One Foot in Heaven (1941) User Reviews

A man ahead of his time

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 24 May 2007]

Warner Bros. 1941 "One Foot in Heaven" was an inspired film. Based on a real person, William Spence, and adapted the from the biographic book by his son, Hartzel Spence, showed a truly rare individual who gave up his own medical ambition when he heard the call to serve as a Methodist minister. Directed by Irving Rapper, and with a musical score by Max Steiner, it was a crowd pleaser that continues to capture new friends, even today.

The success of the film lies on the fantastic portrayal of William Spence by Fredric March, who was at the height of his career. The character of Mr. Spence comes across as a no-nonsense man who must deal with the narrow mindedness of the small Iowa community he is sent to. Coming with his young wife, Mr. Spence was not prepared for what he would find in Laketon. The beautiful Hope, who came from another world feels inadequate in dealing with the church ladies who come to help her.

Mr. Spence gave his life to the town that didn't want any changes in their lives. When he proposed a new church to replace the older one, he meets the resistance of the elder moneyed classes. When they turn against him, they use every tactic, including slander to get him to his knees, but fortunately, he knew better. At the end, he was successful in giving the town what he envisioned was his contribution to the community where he spent his life.

Mr. March's performance is key that brings the action together. Lovely Martha Scott plays Hope Spence with dignity. The amazing supporting cast is wonderful. Gene Lockhart, Beulah Bondi, Moroni Olsen, and Grant Mitchell, among others do excellent job, something that was a hallmark of the Warner films of the time.

Setting An Example

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 4 February 2006]

One Foot in Heaven is based on the memoirs of journalist Hartzell Spence's growing up as a Methodist preacher's kid in midwest USA from the Theodore Roosevelt era to the Roaring Twenties. It's what they mean when they talk about a family values film. The Camden Family of Seventh Heaven could well have been modeled on the Spence Family of generations past.

Young William Spence played by Fredric March has abandoned a career in medicine after being saved at a revival meeting and goes all the way and becomes a Methodist minister. Though taken aback by the career change, fiancé Martha Scott still marries him and the story follows them for the next 20 years or so, moving from one parish to another. Scott and March are such a good fit as the preacher and wife you would think that March was doing this with his own wife, Florence Eldridge.

March strikes just the right note as the minister, a just and pious man without being overbearing and sanctimonious. Would that preachers today were like him. He also demonstrates a capacity to learn. When his son goes to the silent cinema in defiance of Methodist preaching against the cinema, March takes him in hand to show him the error of his ways. They go to a William S. Hart western and March to his amazement finds he likes it and the western tale carries a good moral positive moral lesson. He changes his own view on the subject.

He also has to deal with a whole lot of modern day pharisees in dealing with the various politics of every parish he's assigned to. Chief among his tormentors are Beulah Bondi, the richest woman in town, who's actually offended by him treating her gardner Harry Davenport as an equal.

And there's Gene Lockhart who has something of the same role here as in Going My Way. But he's not as nice in this film. When he loses control of the church choir which Lockhart regarded as his private preserve, he and wife Laura Hope Crews mount a vicious smear campaign against March's son Frankie Thomas. His confrontation with Hope Crews and her gossip circle is a high point of the film.

Like Seventh Heaven there are some good humorous moments as well. I like March trolling for some marriage business down at the town clerk's office, looking for some wedding fees when times are a little lean. And the usual problems of dealing with parsonages which are not the most kept up buildings in the town.

The title of the film comes from March's explanation that he and his family have to set an example if in fact his profession puts them one foot in heaven already. It's good entertainment and Fredric March and Martha Scott do set the best example we'll ever see.

Charming!

[AlanBryan2112 · 8/10 · 23 March 2008]

I watched this today, Easter Sunday 2008, on TCM. Totally charming and warm-hearted this is the kind of film you rarely see anymore.

It's a positive movie overall. It deals with a preachers conflict among church members and his own family that one sees in most small town churches.

