| The Reluctant Saint | |
|---|---|
) VHS cover for the film | |
| Directed by | Edward Dmytryk |
| Produced by | Edward Dmytryk John R. Sloan |
| Written by | John Fante Joseph Petracca |
| Starring | Maximilian Schell Ricardo Montalbán Lea Padovani Akim Tamiroff |
| Music by | Nino Rota |
| Cinematography | C.M. Pennington-Richards |
| Edited by | Manuel del Campo |
Production company | Dmytryk-Weiler Production |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (UK) Davis-Royal Films (US) |
Release date | November 2, 1962 December 3, 1962 (US) |
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | Italy United States |
| Language | English |
The Reluctant Saint is a 1962 American-Italian historical comedy drama film which tells the story of Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th-century Italian Conventual Franciscan friar and mystic who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. It stars Maximilian Schell as Joseph, as well as Ricardo Montalbán, Lea Padovani, Akim Tamiroff, and Harold Goldblatt. The movie was written by John Fante and Joseph Petracca and directed by Edward Dmytryk. It was made in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Mario Chiari.
Joseph of Cupertino was said to have been remarkably unclever, but was recorded by many witnesses during his life as prone to miraculous levitation and intense ecstasies. This movie follows Joseph (Maximilian Schell) from his final days living at home with his mother (Lea Padovani). Because of his slow wits, she has kept him in school despite his being a grown man, older than the other students. He is seen bearing patiently and good-heartedly the ridicule of his fellow villagers, and enduring failed attempts at work as a laborer. At the insistence of his mother (who saw no viable alternatives), we see him joining a Franciscan friary through the influence of his uncle (Harold Goldblatt), an authority in the religious order. But trouble follows Joseph wherever he goes, including the friary, because of his slow wits. Eventually his good heart is noticed by a visiting bishop, (Akim Tamiroff), who orders that he be trained to be a priest.
Despite Joseph's incapacity for the necessary scholarly studies, and preference for just managing the sheep and other animals in the friary's stable, Joseph does become a priest. Although he learns little from the tutoring by the friars, Joseph passes the necessary examinations for the priesthood through a series of unlikely or possibly miraculous events. Soon after, when Joseph is seen levitating at the time of his ecstatic prayers to the Virgin Mary, one of the superiors in the community (Ricardo Montalbán) claims that Joseph suffers from demonic possession. Joseph is therefore exorcised, but his levitations continue, persuading everyone—including his former critic—of the divine origins of his levitations.
Most of the key events in the movie are based on historical events or reports about the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino.
Cast
- Maximilian Schell as Giuseppe
- Ricardo Montalbán as Father Raspi
- Lea Padovani as Giuseppe's Mother
- Akim Tamiroff as Bishop Durso
- Harold Goldblatt as Father Giovanni
- Arnoldo Foà as Felixa - Giuseppe's Father
- Carlo Croccolo as The Gobbo - the Hunchback
- Giulio Bosetti as Brother Orlando
- Elisa Cegani as Sister
- Giacomo Rossi Stuart as Young Examining Prelate
- Tonio Selwart as Examining Prelate
- Odoardo Spadaro as Old Examining Prelate
External links
- The Reluctant Saint at IMDb
- Hollywood.com listing: [1]