During the early 1940s, there was a proliferation of religious films. These weren't the Biblical epics that would dominate the box office in the 1950s. Instead, they focus on religion – almost exclusively Christianity – in the modern world and a crusader using his or her beliefs to make the world a better place. These films were meant as feel-good tales during the darkest days of World War II. The pinnacle of the movement was Leo McCarey's Going My Way, which won the Best Picture Oscar for 1944, famously beating the noir masterpiece Double Indemnity. But a case could be made that 20th Century Fox's 1943 adaptation of the Franz Werefel novel The Song of Bernadette was easily the best of them. Even if you aren't religious, it's hard not to get swept up in the tale of a young girl who stands by her beliefs even when learned men tell her she is wrong.
The Song of Bernadette tells the true story of Bernadette Soubirous (Jennifer Jones), a girl in Lourdes, France who is last in her class and can't even understand the concept of the Holy Trinity. She is weak, suffering from asthma, and her parents are poor. Her father doesn't have a steady job and she has two sisters and two young brothers. One day, Bernadette, one of her sisters and a friend go to collect wood. While they go across a river without a pause, she stays behind and a “beautiful lady” appears before her.
At first, very few believe this story. The town officials even think she is trying to pull a con. Even Father Peyramale (Charles Bickford) can't believe it, especially after the lady tells Bernadette that she is the Immaculate Conception. But then something miraculous happens – after the vision asks Bernadette to wash her hands, she digs and finds a spring. It has the power to heal life-threatening illnesses and the pilgrimages begin.
Bernadette was a prestige project for Fox – probably something that we would refer to as Oscar bait today – but this really was a special project for the studio. Werenfel's novel of the real 1858 events was a big success in 1942, and Fox quickly grabbed the rights and set aside over $1.5 million to make it. The best people at the studio in 1943 worked on it, including director Henry King and composer Alfred Newman. Writer George Seaton was tasked with turning the book into a nearly three-hour epic, which was rare, especially for a film to be made in black and white.
Despite all those names on the other side of the camera, if the people in front of it couldn't perform, Bernadette would not be remembered as the classic it is today. Contrary to the “Introducing” credit at the beginning of the film, Jennifer Jones had made a few movies before, but this really made her a star. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of her, but in Bernadette, she shows her full range. She doesn't turn Bernadette into a stoic religious figure. Instead, she keeps you feeling that Bernadette is just a 14-year-old girl, confused by what she sees and the reaction to her story. She's also amazing in her scenes with the authority figures, played by brilliant Hollywood supporting players like Vincent Price (how on earth he didn't get a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this, I'll never know) and Gladys Cooper (who did get nominated). That's the real beauty of this epic performance.
This film is a rare example of one that has lofty ambitions and actually meets them. It questions faith, truth and what we chose to believe in. It opens with the famous quote “For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible,” which really fits in this case. Bernadette was not someone who imposed her beliefs on the people who didn't believe her, she told what was the truth for her and I think that's what makes her story – and the film – so unique and powerful.
On Home Video: Like Leave Her To Heaven, The Song of Bernadette is another Fox classic that made it to Blu-ray this year thanks to Twilight Time. While the film is in rough shape considering its importance, I think the label did the best it could with the material on hand. A restoration demonstration from the old Fox DVD is included, showing that even after a 2002 restoration, the film still looked pretty rough. If Fox wanted to pour in the money, I'm sure it would look better, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.
Aside from that, there is a commentary with historians Jon Burlingame, Edward Z. Epstein and Donald Spoto, who discuss Newman's score and the religious aspect of the real event. There's also a booklet and the usual isolated score track Twilight Time likes to include. Yes, $29.99 might sound a little pricey for a Blu-ray, but it's really worth it if you know and love this movie.
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