When in Rome (1952 film)

Last updated
When in Rome
When in Rome FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Clarence Brown
Written by Robert Buckner
Dorothy Kingsley
Charles Schnee
Produced by Clarence Brown
Starring Van Johnson
Paul Douglas
Joseph Calleia
Cinematography William H. Daniels
Edited by Robert Kern
Music by Carmen Dragon
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • May 11, 1952 (1952-05-11)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,313,000 [1]
Box office$683,000 [1]

When in Rome is a 1952 American comedy drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Van Johnson, Paul Douglas, and Joseph Calleia. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was based on a story by Robert Buckner, Dorothy Kingsley, and Charles Schnee. The picture opens with the following text: ”1950 was a Holy Year. Three million pilgrims from every part of the world thronged to Rome, the Eternal City. Our story is about two men who journeyed to Rome that year. One was Father John X. Halligan, a young priest from Coaltown, Pennsylvania, whose mission was a holy one. The other was Joe Brewster, late of Sing Sing, San Quentin, Joliet and Atlanta, whose mission was not so holy. If our story has a moral, it’s a simple one. God may move in mysterious ways, but He gets there just the same.”

Contents

Plot

Father John X. Halligan is a Catholic priest visiting Rome for the 1950 Holy Year. On the long voyage from New York City to Genoa, he makes friends with Joe Brewster, his cabin mate. Unknown to Halligan, Brewster is a career criminal wanted by American authorities; he faces a life sentence.

The ship docks in Genoa. When he sees police waiting, Brewster steals Halligan's clothing, cassock, hat and passport in order to evade arrest. Two priests appear to welcome  “Father Halligan”. When Halligan disembarks, wearing Brewster’s flamboyant clothes, he is arrested. The Genoa commissario of police believes his story when he chants a portion of the mass.

Meanwhile, Brewster makes friends with an Irish priest and ends up staying with him in Rome at the Monastery of the Three Saints. At a concert, he remembers his days as a choir boy.

Now dressed in borrowed clothes, Halligan reluctantly promises to aid the police. In Rome, he meets the cynical commissario of police. On the way to headquarters, they stop for a procession. Halligan sees Brewster in it and says nothing. The commissario tells Halligan that he will meet him the next morning at the Monastery of the Three Angels, where he is registered. Halligan, who has no place to stay, realizes that this must be Brewster and finds him there. Brewster asks for just one day. Halligan agrees—and prays for guidance. Once he is gone, Brewster follows suit.

The detective shadowing Halligan for his protection invites him home to supper, but they hear sirens. The Monastery of the Three Saints is on fire. Halligan runs back to rescue Brewster, who is fine. A beam falls, and he rescues Father Halligan. They clean up in the fountain of Trevi, then go to the deserted Coliseum, where Halligan asks why Brewster needs the whole day. Brewster wants to earn the total indulgence proclaimed by the pope for the 1950 Holy Year. He starts by making his first confession in 20 years to Halligan. The two then make their way to the sites, with Halligan —and the audience—learning more and more about Brewster.

Halligan is still debating what to do when police see them. He helps Brewster evade arrest by ducking through an ancient door into a cloister where monks are working in the garden. In this religious order, the men remain enclosed for life and never talk to anyone except a superior. They are atoning for their sins and the sins of the world. Brewster finds himself drawn to the place during his brief visit: "Where I was, you could feel the hate in the air, but here..." As they leave, the abbot writes a note apologizing for everyone staring at them, but the iron latch that opened so easily for them has been corroded shut for 100 years.

Halligan and Brewster head to the train station while the streets fill with police. Once there, they become separated, and the commissario finds Halligan. When he insists that Brewster is on a pilgrimage, the commissario goes to St. Peters, where they take him into custody and send him off in a van. Halligan, miserable at having inadvertently betrayed his friend, is convinced that the man is reformed: Then the news comes that Brewster has escaped, which leaves Halligan unsure of himself and his judgment.

Retracing his steps, Halligan returns to the monastery. To his surprise, Brewster is there, wearing monk’s robes. He asks the abbot: Did Brewster tell him his whole story? Is he a worthy penitent? The abbot nods. Brewster writes to Halligan: Prison was all past and no future, and this place is all future and no past. He asks when the next Holy Year will be. Halligan answers that it will be in 25 years, and he promises to visit then. A bell sounds, and they shake hands. Brewster steps back into the cloister and bolts the gate. Father Halligan strides down the hill to join the throngs walking toward the heart of the city.

