Messenger of Peace
Cast & Crew
Frank Strayer
John Beal
Peggy Stewart
Paul Guilfoyle
Fred Essler
A. De Walt Reynolds
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
As pastor Armin Ritter prepares to retire and turn over his church to his successor, the son of a fellow pastor, he reflects on his life: Upon graduating from seminary school in St. Louis, Ritter is called to Norwald, a backwoods community with no church or parsonage. However, with help from the community, Armin constructs a small church, and marries Evangeline Lockley, one of the local helpers. Over the years, he advises people with various problems and, notably, helps to reform alcoholic carpenter Peter Kerl. He also has to deal with the town's figurehead, Jacob Torgel, who regards the church as his personal chapel and walks out when Kerl is allowed communion. Armin also helps Torgel's daughter Magda, who is disowned by her father when she marries Ted Horner, a reformed "moonshiner." Torgel returns to the church, however, after he attempts to make a new trail through the hills and breaks a leg, then is rescued by Kerl and Horner. Armin and Evangeline have two sons, Ben and Carlie, and a daughter Jeanie. The years pass and Armin is transferred to a larger community, White Plains, which has a church, but few churchgoers. After making himself known and gaining the respect of the community, he is rewarded by the rapid growth of the congregation. The last time his parents see Ben is when he is on leave from the Army during World War I and is able to attend his sister's seventeenth birthday party. Ben returns to duty and, soon after, Armin and Evangeline receive the tragic news that he has been killed in battle, sacrificing his life for another. Sustained by his faith, Armin carries on serving his congregation. Eventually, Armin is retired on a pension and receives a heart-felt, farewell tribute from a host of friends.
Director
Frank Strayer
Cast
John Beal
Peggy Stewart
Paul Guilfoyle
Fred Essler
A. De Walt Reynolds
Raphael Bennett
Maudie Prickett
Al Bridges
Elizabeth Kerr
William Gould
Edythe Elliott
Brooke Shane
Joe Brown Jr.
William Bakewell
Crew
Rev. Lawrence Acker
George Clemens
Alberto Colombo
James Doolittle
T. G. Eggers
Ted Larson
E. W. Martens
Jack Ogilvie
Ferol Redd
Roland Reed
Henry Rische
Walter Strenge
Guy V. Thayer Jr.
Glenn Tryon
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was produced as part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Centennial observation and released in October 1947 under the title Messenger of Peace. Contemporary sources state that in December 1948, The Lutheran Laymen's League contracted with Astor Pictures Corp. for world-wide theatrical distribution of the film, which was released in 1950. In 1951, Astor changed the film's title to Country Parson. Henry Rische, writer of the original story, was pastor of the First Lutheran Church in Dunsmuir CA. According to an article in The Lutheran Layman, the magazine of the Lutheran Church, the story was based on the experiences of one of Rische's friends. The Lutheran Laymen's League is a men's association affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
