The Trouble with Angels (film)

The Trouble with Angels is a 1966 American comedy film about the adventures of two girls, later best friends, in an all-girls Catholic school run by nuns. The film was directed by Ida Lupino and stars Hayley Mills (in her first post-Disney film role), Rosalind Russell and June Harding.

The film's cast includes Marge Redmond (who would play a nun in the television series The Flying Nun, which premiered the following year) as math teacher Sister Liguori, Mary Wickes (who later played a nun in the movie Sister Act and its sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit) as gym teacher Sister Clarissa, and Portia Nelson (who had played a nun in The Sound of Music the previous year) as art teacher Sister Elizabeth.

A sequel, Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows, starring Stella Stevens, was released in 1968.

Plot
The movie is set at St. Francis Academy, a fictional all-girls Catholic boarding school in Pennsylvania, operated by an order of nuns. Rosalind Russell plays the Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell), who spends the movie at odds with Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills), a rebellious teenager, and her friend Rachel Devery (June Harding). The episodic story line follows the young women through their sophomore, junior and senior high-school years as they pull pranks on the sisters and repeatedly get into trouble. Although Mary spends much of her time at St. Francis resenting the authority of the Mother Superior and puzzling over why any woman would choose the life of a nun, as time goes on she is touched by examples of the sisters' dedication, devotion, kindness, love, and generosity, and begins to see that their life is one of fulfillment, not deprivation. Mary receives "the call" senior year and, after graduation, remains at the school to begin her novitiate in the order.

Cast
The Nuns:
 * Rosalind Russell as the Mother Superior
 * Binnie Barnes as Sister Celestine
 * Camilla Sparv as Sister Constance
 * Mary Wickes as Sister Clarissa
 * Marge Redmond as Sister Liguori
 * Dolores Sutton as Sister Rose Marie
 * Margalo Gillmore as Sister Barbara
 * Portia Nelson as Sister Elizabeth
 * Marjorie Eaton as Sister Ursula
 * Barbara Bell Wright as Sister Margaret
 * Judith Lowry as Sister Prudence

The Girls:
 * Hayley Mills as Mary Clancy
 * June Harding as Rachel Devery
 * Barbara Hunter as Marvel-Ann
 * Bernadette Withers as Valerie
 * Vicky Albright as Charlotte
 * Patty Gerrity as Sheila
 * Vicki Draves as Kate
 * Wendy Winkelman as Sandy
 * Jewel Jaffe as Ginnie-Lou
 * Gail Liddle as Priscilla
 * Michael-Marie as Ruth
 * Betty Jane Royale as Gladys
 * Ronne Troup as Helen
 * Catherine Wyles as Brigette

The Outsiders:
 * Gypsy Rose Lee as Mrs. Phipps
 * Jim Boles as Mr. Gottschalk
 * Kent Smith as Uncle George
 * Pat McCaffrie as Mr. Devery
 * Harry Harvey, Sr. as Mr. Grisson
 * Mary Young as Mrs. Eldridge
 * Jim Hutton as Mr. Petrie (uncredited)

Life with Mother Superior
The Trouble with Angels was based on the 1962 book Life with Mother Superior by Jane Trahey, about her own high school years at a Catholic school near Chicago, Illinois, in the 1930s. While in the memoir the school was portrayed as a boarding school outside the city, Trahey attended what is now Providence-St. Mel's High School, which was a day school. Many of the incidents mentioned in the book were based on Trahey's experiences at Mundelein College in Chicago. The character of Mary Clancy (Mills) was based on Jane's friend, Mary, who later became Sister John Eudes, a Sinsinawa Dominican nun (1922–2017).

The Washington Post called it "wonderful fun". The book became a best seller.

Development
In June 1962 film rights were bought by Ken Donnellon and Jacqueline Babbin who knew Trahey in advertising. Donnellon said he wanted the film to be seen through the eyes of one of the young nuns.

They were unable to make the film. In August 1963 Ross Hunter was pursuing the novel; he wanted Loretta Young, Jane Wyman Barbara Stanwyck and Virginia Grey to play nuns and Patty Duke and Mary Badham to play students.

In September 1964 it was announced film rights were held by Columbia Pictures. The film ended up being produced by William Frye who had a multi-picture deal with the studio.

Frye offered the role of mother superior to Greta Garbo for $1 million but she turned it down. Frye was after Hayley Mills to star in November 1964 and she eventually signed the following May. The other lead went to Rosalind Russell, who said "I have been around nuns my whole life and I wanted to do justice with them."

Frye hired Lupino to direct. At the time Lupino was mostly working on action and suspense TV shows; this was the first time she had ever directed a large female cast. "It's a change of pace," she said.

Filming
Filming started in August 1965 under the title Mother Superior.

"We are shooting it in color but the prevailing colors will be stark black and white and charcoal grey," said Lupino. "Then there will be sudden slashes of bright color – a turquoise swimming pool, a green meadow. The possibilities of color are fantastic. And the picture will be warm and funny. And it's such a nice change – no blood spilled at all, darling."

The St. Francis Academy in the film was filmed on location at what was formerly known as St. Mary's Home for Children and is presently known as Lindenwold Castle / Mattison Estate Property in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

All interior shots were filmed at Columbia Studios at Sunset & Gower in Hollywood. Most exterior shots were filmed at the Greystone Mansion, which at the time was being leased by the City of Beverly Hills to the American Film Institute. The exterior track-side train depot scenes (at the opening and closing of the movie) were shot at the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot in Monrovia, California. The station is now a stop on the Los Angeles Metro Gold Line. However, the opening establishing shot of the train station was filmed at the Merion Train Station in Merion, Pennsylvania. The film was budgeted at $2 million.

Camilla Sparv made her debut as a nun.

Before shooting began, Rosalind Russell was asked by an old school friend, now a mother superior in St. Louis, to attend a fundraiser for a Catholic girls' school she was starting. Russell proposed that her upcoming film would be "the ideal fundraiser" and convinced Columbia to hold the premiere in St. Louis. The world premiere and a reception were held at St. Louis's Fox Theatre with ticket proceeds going to the school's building fund.

In September 1965 the title was changed to The Trouble with Angels out of fear there were too many other "nun" movies at the time (e.g. The Singing Nun).

In October 1965 Jerry Goldsmith signed to do the music.

Reception
The film marked a departure for Mills, who was attempting to emerge from her juvenile leads in Walt Disney-produced teen comedies as a comedic actress.

Critical
The Trouble with Angels enjoyed good reviews, although Variety was critical: "An appealing story idea—hip Mother Superior nun who outfoxes and matures two rebellious students in a Catholic girls' school—has lost impact via repetitious plotting and pacing, plus routine direction....Graduation finds Mills in character switcheroo to which Catholic audiences will long since be alerted."

Box Office
The film earned enough box-office success to warrant a sequel (Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows). "I think it proves there's a place for the family picture," said Russell, "the sort of picture you can take the kiddies to and which isn't pure corn.

However, Hayley Mills opted not to reprise her role as the progressive protagonist and was replaced by Stella Stevens, who played Sister George, a new foil to Rosalind Russell's Mother Superior.

Cameos
Burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee appears in a small role.

An uncredited Jim Hutton appears briefly as the principal of a competing school.