My Favorite And Least Favorite Movie Priests

NCR ^ | October 10, 2011 | Patrick Archbold

[NYer]

There have been many movies that have priests as important characters.  There are movies about saints and some of them are awesome.  But my post today is about priests as characters, as men involved in a story.  I was watching the excellent Tom Wilkinson as Father Moore in “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” the other day on cable.  It got me to thinking about some of my favorite priests as characters and also some of my least favorite.

So for discussion purposes, I thought I would get into the who’s and whys.  After all, what is a Catholic blog for if not discussing movie priests.  On with it.

Let’s just get this one out of the way. Max Von Awesome (aka Sydow) as Father Merrin in the Exorcist.  Max played Merrin perfectly.  He flawlessly embodied Merrin with reluctance, resolution, and resignation.  He knew he would likely die in this exorcism, but he went ahead with it.  He conveys an aged and long earned wisdom that is doubly remarkable considering he was only 44 at the time.  Max has the dubious honor of being tops on my list of the creepiest movie Jesuses, But for Merrin, Max was perfect.

This bring up a point.  I like to see men cast as priests portraying priests as men.  Not crazy macho or anything silly like that, just men.  A couple of examples.

Pat O’Brien in “Angels with Dirty Faces.” Karl Malden in “On the Waterfront” and Ward Bond in “The Quiet Man”  These were some of the manliest actors of their time.  The frequently portrayed characters that were tough but with hearts of gold and that’s what we got from their priest portrayals.  I wish we would see more of this in the movies.

[NYer]

Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way.

[nfldgirl]

Trevor Howard as Father Collins in Ryan’s Daughter, one fan-tas-tic movie classic!

[VU4G10]

The Blob (1988) Reverend Meeker .

[PowderMonkey]

No contest. Father Merrin all the way. "The power of Christ commands you!"scene ranks right up there with "Klaatu nicto barratu!" Words seared into memory. Never know when they might come in handy.

[ex-snook]

Ping yours.

[Lazlo in PA]

Dick Van Dike in "Cold Turkey". Terribly underrated movie and very funny, especially if you are a smoker.

[Kartographer]

Humphrey Bogart "The Lefthand of God"

[dirtboy]

Worst priest in a movie? Gotta vote for Christopher Reeve as Father John Flaherty in Monsignor. Pathetic movie, pathetic acting.

[dfwgator]

Honorable mention to Christopher Lambert in "Too Kill a Priest" which was loosely based on Popieluszko.

[GreenHornet]

Pat O’Brien as Father Jerry Connolly in “Angels With Dirty Faces.”

[miss marmelstein]

He wasn’t a priest - he was a minister.

Montgomery Clift in “I Confess.” A very interesting Hitchcock film.

[Jemian]

Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty played by Gregory Peck in The Scarlet and The Black. Spell-binding tale, excellent script and superb acting. His opponent was played by Christopher Plummer (be still my heart!).

[miss marmelstein]

Howard’s great in this - I love the way he smacks around Sarah Miles.

[Leroy S. Mort]

[NYer]

Klaatu nicto barratu!"

The original version of The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of my favorites! A sci-fi classic that reinterpretations cannot match.

[Artemis Webb]

I could make endless comments about Sarah Miles but since this is a Religion thread I’ll be a gentleman.

[Lazlo in PA]

I thought he was. Isn’t there a point in the film where the Archbishop comes to town an offers him a promotion if he gets the town to successfully complete the challenge? I will have to dig that flick out and watch it again. It’s been many years.

[Lazlo in PA]

You are right. I just remembered he was married in the film.