Saints, Clergy and Other Religious Figures on Film and Television, 1895-2003 (review)

Religious Figures

In Saints, Clergy and Other Religious Figures on Film and Television, 1895–2003 Ann C. Paietta has chronicled the appearance of major religious personages in television and cinematic representations from the beginning of film until a few years ago. This ambitious task has been met with mixed results. Paietta has cataloged more than nine hundred motion pictures and over fifty television series in fewer than two hundred pages. Naturally this leaves little room for analysis or critique. This text, therefore, falls squarely under the reference section, though there is a nice two-page introduction that offers a strong overview.

The book is divided into two headings: Section One lists motion pictures, both theatrical releases and made-for-television films, and Section Two lists prime time television series. Paietta's criteria for listing a certain production are that "a religious figure plays a prominent role in a film," "has a recurring role on a television series," or that the film or series has a character posing as a religious figure (3). Both sections list entries in alphabetical order by title and are assigned a reference number.

The "theatrical and made-for-television film" section encompasses most of the book. The selection of films appears relatively comprehensive, including listings of little-known photodramas from the 1890s and 1900s to newer and better-known releases. (I was surprised not to see Kevin Smith's Dogma [1999] in the listings, however, and am a bit curious how the selection process actually occurred if a film featuring arch-angels, priests, a cardinal, apostles, and an appearance by God did not warrant a listing.) Each entry lists the title, the production company, country of origin, year released, running time, producer, director, writer, and cast. The synopses are brief, with more in-depth descriptions for the better-known films. (The Lilac Sunbonnet [1922] receives a one sentence description while Lilies of the Field (1963) with Sidney Poitier has a full paragraph.)

Section II lists prime-time television series that featured a religious figure as a major character. Like Section I, each entry lists the show's (popular) title, the network on which it aired, the country of origin, the years (or year) it was on the air, the running time of each episode, and the cast. There is then a brief description of how the religious figure was involved in the plot or with the other characters. Obvious shows such as M*A*S*H and Father Dowling Mysteries are listed as well as less well-known shows such as the BBC series Hell's Bells. I was surprised once more to see The Simpsons without a listing, as Reverend Lovejoy appears in almost every episode of the long-running series, though maybe animated shows were omitted from the selection process. Overall the descriptions are accurate, and the listings give a good impression of the series.

The book concludes with an annotated bibliography and both a name and subject index. Both this index and the bibliography will prove useful to researchers to learn more about the films listed. The name index, however, was disappointing, listing only the names of the religious figures rather than actors or directors. So, if one wants to find all of the cinematic representations of Joan of Arc, it will work well, but not if one is trying to find the film where Cary Grant played an angel opposite David Niven (The Bishop's Wife [1947]).

This book is a valuable reference tool. It is a daunting task to compile so much information in such a small package, and Ann Paietta has done a nice job, but one wishes she had more space and time to give a detailed account of these important motion pictures.