The Miracle (1959 film)
Encyclopedia
The Miracle is a 1959 remake of a 1912 German film Das Mirakel directed by Cherry Kearton
and Max Reinhardt
which in turn was based on a 1911 pantomime play of the same name by Karl Vollmöller
.
, son of Max Reinhardt; however, the project was shelved until 1959. The 1959 film version stars Carroll Baker
and Roger Moore
and was directed by Irving Rapper
for Warner Bros.
It was two hours long and shot in Technirama
and Technicolor
, with an original score by Elmer Bernstein
. While the original play and film had been set in medieval times, this version was set during the Napoleonic era
in Spain - in fact, its climax involved the Battle of Waterloo
, with Torin Thatcher
making a cameo appearance as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
(Napoleon is never seen in the film). Not presented as a pantomime but as a regular epic, the 1959 film was panned by critics, and had the misfortune to be released to theatres the same week as MGM's Technicolor
, widescreen version of "Ben-Hur"
, starring Charlton Heston
- one of the most successful epic film
s of all time. Even worse, Warner Bros. had earlier that same year released The Nun's Story
, a film starring Audrey Hepburn
in which the main character was also a nun having doubts about her vocation, as in The Miracle. The Nun's Story had been a commercial and critical smash hit, garnering several Oscar
nominations. Both that film and The Miracle were produced by Henry Blanke
, and most likely, one drew unfavorable comparisons with the other.
. Still, she has a lively devotion to Christ and to His Blessed Mother. A statue of the Madonna, in fact, is held in high regard by Teresa as she goes about her duties.
When the British march through the town on their way to battle Napoleon, Teresa is suddenly drawn to a handsome captain (Roger Moore). After the battle the British return to the convent which the Mother Superior offers as a hospital for the wounded. Here Teresa learns more about the young captain who had attracted her interest. He is Michael Stuart. He finds Teresa fascinating, describes England to her and shows her a pocketwatch that plays a lovely tune, a gift from his uncle, The Duke of Wellington (Torin Thatcher). Before long they find themselves falling in love.
Recovered, the soldiers march out of the convent grounds to be billeted in town. Teresa is filled with desire for Michael and begins to question her calling. Returning to duty, Michael asks Teresa to marry him; she hesitates, but runs after him. They kiss and Michael proposes that they meet at the town's inn if she wants to leave the religious life and marry him.
Teresa is in a quandary. In the chapel she begs for guidance. When no tangible sign is forthcoming she strips off her postulant's habit, wraps a cloak around herself and dashes off into the night to meet with Michael in the town. At this point the miracle occurs. The cherished statue of the Virgin Mary
comes to life, dons the discarded habit and secretly takes Teresa's place at the convent.
A thunderstorm roars up as the statue of the Holy Mother steps off its pedestal, but it is the last rain the people of the valley will see for several years. A period of drought begins in the surrounding countryside, seriously damaging the local crops. (The townspeople are convinced that the intervention of the Virgin Mary causes the crops to flourish, and their belief seems to contain an element of truth, for now that the statue has seemingly disappeared, the drought has begun.)
The French return to the town and ravage the people. Teresa is nearly raped by a French sargeant, but is saved by a band of gypsies. One of them is a handsome young man for whom the French have offered a reward, calling him Guido the Gypsy (Vittorio Gassman
). He is the gypsies' leader. He has Michael's watch, which he gives Teresa when she reacts to the tune that plays with the case is opened. Guida tells his brother that he took it from a dead Englishman. Hearing this Teresa is aghast. When the gypsy named Flaco (Walter Slezak
) mentions that he knows the girl from the convent, he laughs. As the other gypsies also laugh ,Teresa, now angry with God, denounces Christianity as a lie that deceives believers. To make her point she rips off a necklace with a little crucifix and throws it to the ground, screaming that she is no Christian.
What Teresa doesn't know is that Michael has been captured and taken to a prison camp. After some time he escapes and returns to the convent to take Teresa with him to England to marry her. He's too late, the Mother Superior informs him, "Teresa is now the Bride of Christ," meaning that she has taken her final vows and is now a fully-fledged nun. Michael pushes past her only to find "Teresa" in full habit (actually the Virgin Mary impersonating her), singing in a procession. Disillusioned, he leaves to return to duty.
Meanwhile, Teresa, believing Michael dead, falls in love with Guido. His brother, Carlitos (Carlos Rivas), is eaten up by envy and jealousy. On the eve of their wedding, Guido is betrayed to the French by Carlitos. A detachment of soldiers sweeps the gypsy camp pushing Carlitos before them to show them the way. The soldiers shoot a number of men, including Guido. In the distance, Flaco sees what's going on and hides.