The performances were quite good and all the lead actors deserve praise. The child actors were cute without being annoying.

My favorite character was the gardener Samson. His simple persona made me think that he could almost be a blueprint for Peter Sellers character in "Being There".

I was a preacher's kid too so I understood this film from that perspective.

The end scene is gorgeous and touching.

A World That Is Gone Forever.

[lrrap · 19 January 2003]

"One Foot in Heaven" is quite simply one of the most beautiful films that I have encountered. A mainstream film of this sort would NEVER even be considered today; it seems even a bit tame for 1940.

And yet, the world was vastly different then, and the gentle,loving tone of this film reflects a sort of "old-time" morality that seems hopelessly lost today.

This was a major Warner Brothers release and, with Hal Wallis as producer, one expects and gets a very high quality film which lovingly recreates scenes from the life of an ordinary Methodist minister during the first 40 years of the 20th century. No earth-shaking events here--just the day-to-day trials and tribulations, the simple joys and heartaches, the small-town politics and frustrations that reveal humanity in all of its imperfections.

I am amazed that Frederic March is sometimes regarded as a dull actor; he was the epitome of subtle, honest realism, and he carries the narrative of this film in an amazing way, tender, gracious, humorous, a bit stodgy--but always willing to "bend" when necessary, resourceful, loving, and above all, very human.

The movie is filled with an array of Hollywood's best character actors, and the extremely detailed sets, costumes, etc really serve as a "window" to another time and place in our American past.

Max Steiner's extremely pious score is almost a bit much at times, but it nonetheless adds a reverent strength to the proceedings.

And then, there is the final scene, one of the most moving and unique in any film that I know. Once again, the ultimate destination of the plot is nothing earth-shaking---but the concept and staging of the last scene is really remarkable. A simple, old-time street on a gorgeous spring day, the townspeople who have come to know and love their minister all stopping their work and joining the procession through the street as they follow the sounds of the carillon from the new church. Martha Scott, Frankie Thomas, Gene Lockhart, Beulah Bondi, Harry Davenport, Laura Hope Crews--many of whom have locked horns with Mr. March during the course of the film, now join together in the dappled sunlit street, finally arriving at the church where they all lift their voices together in the moving hymn "The Church's One Foundation"... as we see Mr. March himself seated at the carillon, struggling to continue playing it through the tears streaming down his face....

I think Turner Classics has a print of this film (I saw and taped it off of Chicago's PBS station some years ago). Try to see it; like the world it represents, this beautiful film may also disappear forever.

Lord Love a Motion Picture

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 13 November 2014]

In 1904 Ontario, Canada, medical student Fredric March (as William "Will" Spence) visits his fiancée's luxurious mansion and shares some startling news. He has decided not to become a doctor, as planned. During a sermon, Mr. March reveals he received the "call" (from Jesus Christ) to become a minister, instead. Pretty and dutiful Martha Scott (as Hope Morris) agrees to the change in March's plans. They are in love. The happy couple moves to a run-down parish in Iowa, after being warned the US state is "inhabited by nothing but rascals and cattle thieves." This is the first of several moves for March and his growing Yankee family...

This is a first-rate production, from producer Hal B. Wallis and the crew at Warner Bros. Due to it being episodic, the artful direction from Irving Rapper moves it along quite well. With fine photography by Charles Rosher, Mr. Rapper varies his shots well. He starts off simply, but watch as the direction will occasionally become arched and angular. There aren't as many "ceiling shots" as in the contemporary "Citizen Kane" (out earlier in 1941), but they similarly serve the lead character. There are some artfully picturesque moments, also, especially with young son Peter Caldwell. These are in some beautifully decorated location sets...

