Here’s Looking at You, Bing & Father O’Malley

Letter to Romans: Bing Crosby’s 1940’s hits, “Going My Way” & “Bells of St. Mary’s,” endure with a legion of loyal fans, but what’s strikingly Christ-like is the crooner’s decision to end the series on its “high note”.

What movie star in Tinsel Town today would not make that third flick to “cash in” while the iron was hot? How many popular movie releases have been run into the ground since with increasingly bad follow ups, until even nary a church mouse would want to sit & suffer through them? Yet, no matter how much the movie moguls and public clamored for a third edition, Crosby refused to reprise his Father O’Malley character first appearing in 1944’s “Going My Way, even though it got him an Oscar for Best Actor; consider, too, how popular was the equally tear-jerking “Bells” the following year, also starring Ingrid Bergman as Sister Benedict.

Talk about resisting temptation. But Crosby really was a devout Catholic and made it clear how uneasy he was repeatedly portraying a clergyman on screen and with the immense responsibility that went along with it. Apparently, the “creative team” also had trouble coming up with a compelling third vehicle for Crosby as Father O’Malley and together they quietly agreed to leave the scene with audiences wanting more. Their prescience, good sense and humility certainly paid off as folks still can’t wait each Christmas season to watch both iconic films.

Davd Soul