After the French captain tosses a bag of gold to Carlitos, he is in turn shot to death by La Roca, the two men's mother (Katina Paxinou
) for betraying his brother. In agony La Roca turns on the despondent Teresa as the cause of this disaster and banishes her from the camp. Flaco decides to act as Teresa's protector as they begin to wander Spain together.
Coming to Madrid, Teresa flirts with Cordoba, a bullfighter while being pursued by the wealthy Count Casimir (Dennis King
) who finances her career as a singer. When the bullfighter is gored in the bullring while smiling at her Teresa believes herself to be the cause of his death as, she believes, she was for Michael and the two gypsy brothers.
During the next four years Teresa travels the Continent becoming a celebrated singer. In Belgium on a concert tour, a special ball is being prepared for the British officers stationed there to again meet Napoleon, now escaped from Elba. In her carriage, Teresa catches sight of a British colonel - it is Michael. She gives him the watch she thought had been the sign of his death and he again pledges his love. but Teresa is frightened seeing the red of his uniform reflecting off her white dress - it reminds her of blood.
The two lovers attend the ball. On the terrace Teresa asks Michael why, after his escape he did not come back for her. But he did, Michael tells her. In fact he is surprised to see her, considering that he had seen her in nun's habit after taking final vows. She persuades him that he must have hallucinated this while he was lying ill at the prison camp. Michael agrees. At the same time he does recall that the statue of the Madonna had disappeared. This news distresses Teresa even more; she had loved the statue so much. Just then word comes to Colonel Stuart that the Duke of Wellington has called all officers to join their ranks. The ball had been allowed to go on as a ruse to fool all the spies infesting Belgium. Michael asks her to pray for him.
Teresa has now come to a crossroads. Because she believes she is cursed, she is terrified that Michael will die in battle for having loved her. Should she marry her soldier or return to the convent? She goes to a church to pray. There she makes her peace with God, asking Him to keep Michael safe so that he may return to his own people, and not to her. She decides to return to the convent and leaves with Flaco in a coach.
The next day, Michael leads the infantry charge that finally breaks the ranks of Napoleon's soldiers. A cannon ball explodes near him. Wellington sees Michael fall from his horse. Bodies litter the field but Michael comes to his senses. Picking up his helmet, he sees where shrapnel has torn a slice across it. It appears that Michael has been saved through divine intervention.
Michael returns to Teresa's flat. She has sent the parish priest to tell him of her decision and to deliver a letter to him in which Teresa begs Michael not to follow her. She must return to her true vocation. In anguish Michael asks the priest for spiritual guidance, knowing that he must respect Teresa's choice and do what is right by letting her go.
Teresa returns to Salamanca to find the region suffering a drought "for four years now," as a woman tells her - ever since the statue of Mary disappeared. Bidding farewell to Flaco, Teresa enters the chapel she'd left so long ago and prays. As she lies on the floor weeping, the Blessed Virgin enters, pauses to bless her, and then returns to the pedestal that had been for so long vacant. When she looks up, Teresa sees the statue on its pedestal and gazes on it in awe.
Immediately, a thunderstorm erupts, the drought is over. The joyous people of the town come to the chapel of the convent, including Flaco. As the nuns assemble for prayer, they are struck with the realization that the statue of the Virgin Mary is back in its place and Teresa is kneeling in front of it, properly habited, firmly in prayer. Everyone is struck by what is considered the miraculous reappearance of the statue and join in singing Mozart's beautiful motet, Ave verum corpus
.
Cherry Kearton
Cherry Kearton was born in the small Yorkshire Dales village of Thwaite, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, and was one of the world's earliest wildlife photographers and writers. He first married Mary Burwood Coates, with whom he had a son, also named Cherry, and a daughter, Nina. He later...
and Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (theatre director)
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
which in turn was based on a 1911 pantomime play of the same name by Karl Vollmöller
Karl Vollmöller
Karl Gustav Vollmöller, usually written Vollmoeller was a German playwright and screenwriter.He is most famous for two works, the screenplay for the celebrated 1930 German film Der Blaue Engel , which made a star of Marlene Dietrich, and the elaborate religious spectacle-pantomime Das Mirakel ,...
.
Production history and reception
It was originally scheduled for filming in 1942, and was to have been presented in a four-hour version produced by Wolfgang ReinhardtWolfgang Reinhardt (producer)
Wolfgang Reinhardt was a German film producer and screenwriter. He produced ten films between 1940 and 1973. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay in 1962 for the film Freud....