"One Foot in Heaven" is based on the memoir of Hartzell Spence, played by Mr. Caldwell as a boy and Frankie Thomas as a young man. This may be why he seems like the one supporting character, of many, who can move the story. There is something missing in March's character. We're told (not shown) that he received the "call" and we simply accept this, without knowing much about the lead character. That being said, the March's impersonation of the pastor is excellent. He helps carry us through the different scenarios involving a preacher's family and their life though World War I. There is a subtle message about World War II, also...

In one of the film's most memorable sequences, March fears Hartzell (Caldwell) is a bad role model; the boy sneaked into a movie theater. "A pastor's family walks a tightrope, balancing with one foot on earth and one foot already in Heaven," he says. Intending to show the wickedness of movie pleasure, March takes his son to see William S. Hart in "The Silent Man" (1917) and ends up enjoying himself. Later, teenager Hartzell (Thomas) is accused by gossipy Laura Hope Crews (as Mrs. Thurston) of impregnating a girl. Thomas finds preacher's sons have an amorous reputation; big sister Elisabeth Fraser (as Eileen) laments the opposite is true for a preacher's daughter...

Another memorable episode concerns a three month delay in naming the Spence family's third baby. March wants to name the boy "William Frazer" but Ms. Scott insists on "William Jr." With baptisms coming up, March gives in and agrees with his wife's suggestion. It looks like a great moment for women's equality, but pay attention to the christening scene. Scott's role as the slavish preacher's wife is a traditional one; she's one step removed from man and two steps removed from God. When a tragedy occurs at one of her homes. Scott seems most concerned about the fate of her new hat. A hat was that important back then, especially a lady's hat.

******* One Foot in Heaven (10/2/41) Irving Rapper ~ Fredric March, Martha Scott, Frankie Thomas, Peter Caldwell

On second thought...

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 13 October 2012]

The first time I watched this film I only gave it a "6", which for me is below average. Guess I must have been in a bad mood, because after watching it again tonight I had a more favorable opinion of it.

I'm quite strong on plots, and frankly this one doesn't have much of any. Instead, it's a period piece which demonstrates what the life of a minister was like back at the turn of the century and slightly beyond. And the value here is that it's a rather nice depiction of a time in America that no one today experienced. Some of us who were born in a small town back in the 1950s have experienced some things akin to it, but it is good for us to realize that America was not always the fast-paced electronic culture that we are today.

As the brief blurb here on IMDb says: "Episodic look at the life of a minister and his family as they move from one parish to another." The first half of this film is just that -- a bunch of episodes strung together that have little cohesion other than showing what a minister's family experienced at one time in our country. About half way through the film, several plots begin to develop and the film gets more interesting. The Methodist minister (Fredric March) decides he will no longer tolerate the bullies who run his church, and fights them to get a new church and parsonage built. His son is accused of getting a girl pregnant, which turns out to be untrue, and a lie to fight the minister's efforts to build his new church and parsonage. Okay...now we've got more substance, although the pregnancy aspect receives very little screen time.

I have always felt that Fredric March is an excellent actor (as in a "serious actor). He seems very believable here. Martha Scott (here, March's wife) was a durable actress, though her name is not particularly well known. I've enjoyed her performances, and here she provides a very sturdy performance.

There are a number of fine character actors here -- Beulah Bondi (a wonderful actress who has very little screen time, but at least a very different role), Gene Lockhart (who blusters appropriately), Harry Davenport (venerable, as always), and Laura Hope Crews (fresh off her Aunt Pittypat role in "GWTW", but who offers little to the film).

I don't imagine many younger viewers would appreciate this film...too stodgy. I'm glad some of us still appreciate this type of film.

Sometimes Hollywood gets it....

[samthemacman · 9/10 · 3 July 2005]

Being a preacher's kid is never easy. I was one, and so was my wife. This movie portrays in dramatic ways the humanity and humour of being a preacher's family living essentially on hand outs and never quite having the perfect home for the kids. I can relate to Hartzel, the eldest son. Like him I wished my Dad could have been anything else but a preacher. Like Hartzel I found out in many situations just how much Dad would go through for us.

