St. Dominic's Church is in financial trouble under the guidance of Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) and so Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is sent by the bishop to turn things around. The two holy men work side by side but have a different approach to life - O'Malley's youthful outlook is not shared by Fitzgibbon. Fitzgibbon goes to the bishop to complain but ends up finding out the truth as to why O'Malley has been appointed. We follow the story of how fortune changes for St. Dominic's.
Bing is good as he breezes through the film in his likable manner but the star of the film is Barry Fitzgerald. He is excellent as a restrained grumpy old man who doesn't care for "Three Blind Mice". I think that the songs could have been better and the film definitely did not need an opera singer Genevieve (Rise Stevens) to sing a couple of songs in that fake way that only opera singers can by deliberately pronouncing every word so that it sounds wrong. For example "amen" becomes "aauurrmmiiin" - that kind of nonsense. The film goes on for too long, so, of course, it won an Oscar but there are better films that were made in 1944.......I could name about 30. However, it is a feelgood story that hooks you in from the beginning.
Bing is good as he breezes through the film in his likable manner but the star of the film is Barry Fitzgerald. He is excellent as a restrained grumpy old man who doesn't care for "Three Blind Mice". I think that the songs could have been better and the film definitely did not need an opera singer Genevieve (Rise Stevens) to sing a couple of songs in that fake way that only opera singers can by deliberately pronouncing every word so that it sounds wrong. For example "amen" becomes "aauurrmmiiin" - that kind of nonsense. The film goes on for too long, so, of course, it won an Oscar but there are better films that were made in 1944.......I could name about 30. However, it is a feelgood story that hooks you in from the beginning.