Waste of time

Excellent but underrated film

A Major Disappointment

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

There is a very fine line between comedy and non comedy. I for one put it on the other side of the line. It is a sensitive coming of the age and antics of a naughty and rebellious girl Hayley Mills (Mary Clancy) with her devoted girl Friday June Harding (Rachel). Once the reason of her mental frame was known, which had been hinted, (though the hint had been telling), it explains her behavior and goes away from whatever comedy part one could assign to it. It is rather heartwarming portrayal of two generations of sensitive girls, the new (Mary) and the old (Mother superior). Another brilliant performance by evergreen Russel.

. . . THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS is a "scathingly brilliant" movie full of magic. The magic of Orphan-Hood. The magic of riding a train to boarding school. The magic of attending an academy shaped like a castle. The magic of smoking cigarettes in the Girls' Room and cigars in the cellar. The magic of an unscheduled fire drill. The magic of K.P. Duty eight days a week. The magic of forbidden hallways. The magic of bubbles. The magic of risking school expulsion. The magic of snow sifting through the dorm windows. The magic of burlesque dancing. The magic of first brassieres. The magic of the Stations of the Cross. The magic of summer vacation. The magic of school band competition. The magic of learning to swim. The magic of needlework. The magic of community service. The magic of going overseas to teach lepers. The magic of Taking the Veil. Obviously, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to cram any MORE magic than this into one movie. Who says nuns are no fun? This is the funniest nun movie Hollywood ever made until Joseph Guzman's loosely-based remake of THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS came out in 2010: for something that will REALLY knock your socks off, follow-up ANGELS by enjoying Guzman's NUDE NUNS WITH BIG GUNS!

