Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a 1968 American comedy film directed by James Neilson and starring Rosalind Russell, Stella Stevens and Binnie Barnes. Written by Blanche Hanalis, the film is based on a story by Jane Trahey about an old-line mother superior who is challenged by a modern young nun when they take the girls of St. Francis Academy on a bus trip across the United States.
| Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | James Neilson |
| Screenplay by | Blanche Hanalis |
| Story by | Jane Trahey |
| Produced by | William Frye |
| Starring | Rosalind Russell Stella Stevens Binnie Barnes Susan Saint James Mary Wickes Dolores Sutton Milton Berle Arthur Godfrey Van Johnson Robert Taylor |
| Narrated by | Rosalind Russell |
| Cinematography | Sam Leavitt |
| Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
| Music by | Bobby Hart Lalo Schifrin Tommy Boyce |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.4 million (rentals)[1] |
The film is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels (1966). Russell, Barnes, Mary Wickes and Dolores Sutton all reprise their roles as nuns from the original film.
Plot
The conservative Mother Superior and the glamorous, progressive young Sister George shepherd a busload of Catholic high-school girls across the country to an interfaith youth rally in Santa Barbara, California. As they debate expressions of faith and the role of the church during the tumultuous times, they must also contend with the antics of two rebellious, troublemaking students, Rosabelle and Marvel Anne.
During their journey, their school bus blunders onto the set of an outdoor Western movie, anachronistically ruining an important scene and reducing the director (Milton Berle) to apoplexy. Luckily, benevolent millionaire Mr. Farraday (Robert Taylor) happens along and smooths things over by paying for the damages.
Cast
- Rosalind Russell as Mother Superior
- Stella Stevens as Sister George
- Milton Berle as Film Director
- Arthur Godfrey as The Bishop
- Van Johnson as Father Chase
- Robert Taylor as Mr. Farraday
- Binnie Barnes as Sister Celestine
- Mary Wickes as Sister Clarissa
- Dolores Sutton as Sister Rose-Marie
- Susan Saint James as Rosabelle
- Barbara Hunter as Marvel Anne
- Alice Rawlings as Patty
- Hilary Thompson as Hilarie
- Devon Douglas as Devon
- Ellen Moss as Tanya
- Cherie Lamour as Cherie
- June Fairchild as June[2]
Production
Development
The film was announced in May 1967.[3]
Casting
Along with Russell, the three featured nuns from The Trouble with Angels (Mary Wickes as Sister Clarissa, Binnie Barnes as Sister Celestine and Dolores Sutton as Sister Rose-Marie) returned for the sequel. Barbara Hunter also reprised her role as Marvel Anne, the cousin of Mary Clancy, Hayley Mills' character. The role of Sister George was originally written for Sister Mary Clancy, but after Mills declined to appear in the film, the part was rewritten. Susan Oliver and Connie Stevens were also considered for the role of Sister George.
Filming locations
Principal photography began on July 17, 1967 in Philadelphia,[4] where many scenes in the first half of the movie were filmed, including Market Street near 13th Street and City Hall, and a protest scene at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Other scenes were filmed in the Lehigh Valley at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and at St. Mary's Villa, a Catholic home for troubled youths on Bethlehem Pike in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
The boarding school at which the group stops was actually Germantown Academy, about two miles (3.2 km) south of St. Mary's Villa, although the church shown just prior to the boarding school is actually Ft. Washington Baptist Church, which is only about one mile (1.6 km) northeast of St. Mary's Villa. A scene prominently displays Dorney Park, an amusement park in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The early bus scenes were filmed in nearby Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Soundtrack
The theme song was written and performed by singer-songwriter duo Boyce and Hart. Composer Lalo Schifrin, best known for his work on the television series Mission: Impossible, collaborated with Boyce and Hart on the title song and supplied the incidental score.
- "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" (Schifrin, Boyce, and Hart) performed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart – 1:59
- "Goodbye Baby (I Don't Want to See You Cry)" (Schifrin, Boyce, and Hart) performed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart – 2:57[5]
Reception
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Vincent Canby called the film a "cute-as-a-button comedy" and wrote: "Considering the apparent success of the original film, to say nothing of the immense popularity of other fantasies about nuns who fly and sing, there is probably a large audience waiting to be gulled into somnambulistic complacency by these new slapsticky and sentimental antics. ... [T]he film must rely on the inventiveness of its comic situations and on the appeal of its players. The comedy, however, is strictly up-dated 'Junior Miss,' and the performances right out of Hollywood stock ..."[6]
See also
References
- "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969, pg 15.
- "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows!". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- Friedkin to Direct 'Minsky's' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 23 May 1967: d9.
- Van Johnson Joins 'Angels' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 30 June 1967: d11.
- "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968)". Soundtrack Collector. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
- Canby, Vincent (1968-04-11). "'Angels' and Trouble". The New York Times. p. 51.