''The Reluctant Saint'' is a 1962 American-Italian historical

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

which tells the story of

Joseph of Cupertino Joseph of Cupertino, OFM Conv. ( it, Giuseppe da Copertino; 17 June 1603 – 18 September 1663) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar who is honored as a Christian mystic and saint. According to traditional Franciscan accounts, he was "rem ...

, a 17th-century Italian

Conventual Franciscan The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

and mystic honored as a saint by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It stars Maximilian Schell as Giuseppe Desa, as well as

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

Lea Padovani Lea Padovani (28 July 1920 – 23 June 1991) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1945 and 1990. She starred in the film '' Black Dossier'' which was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Partial filmography ...

, Akim Tamiroff, and

Harold Goldblatt Harold Goldblatt (born Israel Goldblatt, 5 July 1899 – 22 March 1982) was an actor, theatre director and theatre producer from Northern Ireland. He was born in Manchester, England, to Russian Jewish parents, and subsequently moved with his fam ...

. The movie was written by

John Fante John Fante (April 8, 1909 – May 8, 1983) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel ''Ask the Dust'' (1939) about the life of Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in Depre ...

and Joseph Petracca and directed by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for '' Crossfire'' (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywoo ...

. It was made in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, with the film's sets designed by the art director, Mario Chiari.

Plot

Most of the key events in the movie are based on historical events or reports about the life of Saint

. Born Giuseppe Desa, he was said to have been remarkably unclever, but was recorded by many witnesses during his life as prone to miraculous

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

and intense ecstasies. The film begins with Giuseppe ( Maximilian Schell) spending his final days at home with his mother (

). Because of his slow wits, she has kept him in school despite his being a grown man, older than the other students. He is seen bearing patiently and good-heartedly the ridicule of his fellow villagers, and enduring failed attempts at work as a laborer. At the insistence of his mother (who saw no viable alternatives), he enters a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friary through the influence of his uncle (

), an authority in the religious order. But trouble follows Giuseppe wherever he goes, including the friary, because of his slow wits. Eventually, his good heart is noticed by the visiting

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Durso, ( Akim Tamiroff), who orders that he be trained to be a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. Despite Giuseppe's incapacity for the necessary scholarly studies, and preference for just managing the sheep and other animals in the friary's stable, he is ordained a priest. Although he learns little from the tutoring by the friars, Giuseppe passes the necessary examinations for the priesthood through a series of unlikely or possibly miraculous events. Soon after, when Giuseppe is seen levitating during ecstatic prayer to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and during conventual

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

, one of the superiors in the community, Father Raspi (

), claims that Giuseppe suffers from demonic possession. Giuseppe is bound in chains by his brother friars and then

exorcised Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

, but his levitations continue, persuading everyone—including his former critic—of the divine origins of his powers.

Cast

* Maximilian Schell as Giuseppe *

as Father Raspi *

as Giuseppe's Mother * Akim Tamiroff as Bishop Durso *

as Father Giovanni *

Arnoldo Foà Arnoldo Foà (24 January 1916 – 11 January 2014) was an Italian actor, voice actor, theatre director, singer and writer. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 2014. Biography Foà was born in Ferrara, Italy, to a Jewish fam ...

as Felixa - Giuseppe's Father * Carlo Croccolo as The Gobbo - the Hunchback *

Giulio Bosetti Giulio Bosetti (26 December 1930 – 24 December 2009) was an Italian actor and director. Career Giulio Bosetti appeared in film, on television and on stage over 30 times. In 1972, he narrated the television special ''La vita di Leonardo da Vi ...

as Brother Orlando *

Elisa Cegani Elisa Cegani (11 June 1911 – 23 February 1996) was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983. Partial filmography * ''Aldebaran'' (1935) - Nora Bandi * ''Cavalry'' (1936) - Speranza di Frassineto * ''The Countess ...

as Sister *

Giacomo Rossi Stuart Giacomo Rossi Stuart (25 August 1925 – 20 October 1994) was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart or Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1953 and 1989. Biography Born in Todi to an Italian father ...

as Young Examining Prelate *

Tonio Selwart Antonio Franz Theus "Tonio" Selmair-Selwart (June 9, 1896 – November 2, 2002) was a German actor and stage performer. Biography Selwart was born in Wartenberg, Bavaria, Germany, and raised in Munich. After studying medicine like his fa ...

as Examining Prelate * Odoardo Spadaro as Old Examining Prelate

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

review says: "A light-hearted tone is kept throughout, but the stereotyped performances, unbelievable settings, and lifeless direction hurt whatever promises are inherent in the material".The Reluctant Saint at TV Guide
/ref> Other more favorable reviews can be found at IMDB.com: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056403/reviews?ref_=tt_urv as well as decentfilms.com: http://decentfilms.com/articles/reluctantsaint

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reluctant Saint, The 1962 films Films about Catholicism 1962 drama films Films about Catholic priests Films scored by Nino Rota Films directed by Edward Dmytryk Films set in the 17th century Italian historical drama films American historical drama films 1960s historical drama films English-language Italian films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s Italian films