This movie is nostalgic in many ways. It hearkens back to a time when values like vision, and sacrifice were highly esteemed, and were going the extra mile was not an option but an expected way of life. Sometimes, when I look back, I rewind this video and watch it.

It is a human story, wrapped up in the faith of a man and his family, who laid hold of a dream to make God real in every facet of life, and to show people that God cares about all of us. It is a story of trial and adversity and perseverance and triumph. In the end it is not the glory and accolades of man that matter, but of having lived a life well lived and full to brim.

The cast of this film is perfect and very believable. Some of the characters I have known personally in different churches my father pastored. It is as if they are in every congregation. The issues of never owning a home or being able to decorate as you please, or not having enough groceries, and even the leaky roof over our heads, all resonate. I have lived through them myself. These things really happened to the circuit preachers and those who went and started new churches. These things still happen.

It is a good script, and is not in conflict with the book. The book is well worth the read as well. I have both the movie and the book. It sits amongst my most prized possessions.

You will find yourself laughing, you will shake your head in disbelief, you will get ticked off, but in the end you will find yourself appreciating and loving this very human family that attempts to keep loving and keep living out what they believe, to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself.

This movie will reveal just how much and how full a life can be, and how meaningful it is to serve others. Gayle Sayers the Hall of Fame running back of the Chicago Bears said, "God first, others second, myself third." This is exactly what this movie is about. Getting the priorities right and living life to the full.

Direction dull, but performances winning!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 5 June 2018]

NOTES: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, losing to How Green Was My Valley.

VIEWERS' GUIDE: Okay for all.

COMMENT: Irving Rapper's direction is so dull and the burden of the script is carried so heavily by the dialogue, one could black out the picture altogether if you were prepared to sacrifice Weyl's fine sets.

March's performance comes over as appropriately quiet and understanding, but his preaching lacks oomph. Martha Scott portrays her usual nondescript self.

Fortunately a great support cast is on hand. Coupled with lavish production values, One Foot in Heaven has yet a modest (in the best sense of that word) assurance and dignity that makes for quite pleasing entertainment.

Connoisseurs will also enjoy the copious extracts from The Silent Man (1917, the right year too) directed by and starring William S. Hart.

A Life

[jacksflicks · 10/10 · 27 April 2001]

For those who are cynical about the religious life, here's a movie which ought to put some of that cynicism to rest. "One Foot in Heaven" is the true story of a Methodist preacher and his family, and it rings true, not just for the humanity Frederic March brings to his role as the preacher, but for the situations and characters that many of us, regardless of creed, will easily relate to. My dad used to say, A church is its people. I think One Foot in Heaven is a perfect illustration of this truth. Though this is a story about a preacher, we aren't preached at. There's a wonderful scene, with the preacher gently urging his agnostic doctor to start coming to church. He doesn't beat him over the head with a Bible but tries a more "humanist" approach.

Someone else has compared One Foot in Heaven with It's a Wonderful Life. Another film to compare is Going My Way. In fact, One Foot in Heaven and Going My Way were released just a year apart. There are story similarities, like the building of new churches (The Bishop's Wife is another example), but it's interesting to see how religion in the community is seen respectively through Protestant and Catholic lenses.

Then, there's the final scene. In some ways it's corny, but it still moves me. It hearkens to a time when religion wasn't sectarian but seamlessly interwoven in community life, unselfconsciously and unostentatiously. It was before the battle lines between religionists and secularists were drawn, when America had a "civil" religion. Alas, a time past.

biopic of a man

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 18 September 2022]

It's 1904 Stratford, Ontario. William Spence (Fredric March) announces that he's becoming a Methodist minister and asks for the hands of Hope Morris (Martha Scott). They head for rural Iowa on a lifelong journey of service.

