The Song of Bernadette (1943)

★ 7.1 2h 36m IMDb

In 1858 Lourdes, France, adolescent peasant Bernadette has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the Massabielle grotto - the townspeople assume this lady to be the Virgin Mary. Pompous government officials think the girl is insane, doing their best to suppress her and her followers, while the church wants nothing to do with the matter. But as Bernadette attracts wider and wider attention, the phenomenon overtakes everyone in the town, ultimately transforming their lives.

The Song of Bernadette

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Cast

Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones as Bernadette Died 2009 · Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Phylis Lee Isley (March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee,...
William Eythe
William Eythe as Antoine Nicolau Died 1957 · Mars, Pennsylvania, USA William Eythe (April 7, 1918 – January 26, 1957) was an American actor of film, radio, television and stage. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Eythe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full...
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford as Father Peyramale Died 1967 · Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Charles Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor best known for his supporting roles.  He was nominated three times for the Academy A...
Vincent Price
Vincent Price as Prosecutor Vital Dutour Died 1993 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and performances in horror films. His career spanned other genres, including fi...
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb as Dr. Dozous Died 1976 · New York City, New York, USA Lee J. Cobb (December 8, 1911 — February 11, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his performances in On the Waterfront (1954), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, 12 Angry...
Gladys Cooper
Gladys Cooper as Sister Marie Therese Vauzous Died 1971 · Chiswick, England, UK Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning on the stage as a tee...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 7/10 Jun 26, 2022
Jennifer Jones turns in an engaging performance as the eponymous girl, living in mid-19th Century France, who claims to have received divine communications in a grotto near her local village of Lourdes. Unsurprisingly, she faces a fairly sceptical clergy and state but her fellow villagers lap it all up. That enthusiasm soon spreads and soon - like it or not - she is a phenomenon that has drawn the attention of the Empress Eugenie herself. Her problems only worsen when she is finally accepted, and validated by her church and she takes up residence in a nunnery where she is respected and resented in pretty much equal measure. Cynics may cast aspersions on the reasons behind the casting of Jones in this film, but nobody could argue that her performance is anything other than perfect. She has an innocence that lends well to the plausibility of her charming, unassuming persona and of her pretty turbulent - and short - life too. Charles Bickford also delivers well as her initially suspicious parish priest as do local magistrate "Dutour" (Vincent Price) and doctor "Dozous" (Lee J. Cobb). The writing is maybe not the most significant element of the story, indeed it is a bit vapid at times, but the story quite successfully captivates even now, 80 years later.

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