Cast

Reception

According to MGM records, the film made $503,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $180,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss of $918,000. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbot</span> Religious title

Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from abba, the Syriac form of the Hebrew ab, and means "father". The female equivalent is abbess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard of Clairvaux</span> Burgundian saint, abbot and theologian (1090–1153)

Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist., venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Victor III</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1086 to 1087

Pope Victor III, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 May 1086 to his death. He was the successor of Pope Gregory VII, yet his pontificate is far less notable than his time as Desiderius, the great abbot of Monte Cassino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses the Black</span> Monk, priest and martyr in Egypt

Moses the Black, also known as Moses the Strong, Moses the Robber, and Moses the Ethiopian, was an ascetic monk and priest in Egypt in the fourth century AD, and a Desert Father. He is highly venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church. According to stories about him, he converted from a life of crime to one of asceticism. He is mentioned in Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, written about 70 years after Moses's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odo of Cluny</span> Benedictine monk, second abbot of Cluny

Odo of Cluny was the second abbot of Cluny. He enacted the various Cluniac Reforms of France and Italy. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His feast day is 18 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian monasticism</span> Christian devotional practice

Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament. It has come to be regulated by religious rules and, in modern times, the Canon law of the respective Christian denominations that have forms of monastic living. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms monks (men) and nuns (women). The word monk originated from the Greek μοναχός, itself from μόνος meaning 'alone'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh O'Flaherty</span> Irish Catholic priest (1898–1963)

Hugh O'Flaherty was an Irish Catholic priest, a senior official of the Roman Curia and a significant figure in the Catholic resistance to Nazism. During the Second World War, O'Flaherty was responsible for saving 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews. His ability to evade the traps set by the German Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst (SD) earned him the nickname "The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceolfrith</span>

Saint Ceolfrid was an Anglo-Saxon Christian abbot and saint. He is best known as the warden of Bede from the age of seven until his death in 716. He was the Abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, and a major contributor to the project to produce the Codex Amiatinus Bible. He died in Burgundy while en route to deliver a copy of the codex to Pope Gregory II in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">September 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)</span>

Sep. 12 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - Sep. 14

<i>The Sicilian</i> 1984 novel by Mario Puzo

The Sicilian is a novel by American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group (ISBN 0-671-43564-7), it is based on the life of Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano. It is set in the same universe as Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather (1969), and contains characters from The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfather's literary sequel and is the second book in The Godfather novel series. It was adapted into a film in 1987, though all Godfather references were removed for copyright reasons in the film adaptation.

Nimatullah Kassab Lebanese monk, priest and scholar

Nimatullah Kassab, O.L.M., also known as "Al-Hardini" in reference to his birth village, was a Lebanese monk, priest and scholar of the Maronite Church. He has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odilo of Cluny</span> 5th Benedictine Abbot of Cluny

Odilo of Cluny was the 5th Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, succeeding Mayeul and holding the post for around 54 years. During his tenure Cluny became the most important monastery in western Europe. Odilo actively worked to reform the monastic practices not only at Cluny, but at other Benedictine houses. He also promoted the Truce of God whereby military hostilities were temporarily suspended at certain times for ostensibly religious reasons. Odilo encouraged the formal practice of personal consecration to Mary. He established All Souls' Day in Cluny and its monasteries as the annual commemoration to pray for all the faithful departed. The practice was soon adopted throughout the whole Western church. He was lifelong friends with William of Dijon, another Cluniac abbot and reformer.

Majolus of Cluny was the fourth abbot of Cluny. Majolus was very active in reforming individual communities of monks and canons; first, as a personal commission, requested and authorized by the Emperor or other nobility. Later, he found it more effective to affiliate some of the foundations to the motherhouse at Cluny to lessen the likelihood of later relapse.

The Order of Clerics Regular Minor, commonly known as the Caracciolini or Adorno Fathers, is a Roman Catholic religious order of priests and brothers founded by Francesco Caracciolo, Giovanni Agostino Adorno, and Fabrizio Caracciolo in 1588 at Villa Santa Maria, Abruzzo. Belonging to the family of Clerics Regular, its members desired to sanctify themselves and the People of God by imitating in their lives the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Its motto is Ad Maiorem Dei Resurgentis Gloriam, "For the Greater Glory of the Risen God". The members of the congregation use the acronym CRM. after their names.

<i>The Holy Sinner</i> 1951 novel by Thomas Mann

The Holy Sinner is a German novel written by Thomas Mann. Published in 1951, it is based on the medieval verse epic Gregorius written by the German Minnesinger Hartmann von Aue. The book explores a subject that fascinated Thomas Mann to the end of his life – the origins of evil and evil's connection with magic. Here Mann uses a medieval legend about "the exceeding mercy of God and the birth of the blessed Pope Gregory" as he used the biblical account of Joseph as the basis for Joseph and His Brothers, illuminating with his ironic sensibility the notion of original sin and transcendence of evil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winibald</span> Incorrupt saint

Winibald was abbot of the Benedictine double monastery of Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm. Traditionally, he is called the brother of Willibald and Walpurga.

Gregorio Cortese, born Giovanni Andrea Cortese was an Italian cardinal and monastic reformer.

Hildebrand Gregori, O.S.B. Silv.,, was an Italian Benedictine monk, who served as the Abbot General of the Sylvestrine congregation of the Order. He was instrumental in the care of the many orphans left in the City of Rome after the destruction of World War II. The cause for his beatification has been accepted by the Holy See, due to which he is honored as Venerable.

Ivan Ziatyk was a Ukrainian Catholic priest, Redemptorist, and lecturer, considered to be a martyr by the Catholic Church.

<i>Il commissario di ferro</i> 1978 film

Il commissario di ferro (transl. The Iron Commissioner is a 1978 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.