This is a pretty simple biopic of a rather ordinary man. At least, he's not a famous man. There is one powerful scene at the end of the first world war. I bet the wartime audience got really emotional with that scene. There is drama but it could be more elevated. Maybe the movie should simplify the plot down to one villain. This is great for its regular guy lead and he's what one hopes for a church leader.

Hearfelt, slowly-paced religion-themed drama

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 11 June 2006]

Irving Rapper directed this curiosity about the trials and triumphs of a Methodist minister (Frederic March), his wife (Martha Scott), and their three children in Depression-era Iowa. Forgotten family film in black-and-white did merit an Oscar nomination for Best Picture but hasn't attained much of a latter-day following. March gives a solid performance and the screenplay adaptation of Hartzell Spence's book has some sharply-written scenes, yet the continuity is bumpy and the spiritual uplift is on the syrupy side. Still, quite heartfelt and occasionally moving, if somewhat sluggish in pacing. Gig Young has a small early role as a newlywed. ** from ****

Methodist family story

[balbannock · 10/10 · 30 July 2003]

Witty film that chronicles the career of a Methodist minister and his family over several decades. It was up for Best Picture against "Citizen Kane" and some other well known films, but is less known than the others. You don't have to be Methodist to get the point.

Hypocrites all over

[MegaSuperstar · 4/10 · 28 June 2020]

William Spence (Fredric March) is about to finish his medicine studies when visists her fiancee Hope (Martha Scott) at her parents' house to let her know HE has decided to leave his studies to become a minister of god and that she must decide if she wants to marry him as planned. She may or may mot agree buy it is clearly stated that the decision has already been taken by HIM. Obviously she agrees and goes along with him to live a complete live full of everyday's penalties and headaches but also joys of family and god. From village to village and from church to church doing his ministry until he disagrees with the living forces of the city who rule the community. Their hypocrisy is clearly shown in the movie and by doing so church's one is also evidenced. Is it really necessary to build an enormous church with an expensive Swiss carillon to help people find god? Or is it a mere matter of who has more power (church or main citizens) and show it? Idolizing god and its power is not a good way of believing or acting good. It is more a matter of humble little things and actions. Early in the movie, William teaches his wife not to wear her expensive clothes in order to avoid their poor neighbours feel offended. Yet later he does not let his children play outside with other children on Sunday to lead by the example. Although by christening his son in his own way the main character does not practice a good example to say the less. He is constantly putting his family aside. For god? Or for himself? Isn't god in every place, creature and action? While he spends his life writing his lectures, she spends hers working tirelessly in and out home: washing, laundring, ironing, cooking, taking care of his husband and children and going meetings her preacher's wife role requires. Not a bit of equality here. In one of the rare glimpse moments of the movie he recognizes her efforts and thanks her for that. That's all. Definitely it is not a movie to recommend, in spite of actors' good work. Sure Fredric March is convincing in his role, as well as Martha Scott in hers and all the secondary characters that wrap the movie properly. But the result is a rather dull and hypocrite movie.

it's a wonderful life from a different view

[gandpbaily · 19 February 2003]

one foot in heaven is the type of movie that makes a person want to look into how their life has effected other people. (just as the movie about george baily in it's a wonderful life. a simple story about one man's life and how he was able to do, not exciting things, but long lasting things that made people better for having know him. it is great to find this movie playing on tv, but it should be put on dvd or tape for us to enjoy much more often.

A very good film for all to experience

[Shiloh-3 · 10/10 · 19 February 2003]

Chronicling the struggles, hardships and successes of a minister and his family. Real life circumstances and true depictions of faith pitted against human nature at its best and worst. The human quality of this film is spiritually uplifting. Please see it if you can.

A touching look at a Methodist minister's life.

