Dominique - The singing nun

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Movie
German title Dominique - The singing nun
Original title The Singing Well
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1966
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Henry Koster
script John Furia ,
Sally Benson
production John Beck ,
Hayes Goetz ,
Hank Moonjean
music Harry Sukman ,
Sœur Sourire ,
Randy Sparks
camera Milton R. Krasner
cut Rita Roland
occupation
synchronization

Dominique - The Singing Nun (Original title: The Singing Nun ) is an American film musical about the life of the Belgian nun Sœur Sourire from 1966 with Debbie Reynolds in the title role. For director Henry Koster it was his last film.

action

Sister Ann leaves the Dominican monastery near Antwerp to join a Samaritan order in a poor neighborhood in Brussels . To the great delight of the other nuns, she loves to sing and play on her guitar, which she affectionately calls "Sister Adele". Father Clementi is also very impressed by her musical talents. Sister Ann made friends with the little half-orphan Dominic Arlien, whose father was addicted to alcohol, and she composed the song Dominique for him .

Father Clementi is impressed by the quality of the song and tries to get Robert Gerarde, a partner in a record company, to listen to Sister Ann's music and put the song on a record. When Gerarde meets sister Ann, he immediately recognizes her as his former fellow student from the Paris Conservatory. He, too, is convinced of her talent and determined to make her big. After receiving Church approval to record an album with Sister Ann, the song Dominique became a worldwide hit. Even the famous American TV presenter Ed Sullivan travels to Brussels with his crew to film Sister Ann for his show.

Sister Ann is confused by her unexpected success and also by Gerarde's advances, so she turns to Father Clementi for advice. Meanwhile, her protégé Dominic is injured in an accident. Sister Ann prays for him and promises to give up her music and return to her real calling as a nun. The boy finally gets well again and moves to the country with his father. Sister Ann then goes to Africa to do charitable work in a village .

background

The plot of the film is based in part on the real life of the Belgian nun Jeanine Deckers, who achieved fame under the pseudonym Sœur Sourire (Eng .: "Sister of the Smile") during the 1960s with her song Dominique . Producer Hayes Goetz was convinced that her story would be suitable for a film. However, the Catholic Church was less pleased with Decker's fame as a pop singer, so the film had to be fictionalized. For example, the song Dominique in the film was not dedicated to the founder of the Dominican Order, but to a little boy named Dominic. Decker's songs were also translated into English specifically for the film by Randy Sparks . Sparks also contributed two of his own songs. You can hear in the film:

  • Dominique ( Sœur Sourire / Randy Sparks)
  • Sister Adele (Sœur Sourire / Sparks)
  • It's a Miracle (Sœur Sourire / Sparks)
  • Beyond the Stars (Sœur Sourire / Sparks)
  • A Pied Pier's Song (Sœur Sourire / Sparks)
  • Brother John (Sparks)
  • Raindrops (Sparks)
  • Je voudrais (Sœur Sourire)
  • Mets ton joli jupon (Sœur Sourire)
  • Avec toi (Sœur Sourire)
  • Alleluia (Sœur Sourire)

The world premiere took place on March 17, 1966 in New York . The film was released in Germany on July 29, 1966. As a film musical , Dominique - The Singing Nun was similar to Meine Lieder - mein Träume (1965), but not nearly as successful. The box office receipts were still satisfactory.

Dominique - The Singing Nun was not the only biographical film about the life of Jeannine Deckers. In 2009 the film Sœur Sourire - The Singing Nun with Cécile de France in the leading role was produced under the direction of Stijn Coninx .

Reviews

Despite "the enchanting musical interludes", the result was "rather weak and often lengthy," said Variety . According to Bosley Crowther of the New York Times , the film, directed by Henry Koster, has "become a collection of artificialities". He appears "just as unrealistic in his romantic transfiguration of a singing nun as in his depictions by the gentle-eyed Reynolds and the rest of the cast". Greer Garson was after all "radiant and kind behind a pair of false eyelashes and those melting Mrs. Miniver eyes". It is rather unlikely that anyone could find the film "entertaining".

The lexicon of international films found that Dominique - The Singing Nun offers “[s] entimental Hollywood entertainment based on the recipe for hit films”: “A simple story is woven around a few songs, which should have biographical proximity, but remains stuck in sentimentalism ".

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1967 , Dominique - The Singing Nun was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Film Music (Harry Sukman) . At the Laurel Awards , the film landed first place for Best Musical. Debbie Reynolds took second place in the Best Female Musical Performance category. Agnes Moorehead, in turn, secured third place for Best Supporting Actress.

German version

The German dubbed version was created in 1966 in the MGM synchronization studio in Berlin.

role actor Voice actor
Sister Ann Debbie Reynolds Ingeborg Wellmann
Father Clementi Ricardo Montalbán Paul Edwin Roth
Mother Superior Greer Garson Tilly Lauenstein
Sister Cluny Agnes Moorehead Ursula Grabley
Robert Gerarde Chad Everett Eckart Dux
Nicole Arlien Katharine Ross Marianne Lutz
he himself Ed Sullivan Hans W. Hamacher
Mr. Arlien Michael godfather Joachim Nottke

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Troyan: A Rose for Mrs. Miniver. The Life of Greer Garson . The University Press of Kentucky, 1999, pp. 297-303.
  2. ^ "While there are engaging musical interludes what emerges is slight and frequently slow-moving." See The Singing Nun . In: Variety , 1966.
  3. ↑ “Under Mr. Koster's direction, this picture […] is a mass of artificialities - as unreal in its romantic mooning and sobbing over a singing nun as it is in the way it is acted by the soft-eyed Miss Reynolds and the rest of the cast. [...] Greer Garson is beaming and benign behind a pair of false eyelashes and those melting Mrs. Miniver eyes. " Bosley Crowther : 'Singing Nun' at Music Hall: Debbie Reynolds Stars in Saccharine Story MGM Film Directed by Henry Koster . In: The New York Times , March 18, 1966.
  4. ↑ Dominique - The Singing Nun. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 2, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de
  6. ↑ Dominique - The Singing Nun. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on June 2, 2019 .