Francis of Assisi (1961)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Louis De Wohl (novel)
Eugene Vale (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 July 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of a lusty, fighting young adventurer who exchanged his sword for a cross

Plot Keywords:

Blindness | Prayer | Pope | Dying | Saint Francis Of Assisi

Cast

Bradford Dillman	...	Francis Bernardone of Assisi
Dolores Hart	...	Clare
Stuart Whitman	...	Count Paolo of Vandria
Cecil Kellaway	...	Cardinal Hugolino
Eduard Franz	...	Pietro Bernardone
Athene Seyler	...	Aunt Buona
Finlay Currie	...	The Pope
Mervyn Johns	...	Brother Juniper
Russell Napier	...	Brother Elias
John Welsh	...	Canon Cattanei
Harold Goldblatt	...	Bernard
Edith Sharpe	...	Donna Pica
Jack Lambert	...	Scefi
Oliver Johnston	...	Father Livoni
Malcolm Keen	...	Bishop Guido

Runtime:

105 min | Spain:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Assisi, Perugia, Umbria, Italy

Company:

Perseus Productions

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~10.6 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~10.3 seconds.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999) (TV)

Lavish production in support of an idealized and sentimentalized religious epic

The production values for this movie are very high. The period costumes are some of the best ever and the filming is beautiful. Even the horses are elegantly clad and the battle scene with the horses on the bridge is impressive.

However, all of this effort does not cover up problems. Many biographies of Francis are captivating, but the story, as presented here, is quite unbelievable and never involving. After Francis' conversion we see him pulling a cart through the streets asking for stones to rebuild a church (it just so happens that everyone along the way happens to have a few spare stones readily available). With a few followers we see Francis working with some crude structures at the church site and then, magically, we see Francis and his followers in an elaborate cathedral with large pillars and intricate stone work that would have taken sophisticated engineering to build. And Francis never encounters anything but beautiful sunny days.

Francis goes on a mission to the Holy Land and we see him wandering alone in the desert with a small pouch of water. Two Arabs are seen in this arid place who unleash vicious leopards upon Francis, but he tames them and gives them water. There is a "my God is bigger than your God" scene between Francis and the sultan that is quite depressing - how little progress we have make in 800 years.

Bradford Dillman does his best with the script he is given and has a couple of good scenes toward the end, but the acting by Dolores Hart and Stuart Whitman is pretty amateurish.

The main problem I have with this movie is that it did not show me what it was about this man that accounted for his accomplishments. He must have been inspiring and charismatic, but what we get here is a very passive reader of scripture. I understand the appeal of a Martin Luther King, but I do not understand the appeal of St. Francis from what I see in this movie.

The most enjoyable part of the movie for me were the photos of the Frescoes of Giotto in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi that played under the opening credits.