[Mike-764 · 10/10 · 11 January 2005]

William Spence abandons his ideas of becoming a doctor instead turning to a life as a Methodist minister. He takes he new bride, Hope, to a small Iowa town where he sets up his congregation and over the years he and Hope (along with their daughter and two sons) move from town to town going through many hardships and learning many ideas about the people they preach to. The film focuses mainly on the Spence's parish in Denver where Dr. Spence would like a better church for his parishioners, as well as a better home for he and his family, but are turned away by the affluent parishioners of the city when Dr. Spence tries to put his ideas into the church, rather than keep the status quo that has always been in place. Dr. Spence then has to fight to get the church built and protect his family from the mudslinging going around town, which leads to his eldest son, Hartzell, getting expelled from school. An excellent look at what may be perceived as a boring subject, thanks primarily to the wonderful script by Casey Robinson (based on Hartzell Spence's book). March and Scott are the perfect players for the William and Hope, making you believe these are real people rather than actors. A wonderful ending only heightens the enjoyment of the movie, but the treat for me was the good feeling that the film leaves you with. Rating, 10.

Terrible

[scntyguy · 1/10 · 31 August 2021]

The pastor in this movie is s bully! He cares nothing about his wife or children, their sacrifices they make fir his job as a pastor, or the horrible living situations he p,aces his family in!

He makes decisions without ever consulting his wife or children! He is a bully!

👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 Ten thumbs down!

Family Memories

[rejoyce_rejoyce · 9/10 · 24 July 2002]

I wish I had seen the entire movie, so I could tape it to show my mom & my aunts (preacher's kids). Their memories they've shared of growing up during the Depression & WWII gave this movie a familiar ring. They didn't grow up Methodist, but I did! Only movie I've ever seen that focused on a Methodist minister & family.

What a crock of horse hockey

[joeg-53456 · 5/10 · 29 May 2021]

I recorded this film from TCM to watch at my leisure, and that's what I did--watched it over three sittings. The lead role (Frederic March, whom I like) was a pompous, ornery, overbearing preacher. His character seemed to move around a lot in his early years, but the reasons for his moves wasn't very clear: Did his congregations get tired of him? Did he have wanderlust? Did his denomination's hierarchy think he was the right person for a new challenge (a la Bing Crosby in Going My Way)?

Even though the bulk of the film occurred over less than 20 years (based on the ages of his children and historical events), both the preacher AND his wife seemed to age at a much faster rate than their chronological ages would attest to (but it was the early 20th century, so maybe people did turn gray at 40, which is what happened to the wife).

Near the end of the film, as the lead character was the minister of a church in Denver, he had an opportunity to move to a church in California. He and his wife visited the church and loved both it and the parsonage--but, in consultation with his wife inside the California church, he decided not to accept the offer. Then, once his new church in Denver WAS built, he accepted a position in Iowa (from which they'd moved several years earlier) WITHOUT consulting his wife, which was more the rule than the exception.

I just read that this film was nominated for a best picture Oscar; that was a huge error: the main character wasn't as much a Christian as he was a schemer--with the wife, with his congregations, and with the church counsels to which he answered.

The story of a Methodist minister and his family; and the trials of their life.

[hope-21 · 18 June 1999]

ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN is a wonderful story of what it takes to not only endure the difficulties in being a minister; but how these problems build character.

Year after year of allowing church bosses and bullies to dictate what will and won't be allowed, the minister finally learns how to beat them at their own game.

It has so many touches of warmth, in which a subliminal message of truth is going on coupled with hints of blackmail and leverage.

When Dr. Spence refuses to name his own son Wm. Spence, Jr. because he says, "Junior is a sissy name and I won't have my son being a sissy!" his wife decides to coerce him by holding back on the cooking of dinner until he gives in to her wishes. Thinking she's won, he says he'll name the baby in church next Sunday. As he asks for the name and she announces to the congregation, "William Spence, Junior," he repeats it as "William Frasier Spence" ("named after my grand old Scottish Uncle Frasier--and I don't mean the one who was hanged as a horse thief!")

