The Reluctant Saint (1962) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

In this true story, a 17th century man miraculously overcomes his intellectual challenges to become a priest.

Cast & Crew

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Edward Dmytryk

Maximilian Schell

Ricardo Montalban

Lea Padovani

Akim Tamiroff

Harold Goldblatt

Father Giovanni

Photos & Videos

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Reluctant Saint, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) A True Son Of St. Francis

Reluctant Saint, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) In The Service Of God

Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- The Reluctant Saint (1962)

Reluctant Saint, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) Is It Good For The Soul?

Film Details

Also Known As

Cronache di un convento, Joseph Desa

Genre

Drama

Comedy

Religion

Release Date

Jan 1962

Premiere Information

New York opening: 3 Dec 1962

Production Company

Dmytryk--Weiler Productions

Distribution Company

Davis--Royal Films International

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 45m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Synopsis

Giuseppe Desa, a simple and good-natured peasant boy who lives in Cupertino, Italy, during the 17th century, loses his job as a laborer because of his ineptness. In desperation, Francesca, his mother, arranges for him to enter a Franciscan monastery run by her brother Giovanni and Father Raspi. Given the task of cleaning the abbey, the clumsy Giuseppe breaks a statue of the Madonna. Later he is placed in charge of the stable and shows a natural affinity with the animals, although the stable remains a mess. Giuseppe wins the friendship of Bishop Durso, who orders that he be trained for the priesthood. By sheer luck, he passes the first examination; and while praying before the broken Madonna, he is seen rising off the floor. Father Raspi believes that Giuseppe has become possessed by the Devil and forces him to undergo an exorcism, but the young monk rises again in spite of the chains placed on him during the ceremony. The monastery and Father Raspi then accept him as saintly, and he is later canonized by the church.

Director

Edward Dmytryk

Cast

Maximilian Schell

Ricardo Montalban

Lea Padovani

Akim Tamiroff

Harold Goldblatt

Father Giovanni

Arnoldo Foà

Mark Damon

Luciana Paluzzi

Carlo Croccolo

Giulio Bosetti

Brother Orlando

Elisa Cegani

Sister Nunziata

Crew

Sergio Bergamini

Camera Operator

Mara Blasetti

Mario Chiari

Maria De Matteis

Manuel Del Campo

Edward Dmytryk

Dmytryk-weiler

John Fante

Otello Fava

Claude Hitchcock

Renata Magnanti

Giorgio Morra

Production Manager

C. M. Pennington-richards

Director of Photography

Joseph Petracca

Pasquale Romano

Nino Rota

Videos

Reluctant Saint, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) In The Service Of God Cupertino, Apulia, Italy ca. 1620, Francesca (Lea Padovani) hopes to place her mentally challenged son (Maximillian Schell, title character), who’s just lost another job, in a monastery, represented by her brother Giovanni (Harold Goldblatt) and Fr. Raspi (Ricardo Montalban), in The Reluctant Saint, 1962.

Reluctant Saint, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) Is It Good For The Soul? Now a lay-brother at a monastery in 17th century Italy, Giuseppe (Maximillian Schell, title character) with two colleagues gets a quick lecture in humble behavior from pretty-strict Father Raspi (Ricardo Montalban), in producer-director Edward Dmytryk’s well-received box-office flop The Reluctant Saint, 1962.

Reluctant Saint, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) A True Son Of St. Francis Franciscan monastery chiefs Fr. Raspi and Giovanni (Ricardo Montalban, Harold Goldblatt) hope to impress the visiting vicar-general (Akim Tamiroff) and not expose their clumsy stable-hand Giuseppe (Maximillian Schell, title character), in Edward Dmytryk’s The Reluctant Saint, 1962.

Intro Aired: Aug 2017

Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- The Reluctant Saint (1962) Ben Mankiewicz introduces The Reluctant Saint, 1962.

Film Details

Also Known As

Cronache di un convento, Joseph Desa

Genre

Drama

Comedy

Religion

Release Date

Jan 1962

Premiere Information

New York opening: 3 Dec 1962

Production Company

Dmytryk--Weiler Productions

Distribution Company

Davis--Royal Films International

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 45m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Articles

The Reluctant Saint

July 20, 2017

The Reluctant Saint (1962) was an unusual choice for Austrian star Maximilian Schell, hot off of his Best Actor Academy Award for his role of a German lawyer in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Considered a bit of a heartthrob in 1962, Schell didn't capitalize on that status, choosing instead to concentrate on his craft and play a simple-minded saint. He would later say that despite winning the Oscar® for Judgment at Nuremberg , he "did three better performances in Child of Our Times on TV, in my German Hamlet and in The Reluctant Saint "