On the basis of its 1966 publicity, those who viewed the "The Trouble With Angels" (TTWA) must have been expecting a comedy. They got something rather more complex. In fact, most of the comic episodes occur early in the film; thereafter, life gets serious, as the girls visit a home for the aged, learn how one sister was abused by the Nazis, and how another plans to teach in a leper colony. Then the friendliest sister passes away. Thus, the film gradually evolves into a serious portrayal of life in a boarding school (St. Francis Academy), the transition from youth to maturity, and the experiences that can make, or break, friendships. The principal protagonists are guilty of various misdemeanors--smoking, entering the sisters' living quarters, and skipping swimming instruction. But these infractions are primarily a reflection of immaturity, which largely disappears after one year at St. Francis.TTWA follows the relationship of its two principal characters, Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) and Rachel Devery (June Harding) in their three years at St. Francis Academy. Both were sent there to be straightened out. At first, both react unfavorably to the school, which they see as "medieval," and akin to a girls' reformatory. They view school authorities as "the enemy," and agree that the Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) is a "fink"--once when her back is turned they honor her with a Fascist salute. But, the girls have their differences, especially in matters of religion. Mary, who has visited the Vatican and seen the Pope, is increasingly receptive to Catholicism and its doctrines. Pretty obviously, Rachel is not a Catholic. Twice, under the Mother Superior's disapproving scrutiny, Rachel is unable to make the sign of the cross. Near the end of her first year at St. Francis, Rachel writes to the head of her former school that she is "a captive in a nunnery." Once, the Mother Superior tells Rachel that she is the "Devil's agent." In their second and third years at St. Francis, the differences between the girls are becoming clearer. When Rachel suggests that Mary stuff a picture of the Pope in the window to keep out the snow, Mary is horrified. Later, Rachel considers it appropriate that Sister Constance should leave the order and rejoin her former lover--a prospect that leaves Mary incredulous. Purely fortuitous happenings serve to confirm the girls' differing attitudes. Mary observes the Mother Superior feeding the birds, comforting an elderly woman, and grieving over Sister Liguori's casket. But Rachel, who hears only the Reverend Mother's impersonal announcement of Liguori's death, wonders aloud, "How can she be so cold?" Predictably, contemporary promotional material emphasized the relationship between Mary and the Mother Superior, who were portrayed by Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell, the most famous members of the cast. But, as other reviews demonstrate, TTWA can be viewed from various perspectives. It is perhaps most interesting to focus on friendship between Mary and Rachel, viewing them as two distinct, but equally important, personalities. Although it occasionally seems that Rachel is a failure in everything, in some respects, she seems to be more in touch with reality than Mary. It is Rachel who seeks Mary's assurance that the sisters will be away from the cloister during Mary's planned "tour." It is Rachel who expresses concern about skipping swimming lessons. When the girls are smoking in the boiler room, it is Rachel who inquires about the significance of the alarm bell; and, when fire engines arrive, it is Rachel who suggests an effort to locate the fire. As the girls, unable to swim, having avoided swimming lessons for three years, are about to dive into the pool for the mandatory life saving test, it is Rachel who asks, "What do you think we ought to do?" Rachel, in posing such practical questions, is playing Sancho Panza to Mary's Don Quixote. Mary's "leadership" has done nothing but get Rachel in trouble. It is a testimony to friendship or loyalty that Rachel continues to follow Mary--and Rachel expects the same loyalty in return. When she learns that Mary plans to become a nun, Rachel is stunned by what she regards as Mary's act of betrayal. In retrospect, Mary's decision, and Rachel's response are not surprising. And TTWA, having morphed from a comedy into an interesting cinematic essay about friendship, concludes in a dramatic final scene in which Rachel struggles with conflicting emotions and ultimately chooses reconciliation.Equally talented in comedy and drama (and herself a product of a Catholic school), Rosalind Russell was well cast as the Mother Superior. The role of Mary did not capitalize on Hayley Mills's talents. And, for perhaps the first time in her career, Mills is not the center of sympathetic attention. Instead, that attention focuses on Rachel, whose shortcomings and vulnerabilities are manifest. June Harding was certainly not the obvious choice for the part of Rachel. She was too old (she turned 28 during the filming), and had almost no experience in comedy. Seeming to confirm her unsuitability for this role, she showed up at an early interview looking more like a Manhattan model than an adolescent schoolgirl. But director Ida Lupino immediately saw something in Harding--perhaps Harding was like Rachel--and lobbied executives to give her this role. Mills and Harding were a sort of cinematic odd couple. Mills was a scion of a prominent English theatrical family, who had already been in 10 films, usually as the star. Harding on the other hand, was the daughter of a wholesale meat packer in a tiny southern Virginia town, making her only major film. Nonetheless, they worked well together; and Harding delivered a convincing performance as Mary's rather naïve and impressionable understudy--although she was nine years older than Mills. From her letters, one gets the feeling that Harding was having more fun than anyone else on the set, and it shows. Also contributing to the success of TTWA are Lupino's unobtrusive but effective direction, and Jerry Goldsmith's music.

Rosalind Russell, Loretta Young, and Irene Dunne were the Catholic triple threat of Hollywood stardom. All of these women were prominent Catholic lay individuals and later on in their careers got to do a little outreach for their religion. I don't think Roz ever served the Catholic cause better than by playing a Mother Superior whose convent runs a Catholic Girl's High School. The kids board there, it's a place for rich men of the Catholic persuasion to dump their teenage daughters.No one of the students is more aware of it than Hayley Mills and she's one rebellious child. She and her friend June Harding become the Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance of the student body, giving no end of grief to Rosalind Russell and the rest of the sisters.It is true that Rosalind Russell stated in her memoirs that she and Hayley Mills did not get along in the making of The Trouble With Angels. Quite different from what Maureen O'Hara said about Hayley during the making of The Parent Trap. What a difference six years can make. But in teenage years it's a lifetime of change. Hayley Mills even after finishing her contract with Disney could not escape that image and her youthful appearance worked against her getting really adult parts. Later that year she finally broke the mold with The Family Way back in her native Great Britain. Russell attributed it to hormonal change as well in her life.This film has some touches of sadness as well unlike the sequel Where Angels Go Troubles Follow. One of the sisters dies unexpectedly and Hayley's life takes an unexpected turn that she would have told you that you were nuts if you didn't see it. Russell's an old fashioned Mother Superior, but wise and patient with her charges. She's most definitely not Auntie Mame in a habit.Given all that the Catholic church has recently dealt with you could not make a film like this today. So when this one is run, enjoy it and think of more innocent times.