The Song of Bernadette
Here is greatness... wonder... and majesty... no human words can describe!
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Production
Budget
$2 000 000
Director
Scenario
Franz Werfel
Author
Composer
Producer
William Perlberg
Actors
Jennifer Jones
Bernadette
William Eythe
Antoine Nicolau
Charles Bickford
Father Peyramale
Vincent Price
Prosecutor Vital Dutour
Lee J. Cobb
Dr. Dozous
Gladys Cooper
Sister Marie Therese Vauzous
Anne Revere
Louise Soubirous
Roman Bohnen
François Soubirous
Short description
In 1858 Lourdes, France, adolescent peasant Bernadette has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the Massabielle grotto - the townspeople assume this lady to be the Virgin Mary. Pompous government officials think the girl is insane, doing their best to suppress her and her followers, while the church wants nothing to do with the matter. But as Bernadette attracts wider and wider attention, the phenomenon overtakes everyone in the town, ultimately transforming their lives.
What's left behind the scenes
- The character played by Vincent Price (1911-1993), who is tasked with investigating Bernadette's visions, is portrayed in the film as an atheist. In reality, he was a devout Catholic who believed that Bernadette's visions were hallucinations.
- The use of an actress for the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a fairly controversial move. Even more questions arose when it was decided to cast the glamorous Linda Darnell (1923-1965) instead of Loretta Young (1913-2000). At the time, Darnell was known as a party girl. Franz Werfel (1890-1945), author of the 1941 novel that served as the literary source for the screenplay, threatened to leave the project entirely and forbid the use of his name if Darnell were cast. To top it all off, it was discovered that Darnell was pregnant. Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979) refused to hear any objections; Werfel was told that an unknown actress had been cast, while it was actually Darnell who played the part (though her wardrobe consisted of a few more items than the simple dress and veil described by Bernadette).
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Auditions in India
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