Directed and produced by Edward Dmytryk from a screenplay by John Fante and Joseph Petracca, the film was billed as "The picture that's got everything! Plus the surprise of your life!" It was a fictionalized biopic of Giuseppe Desa, known as Saint Joseph (or Giuseppe) of Cupertino, a mentally challenged young man living in Italy in the 17th century. Unable to graduate from school or to hold down a job, he is finally brought to the local monastery to work. His unusual ability with the animals causes the monks to deem him suitable for the priesthood, and it is during his prayers to the Virgin Mary that Joseph begins to levitate in religious ecstasy, causing mix reactions amongst the faithful. One of the priests, Don Raspi, thinks he is possessed by a demon and performs an exorcism. When it fails, and Joseph continues to levitate, even Raspi must admit that there may be some spiritual force at work.

A US/Italian co-production by Dmytryk-Weiler Productions for Davis-Royal Films International, with distribution by Columbia Pictures, the film was shot in Rome and Lazio, Italy with a cast that included Ricardo Montalban as the doubting Don Raspi, Akim Tamiroff, Lea Padovani, Mark Damon, and Harold Goldblatt, and a soundtrack by composer Nino Rota. Released in West Germany on November 2, 1962, the film opened in New York in time for Christmas on December 3rd. Time magazine wrote that "Maximilian Schell attains new histrionic heights in the amusing, amazing story of San Giuseppe of Cupertino (1603-63), a saint who could literally fly," but the film performed less than stellar returns at the box office, prompting Edward Dmytryk to write in his autobiography that The Reluctant Saint was, "one of my favorite films and my biggest flop."

By Lorraine LoBianco

SOURCES:
http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=22117
Collins, Richard John Fante: A Literary Portrait
Dick, Bernard F. Radical Innocence: A Critical Study of the Hollywood Ten
Dmytryk, Edward Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten
Maltin, Leonard Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965
Osborne, Robert A. Academy Awards Illustrated: A Complete History of Hollywood's Academy Awards in Words and Pictures
"The Reluctant Saint" Time 9 Dec 62

The Reluctant Saint

The Reluctant Saint

The Reluctant Saint (1962) was an unusual choice for Austrian star Maximilian Schell, hot off of his Best Actor Academy Award for his role of a German lawyer in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Considered a bit of a heartthrob in 1962, Schell didn't capitalize on that status, choosing instead to concentrate on his craft and play a simple-minded saint. He would later say that despite winning the Oscar® for Judgment at Nuremberg , he "did three better performances in Child of Our Times on TV, in my German Hamlet and in The Reluctant Saint " Directed and produced by Edward Dmytryk from a screenplay by John Fante and Joseph Petracca, the film was billed as "The picture that's got everything! Plus the surprise of your life!" It was a fictionalized biopic of Giuseppe Desa, known as Saint Joseph (or Giuseppe) of Cupertino, a mentally challenged young man living in Italy in the 17th century. Unable to graduate from school or to hold down a job, he is finally brought to the local monastery to work. His unusual ability with the animals causes the monks to deem him suitable for the priesthood, and it is during his prayers to the Virgin Mary that Joseph begins to levitate in religious ecstasy, causing mix reactions amongst the faithful. One of the priests, Don Raspi, thinks he is possessed by a demon and performs an exorcism. When it fails, and Joseph continues to levitate, even Raspi must admit that there may be some spiritual force at work. A US/Italian co-production by Dmytryk-Weiler Productions for Davis-Royal Films International, with distribution by Columbia Pictures, the film was shot in Rome and Lazio, Italy with a cast that included Ricardo Montalban as the doubting Don Raspi, Akim Tamiroff, Lea Padovani, Mark Damon, and Harold Goldblatt, and a soundtrack by composer Nino Rota. Released in West Germany on November 2, 1962, the film opened in New York in time for Christmas on December 3rd. Time magazine wrote that "Maximilian Schell attains new histrionic heights in the amusing, amazing story of San Giuseppe of Cupertino (1603-63), a saint who could literally fly," but the film performed less than stellar returns at the box office, prompting Edward Dmytryk to write in his autobiography that The Reluctant Saint was, "one of my favorite films and my biggest flop." By Lorraine LoBianco SOURCES: http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=22117 Collins, Richard John Fante: A Literary Portrait Dick, Bernard F. Radical Innocence: A Critical Study of the Hollywood Ten Dmytryk, Edward Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten Maltin, Leonard Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965 Osborne, Robert A. Academy Awards Illustrated: A Complete History of Hollywood's Academy Awards in Words and Pictures "The Reluctant Saint" Time 9 Dec 62

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Filmed in Italy. Italian title: Cronache di un convento. The working title of this film is Joseph Desa.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1962

Released in United States 1962

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