Plot
Monsignor Sleeth visits Father Francis Chisholm in his old age at his Scottish parish of Tynecastle in Tweedside. [a] Sleeth reveals that the Bishop thinks that it would be better if Francis retires, as the latter's unorthodox recent teachings have become a distraction. Sleeth retires to his room in the rectory, and finds Father Francis' journal that recounts his story from 1878.
One night during his childhood, an anti-Catholic mob beat Francis' father during a rainstorm. As Francis' mother attempts to lead her husband to safety, they both die in a bridge collapse. Francis's aunt raises him until he leaves for the seminary with his childhood friend, Anselm "Angus" Mealey. Francis studies for about a year, but finds himself still in love with Nora, a girl from his home town. Francis learns that, after he left for the seminary, Nora had a child out of wedlock with another man. Francis goes to see her but arrives just as she dies, giving birth to a daughter, Judy. He returns to the seminary and completes his studies.
Bishop McNabb suggests that Francis volunteer for the missions in China. Francis accepts. In Pai-tan, China, Francis finds that flood have destroyed the mission. He rents a small room in the city and starts to evangelise. However, because he has no money or influence, Francis is chastised by "rice Christians" who only attended to receive free rice.
A young Christian Chinese, Joseph, offers to help rebuild the church for free. He had heard of the return of a missionary and walked five days to reach the village. They create the St Andrews Christian Mission.
Francis receives a shipment of medical supplies from his childhood friend, Dr William (Willie) Tulloch. An old woman comes with her granddaughter and asks that Francis care for the child when she, the old woman, dies. Francis is then summoned to the home of local official, Mr Chia, to cure Chia's only son of an infection. Francis eventually saves the boy. Weeks later, Chia comes to Francis to convert to Christianity. However, Francis rejects him because he would be converting from gratitude rather than true belief. Relieved, Chia donates land and provides labourers to rebuild the mission. Three nuns arrive and set up further Christian provisions.
Two years later, Willie visits from Scotland and creates a makeshift hospital. The mission is destroyed along with much of the town in fires caused by imperial troops battling republican forces. Willie is fatally shot and dies in Francis' care. The imperial general demands most of the mission's food and funds or the troops will destroy the mission. A republican army officer and Francis come up with a plan. They approach the imperial camp pretending to be carrying food and money. The bundle is explosives. The republican officer places it next to the main offending cannon. Francis throws a torch and ignites it. The cannon is destroyed as are 32 troops. Francis is injured and has a limp from thereon.
Later, Angus arrives as part of a review of missionary sites. He reveals that Bishop McNabb is dead. The Church cannot pay for rebuilding the mission, and Francis has the lowest of all in conversion rates. Angus tells Francis to focus on converting rich Chinese and to improve his clothes and accommodation to impress the locals. However, Francis refuses.
Ten years later, Francis is keeping bees and making wax and honey. A new church has been built. A rival American mission has been opened in Pai-tan - a Protestant mission run by the Methodist Church under Rev Fiske and his wife.
Years later, Francis reaches retirement age and two young priests come to replace him. Francis plans to look after Judy's son, Andrew, when he returns to Scotland. On his final day, the townspeople line the street as Francis drives through in an open top car. Francis blesses the crowd.
Sleeth spends a night reading Francis' journal and eventually decides to not tell that the Bishop anything is amiss at Francis' parish, leaving him free to continue serving his parish, and raising Andrew. They get their fishing rods and head off.
Production
David O. Selznick originally purchased the screen rights to A. J. Cronin's novel, intending to produce the film for United Artists. However, by 1943, Selznick dissolved his independent production studio, Selznick International Pictures, and the rights were acquired by Twentieth Century-Fox. Several actors were considered for the role of Father Chisholm, which included Spencer Tracy, Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Gene Kelly, and Henry Fonda. However, the part went to Gregory Peck. [1] At Fox, Nunnally Johnson had written a script adaptation and was intended to supervise the production, but he left to join William Goetz's independent studio International Company. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who had left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and became contracted to Fox, took over as producer. He then substantially rewrote Nunnally's script. [1] Meanwhile, Alfred Hitchcock had expressed interest in directing the project, [3] but opted instead to direct Lifeboat (1944).
