“HABITS, COLLARS & CLOSEUPS IN CLASSIC CINEMA” - 1/12/2026 (122)

Classic cinema has always had a fascination with clergy and nuns — not just as religious figures, but as real people caught between faith and the challenges of the world. When these characters take center stage, the stories often become less about doctrine and more about conscience, compassion, and moral choices. Sometimes with a good dose of humor thrown in. In today’s episode, we’re going to dive into classic films that put nuns and clergy at the heart of the story. The characters portrayed are thoughtful, conflicted, sometimes heroic, and always deeply human, with stories that explore grace, hope, and the consequences of our choices. This week, we take a look back at some unforgettable films where the collar or the veil isn’t just a costume—it’s the core of the story.

SHOW NOTES:

Sources:

“Let’s Talk About ‘Black Narcissus’,” April 17, 2025, by Sailor Monsoon

“The Story Behind ‘Stars in My Crown’,” May 29, 2024, by Henry C. Parke, www.insp.com;

“‘The Nun’s Story’: Revisiting Audrey Hepburn’s Most Overlooked Film,” January 24, 2020, by Nadra Nittle, America Magazine;

“My Favourite Hitchcock: I Confess,” August 8, 2012, by Philip Oltermann, The Guardian;

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IBDB.com;

IMDBPro.com;

RogerEbert.com

Movies Mentioned:

Boys Town (1938), starring Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney & Bobs Watson;

Keys of the Kingdom (1944), starring Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Edmund Gwenn & Roddy McDowell;

Black Narcissus (1947) starring Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Flora Robson & Jean Simmons;

Stars In My Crown (1950), starring Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell, James Mitchell, Amanda Blake, Juano Hernandez & Ed Begley;

Thunder on the Hill (1951), starring Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Phillip Friend, Connie Gilchrist, Norma Varden & Gladys Cooper;

I, Confess (1953), starring Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter & Karl Malden;

The Nun Story (1959), starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Dean Jagger, Peggy Ashcroft, Edith Evans, Beatrice Staright & Colleen Dewhurst;

The Trouble With Angels (1966), starring Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, June Harding, Camilla Sparv, Binnie Barnes, Marge Redmond, Mary Wickes, Jim Hutton & Barbara Hunter;

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