It is this war of wills that carries the story; making each episode build to the next one. Tempered with touches of right and wrong, it is a classic! A must see! Good conflict, good story line.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

The First Picture Show

[krorie · 9/10 · 15 March 2006]

Though this film sounds boring, a preacher's life from the time he is called until he nears the end of life's journey, it is actual an exciting, fast-paced, sometimes humorous account of the trials and tribulations of a minister and his family, showing both the good and the bad. Obviously Hollywood's design in releasing this movie in 1941 was to serve as a morale booster as the flames of war began to encircle America. Often World War I was used as a stand-in for World War II to stir up the urge to fight the enemy and fan the fires of patriotism. Yet many of these films, such as "Yankee Doodle Dandy," were exceptional. "One Foot in Heaven" is one such achievement.

Based on the real life experiences of a Methodist minister in Iowa from the perspective of his son, the movie highlights certain rites of passage from the disappointment of his future in-laws when they hear that their future son-in-law has suddenly decided to change from becoming a doctor to being a preacher in a jerkwater town, to his final triumph of using his skills as an organizer and arm twister to have a modern church built to replace the old deteriorated one. There is much joy along with many heart rending decisions that keep the story moving. Director Irving Rapper wisely ignores sermonizing and actual preaching to concentrate on the personal life of the Spence family.

My favorite part is when the minister takes his son to a movie to instruct him why he should not be slipping around to see picture shows. The man of the cloth is surprised when the silent flick, William S. Hart in "The Silent Man" (1917), turns out to be a moralistic tale against evil, so effective that the minister uses it as the subject of his sermon on Sunday. Watching this scene gives the modern film goer a once in a lifetime chance to have a vicarious experience attending an early cinema complete with piano player and a kid attempting to read the subtitles aloud.

The acting is topnotch with most of the faces being familiar to movie buffs, including a walk-on by a young Gig Young. Kudos to makeup artist and innovator Perc Westmore for making Fredric March and Martha Scott appear to actually age from young adults to old adults as the story progresses.

One Fabulous Film

[2evryman · 10/10 · 24 October 2007]

This is an extraordinary film. Somewhat reminiscent of a film that came out about 14 years later, "A Man Called Peter". The true story of Pastor Peter Marshall. I was stunned to see a fairly good depiction of a cohesive, loving family, whose father was a biblically solid Christian pastor. He was not a thundering hypocrite as Hollywood now paints any Protestant clergy in the movies and on TV.

I saw it this morning on TCM and was greatly impressed by its sensitive portrayal of the pastor played by March. Except for the film about Peter Marshall, I have never seen a finer rendering of a Christian family on film. I loved the musical score, it had a great mix of some of the finest hymns of the Christian Church. I must agree with a previous comment, the final scene of the town folk's response to Pastor Spence's playing of the bells,was great. It brought tears to my eyes.

I hope you can tell, I liked this movie! - Jay Howard

Wauuu

[stevanovicvladimir-95041 · 1/10 · 4 October 2021]

I love Westerns. But this Alan Lad, he has such a disgusting face and appearance, that I wonder who put him on the big screen ... I stopped watching after 10 minutes. Disgusting!

Wonderful

[Ronin-58 · 10/10 · 31 July 2003]

A return to a time of morals and truth. Very refreshing with March in a lesser known but very well made film. Serious in it's own way as it explores both March's calling and the family's growth, but very upbeat. Bring a Kleenex for the last scene.

If you are a new pastor, see this movie

[crainear · 29 August 2004]

In a class I was taking we were assigned to watch this movie, and then, on paper, keep track of the conflicts that were found. I couldn't stop writing. It was one conflict after another.

I have just been moved to a new church, and though my problems were no where near what the pastor in the movie had to face, I learned a lot from it and I decided to share it with others.

We showed the movie at a Sunday Night service and it was well received and I recommend showing it to your churches. It generated a lot of laughter, especially the differences from then to today, but it also made many good points that hit home. I noticed a change in their attitudes the next day.