Ingrid Bergman was the studio's first choice for the part of Mother Maria-Veronica. In February 1944, the Catholic publication The Tidings reported Geraldine Fitzgerald and Mankiewicz's wife Rose Stradner had tested for the role. [4] Stradner later told the publication the character reminded her of the nuns she had known at the Sacred Heart Convent in her native Vienna: "The character of Maria-Veronica reminded me strongly of her. She was in fact, just the same woman; strong-willed, unfliching in her faith, richly educated and of fine family lineage." [5] When Bergman became available, Darryl F. Zanuck instead offered Stradner a two-picture contract with the studio, as he felt Bergman's box office appeal would compensate for Peck, who was then an unknown actor. Mankiewicz personally pleaded to Zanuck to keep Stradner in the role, to which Zanuck complied. [6]
Reception
Abel Green of Variety favorably compared the film to The Song of Bernadette, writing it was an "inspired, dignified, artistic, heart-warming cinematogury" about the "cavalcade of a priest's life, played excellently by Gregory Peck". [7] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times felt the adaptation was a "surface shadow of [Cronin's novel] that was so finely wrought", but acknowledged Peck "gives a quiet and forceful performance in the role of the priest and carries a fine impression of godly devotion and dignity." [8] James Agee for The Nation declared, "While I was watching The Keys of the Kingdom ... I liked it quite well for its sincerity and for what then seemed its reasonably clean effort to present a hero whose heroism is moral. As I think it over, much of the sincerity and of the ethics seems beefy, over-comfortable, love-your-fellow-mannish, and in general rather uninteresting." [9] Harrison's Reports wrote the film was "a story of sacrifice, tolerance, and faith, told in a dignified, sympathetic, and impressive way. The picture's pace is too slow in spots, and the elimination of some of the footage would benefit it, nevertheless, it holds one's attention all the way through. Gregory Peck, as the priest, gives a flawless and sensitive performance." [10]
Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times felt Peck's performance was "a highly inspired achievement in acting of the most sincere type". Nevertheless, he regarded the film as "a biographical narrative, painstaking to a high degree, and possessed of both significance and humanness. But it lacks the verve and charm of a Going My Way , and ruggedly sets forth the experiences of its hero, centering mostly on his work as a missionary in China." [11] A review in Time magazine similarly noted the film "lacks the parochial authenticity, the comic pathos and the sagacious acting which made Going My Way the best of all movies about priests. But it is rather more attentive to religion, and its religiousness is not only free of pomp and sanctimony but is also human, dramatic and moving." [12]
Among retrospective reviews, Pauline Kael was unimpressed, writing it was "Hollywood at its most virtuous." She further wrote, "The director John M. Stahl sets a slow, santicimous pace and holds to it, with Peck's beautiful, uncharimastic face lighted 'from within'." [13] Critic Leslie Halliwell stated, "Studio-made missionary melodrama, a big hit for its new star but otherwise an undistinguished piece of work with a shuffling pace and not much by way of climax." [14] In a 2010 review, film critic Jay Carr wrote:
Again and again, one is impressed by the depth of talent on studio rosters of the time, in this case 20th Century-Fox. Not just Gwenn, Mitchell, Hardwicke, and Price, but James Gleason, Roddy McDowall (Chisholm as a boy), Peggy Ann Garner, Anne Revere and Benson Fong dot the cast list in this solidly crafted film – measured, stately, patient, never loud or pounding (except when the mission is caught in a war between imperial and nascent republican troops, and Father Chisholm briefly takes up arms!). It would have to be because it's essentially a film about interiority translated into service, a film of cumulative increments...The bottom line is that The Keys of the Kingdom and Peck convince us they're about a man in a cassock spending his life trying to do the right thing. [15]