, son of Max Reinhardt; however, the project was shelved until 1959. The 1959 film version stars Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
and Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
and was directed by Irving Rapper
Irving Rapper
Irving Rapper was a British film director. His most successful body of work is 10 films he made while under contract with Warner Brothers....
for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
It was two hours long and shot in Technirama
Technirama
Technirama is a screen process that was used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid 1960s...
and Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, with an original score by Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
. While the original play and film had been set in medieval times, this version was set during the Napoleonic era
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
in Spain - in fact, its climax involved the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, with Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher was an English actor born in Bombay, British India, India), to English parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains....
making a cameo appearance as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(Napoleon is never seen in the film). Not presented as a pantomime but as a regular epic, the 1959 film was panned by critics, and had the misfortune to be released to theatres the same week as MGM's Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, widescreen version of "Ben-Hur"
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
- one of the most successful epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
s of all time. Even worse, Warner Bros. had earlier that same year released The Nun's Story
The Nun's Story (film)
The Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...
, a film starring Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
in which the main character was also a nun having doubts about her vocation, as in The Miracle. The Nun's Story had been a commercial and critical smash hit, garnering several Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations. Both that film and The Miracle were produced by Henry Blanke
Henry Blanke
Henry Blanke was a German-born film producer who also worked as an assistant director, supervisor, writer, and production manager. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for The Nun's Story ....
, and most likely, one drew unfavorable comparisons with the other.
Plot
Teresa (Carroll Baker), a postulant at the convent of Miraflores in Salamanco, Spain, is an orphan taken in by the sisters there. She enjoys the convent life, despite being a handful for her superiors. She sings worldly love songs to the other postulants and reads secular stories such as Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. Still, she has a lively devotion to Christ and to His Blessed Mother. A statue of the Madonna, in fact, is held in high regard by Teresa as she goes about her duties.
When the British march through the town on their way to battle Napoleon, Teresa is suddenly drawn to a handsome captain (Roger Moore). After the battle the British return to the convent which the Mother Superior offers as a hospital for the wounded. Here Teresa learns more about the young captain who had attracted her interest. He is Michael Stuart. He finds Teresa fascinating, describes England to her and shows her a pocketwatch that plays a lovely tune, a gift from his uncle, The Duke of Wellington (Torin Thatcher). Before long they find themselves falling in love.
Recovered, the soldiers march out of the convent grounds to be billeted in town. Teresa is filled with desire for Michael and begins to question her calling. Returning to duty, Michael asks Teresa to marry him; she hesitates, but runs after him. They kiss and Michael proposes that they meet at the town's inn if she wants to leave the religious life and marry him.
Teresa is in a quandary. In the chapel she begs for guidance. When no tangible sign is forthcoming she strips off her postulant's habit, wraps a cloak around herself and dashes off into the night to meet with Michael in the town. At this point the miracle occurs. The cherished statue of the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
comes to life, dons the discarded habit and secretly takes Teresa's place at the convent.
A thunderstorm roars up as the statue of the Holy Mother steps off its pedestal, but it is the last rain the people of the valley will see for several years. A period of drought begins in the surrounding countryside, seriously damaging the local crops. (The townspeople are convinced that the intervention of the Virgin Mary causes the crops to flourish, and their belief seems to contain an element of truth, for now that the statue has seemingly disappeared, the drought has begun.)
The French return to the town and ravage the people. Teresa is nearly raped by a French sargeant, but is saved by a band of gypsies. One of them is a handsome young man for whom the French have offered a reward, calling him Guido the Gypsy (Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman Knight Grand Cross OMRI , popularly known as Il Mattatore, was an Italian theatre and film actor and director...
). He is the gypsies' leader. He has Michael's watch, which he gives Teresa when she reacts to the tune that plays with the case is opened. Guida tells his brother that he took it from a dead Englishman. Hearing this Teresa is aghast. When the gypsy named Flaco (Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
) mentions that he knows the girl from the convent, he laughs. As the other gypsies also laugh ,Teresa, now angry with God, denounces Christianity as a lie that deceives believers. To make her point she rips off a necklace with a little crucifix and throws it to the ground, screaming that she is no Christian.
What Teresa doesn't know is that Michael has been captured and taken to a prison camp. After some time he escapes and returns to the convent to take Teresa with him to England to marry her. He's too late, the Mother Superior informs him, "Teresa is now the Bride of Christ," meaning that she has taken her final vows and is now a fully-fledged nun. Michael pushes past her only to find "Teresa" in full habit (actually the Virgin Mary impersonating her), singing in a procession. Disillusioned, he leaves to return to duty.
