pennsylvania. Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) has overseen the school run by her religious order for some time. She has met and learned to deal with all kinds. But she's in for new experiences with Mary and Rachel. Mother is a resolute person, wise with age and experience. The question is – can the school survive these two characters?This is a wonderful story with comedy galore. It's also a fair look at the running of a Catholic boarding school in the mid-20th century. The setting is somewhat unusual because the school is housed in an old estate that also serves as the mother house and convent for the order. If anything, the film is very light on the things Catholic. Except for a couple of short chapel scenes, and Mother Superior saying grace before their first meal, it leaves out much of the daily practices of prayer, adoration and the Mass. The movie is a good blend of the pranks and hijinks that are the work of the two girls, and the wisdom of a religious woman as she metes out justice to discipline the girls. All of the cast are very good. Russell is very believable as a religious and experienced mother superior. The actresses playing the roles of other nuns contribute to making this the fine movie that it is. Binnie Barnes, Marge Redmont, Camilla Sparv, Mary Wickes and others were superb in their roles.Other girls were very good in their roles, but Mary and Rachel were tops as the spark plugs of the story. As Mother Superior adroitly observed and told her associates, Rachel is a follower, so it's Mary the leader, who will be the greatest challenge. Most of the comedy is in various scenarios that the two girls cook up. They usually spring from "a scathingly brilliant idea" that Mary has. It's a fun film that the whole family should enjoy. The ending might sneak up on some, but I had a hunch of what might happen from a couple of late scenes in the film. Hayley Mills was 19 years old when this film was made, and she progresses three grades from ages 16 to 19 nicely. Mills, the daughter of British film star John Mills and British playwright Mary Hayley Bell, became a major youth star after two smash hit Walt Disney movies. She starred in "Pollyanna" in 1960, and then took the world by storm in "The Parent Trap" of 1961. She had a number of other hit movies through the mid-1960s. But her stardom and huge film success ended by the time she was 30. At age 20, after filming "The Family Way" in late 1966, she began an affair with the director, Roy Boulting. He was 53 years old. She lived with him for five years until he divorced in 1971, and then she and Boulting were married. That lasted just five years, and by the time of her divorce in 1976, her bad film choices had dropped her out of the spotlight for good. She has continued to make movies, including some TV films and shows, and she acts on stage. Does anyone wonder that her parents likely urged Mills not to get involved with Boulting? Besides being married, he almost was old enough to be her grandfather. Here are some sample humorous lines from this film.Mother Superior, "Sister LIguori is my assistant and teaches mathematics. You'll find her methods newer than new."Mr. Petrie (played by Tim Hutton), "The finest educated minds in the country happen to be on our side." Mother Superior, "God is on ours."Mother Superior, "Will you please, in the future, remember that St. Francis is not a training school for counter spies."

The thing I liked about this movie was the chemistry between Hayley Mills and June Harding. When the movie was filmed, June was 25 and Hayley was 19. You don't see girls in films much less women have that kind of chemistry. Turn off the sound, you feel the energy between the two. Even when they aren't on the scene, you see the reactions of the nuns and the girls focusing on guess who. The director didn't want to put close actions shots of the two unless for circumstances, sentimental reasons like getting in trouble, holidays, or graduations. If they did have close moments, one would look away but never at each other to not make that certain impresario. One was passive and the other aggressive like a doctor and his assistant. The implication was that they were there for themselves and the bonding was out of necessity. Throughout the move, the viewer sense was that one was going to leave but when and how.

Others above have summarized lots of the gems in this quality film...And Rosalind Russell comes across as a Worldly Wise Mother Superior...thus, the girls get away with little... ========== Anyone who teaches kids (or raises them) will observe - Hayley Mill's character (the wayward Mary Clancy) peeks around pillars - watches from windows...to see what Mother Superior and Co. really DO! And there's a realistic "payoff" at film's end.Hollywood has FEW WOMEN DIRECTORS!!! Ida Lupino should have been given many more films to direct!Rosalind Russell always seems REAL in her roles. And here, she (both a mom and a practicing Catholic in real life) brings a slightly tough edge to her Mother Superior role. She and Hayley Mills both are dominant personalities and they meet head on in this fun film. Even I (a Protestant) know from Chicago experience that teaching nuns must be be both devout and worldly wise at the same time. It's written "Be ye therefore Innocent as Doves...but WISE as Serpents!) Just bought this film for the price of a very cheap fast food meal at a big box store. What a treat!!!

Yeah, you might have to sell your kid on watching this. But maybe buy or rent "Angels" while your daughter or son is little. "Angels" could join that other old film - Wizard of Oz - on your kids' favorite film list. And whilst young Lindsey Lohan was good in her childhood movies, this redhead Hayley Mills is better! Tho the clothes are dated, (but fun to see - yes girls used to wear dresses all the time!) Hayley Mills' character is not.I saw it on TV a few years after its release - and again recently. (And now, as I write this, the fire trucks are racing towards the Convent School - as Mary and Rachel smoke up a storm in the basement. No--- smoking is not glorified. They get punished! Big time!) Rosalind Russell (the tough, but observant Mother Superior) probably brings her own Catholic background here. She was a famous long-time actress, but also a devout lady who did lots of charity work, notably (I believe) for the advancement of polio treatment. (Maybe her son Lance Brisson will someday put together a great musical on her interesting life!!!)Russell speaks her lines with a slightly ironic, knowing edge. Good thing, as this movie could be too cutesy otherwise. Marge Redmond is her practical fellow nun-and confidant. Both women are more streetwise than one might think...Mary Wickes is yet another great actress cast as nun. Maybe this Mother Superior sees a bit of her youthful self in this young anarchist! But will she and the school survive young Hayley Mills' Destructive Mary Clancy???Hayley Mills' "Mary" character steers away from sermons - even punishment doesn't do it, but she will sneak around corners to observe...And watch her put it all together at the end. I echo others' comments about director Ida Lupino. The fine touches she puts onto this film makes me grieve that she didn't direct more films.