Meanwhile, Teresa, believing Michael dead, falls in love with Guido. His brother, Carlitos (Carlos Rivas), is eaten up by envy and jealousy. On the eve of their wedding, Guido is betrayed to the French by Carlitos. A detachment of soldiers sweeps the gypsy camp pushing Carlitos before them to show them the way. The soldiers shoot a number of men, including Guido. In the distance, Flaco sees what's going on and hides.
After the French captain tosses a bag of gold to Carlitos, he is in turn shot to death by La Roca, the two men's mother (Katina Paxinou
Katina Paxinou
Katina Paxinou was a Greek film and theatre actress.-Early life:Born Aikaterini Konstantopoulou in Piraeus, Greece, she trained as an opera singer, and appeared in the operatic version of Maeterlinck's "Sister Beatrice," with a score by Dimitri Mitropoulos, but changed career and joined the Greek...
) for betraying his brother. In agony La Roca turns on the despondent Teresa as the cause of this disaster and banishes her from the camp. Flaco decides to act as Teresa's protector as they begin to wander Spain together.
Coming to Madrid, Teresa flirts with Cordoba, a bullfighter while being pursued by the wealthy Count Casimir (Dennis King
Dennis King (actor)
Dennis King was an English actor and singer.Born in Coventry as Dennis Pratt, King had a stage career in both drama and musicals. He emigrated to the USA in 1921 and went on to a successful career on the Broadway stage. He appeared in two musical films and played non-singing roles in two other...
) who finances her career as a singer. When the bullfighter is gored in the bullring while smiling at her Teresa believes herself to be the cause of his death as, she believes, she was for Michael and the two gypsy brothers.
During the next four years Teresa travels the Continent becoming a celebrated singer. In Belgium on a concert tour, a special ball is being prepared for the British officers stationed there to again meet Napoleon, now escaped from Elba. In her carriage, Teresa catches sight of a British colonel - it is Michael. She gives him the watch she thought had been the sign of his death and he again pledges his love. but Teresa is frightened seeing the red of his uniform reflecting off her white dress - it reminds her of blood.
The two lovers attend the ball. On the terrace Teresa asks Michael why, after his escape he did not come back for her. But he did, Michael tells her. In fact he is surprised to see her, considering that he had seen her in nun's habit after taking final vows. She persuades him that he must have hallucinated this while he was lying ill at the prison camp. Michael agrees. At the same time he does recall that the statue of the Madonna had disappeared. This news distresses Teresa even more; she had loved the statue so much. Just then word comes to Colonel Stuart that the Duke of Wellington has called all officers to join their ranks. The ball had been allowed to go on as a ruse to fool all the spies infesting Belgium. Michael asks her to pray for him.
Teresa has now come to a crossroads. Because she believes she is cursed, she is terrified that Michael will die in battle for having loved her. Should she marry her soldier or return to the convent? She goes to a church to pray. There she makes her peace with God, asking Him to keep Michael safe so that he may return to his own people, and not to her. She decides to return to the convent and leaves with Flaco in a coach.
The next day, Michael leads the infantry charge that finally breaks the ranks of Napoleon's soldiers. A cannon ball explodes near him. Wellington sees Michael fall from his horse. Bodies litter the field but Michael comes to his senses. Picking up his helmet, he sees where shrapnel has torn a slice across it. It appears that Michael has been saved through divine intervention.
Michael returns to Teresa's flat. She has sent the parish priest to tell him of her decision and to deliver a letter to him in which Teresa begs Michael not to follow her. She must return to her true vocation. In anguish Michael asks the priest for spiritual guidance, knowing that he must respect Teresa's choice and do what is right by letting her go.
Teresa returns to Salamanca to find the region suffering a drought "for four years now," as a woman tells her - ever since the statue of Mary disappeared. Bidding farewell to Flaco, Teresa enters the chapel she'd left so long ago and prays. As she lies on the floor weeping, the Blessed Virgin enters, pauses to bless her, and then returns to the pedestal that had been for so long vacant. When she looks up, Teresa sees the statue on its pedestal and gazes on it in awe.
Immediately, a thunderstorm erupts, the drought is over. The joyous people of the town come to the chapel of the convent, including Flaco. As the nuns assemble for prayer, they are struck with the realization that the statue of the Virgin Mary is back in its place and Teresa is kneeling in front of it, properly habited, firmly in prayer. Everyone is struck by what is considered the miraculous reappearance of the statue and join in singing Mozart's beautiful motet, Ave verum corpus
Ave verum corpus (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ave verum corpus in D major was written for Anton Stoll who was musical co-ordinator in the parish of Baden bei Wien, near Vienna. This setting of the Ave verum corpus text was composed to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi and the autograph is dated 17 June 1791...
.