Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows

Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a 1968 American comedy film directed by James Neilson and starring Rosalind Russell, Stella Stevens, and Binnie Barnes. Written by Blanche Hanalis, the film is based on a story by Jane Trahey about an old-line Mother Superior who is challenged by a modern young nun when they take the girls of St. Francis Academy on a bus trip across the United States.

Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Neilson
Screenplay byBlanche Hanalis
Story byJane Trahey
Produced byWilliam Frye
StarringRosalind Russell
Stella Stevens
Binnie Barnes
Susan Saint James
Mary Wickes
Dolores Sutton
Milton Berle
Arthur Godfrey
Van Johnson
Robert Taylor
Narrated byRosalind Russell
CinematographySam Leavitt
Edited byAdrienne Fazan
Music byBobby Hart
Lalo Schifrin
Tommy Boyce
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • April 10, 1968 (1968-04-10) (US)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.4 million (rentals)[1]

Released on April 10, 1968, Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels (1966). Russell, Mary Wickes, Binnie Barnes and Dolores Sutton all reprise their roles as nuns from the original film. Wickes would later don the habit yet again for her amusing turn in both Sister Act (1992) and the sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993).

Plot

The story depicts the rivalry between the conservative Mother Superior (Russell) and the glamorous, liberal progressive young Sister George (Stevens) as they shepherd a busload of Catholic high school girls across America to an interfaith youth rally being held in Santa Barbara, California. As they debate expressions of faith and role of the Church in the tumultuous America of the 1960s, they must also contend with the antics of two rebellious, trouble-prone students, Rosabelle (Susan Saint James) and Marvel Anne (Barbara Hunter).

Cast

Production

Development

The film was announced in May 1967.[3]

Casting

Along with Russell, the three featured nuns from The Trouble with Angels (Mary Wickes as Sister Clarissa, Binnie Barnes as Sister Celestine and Dolores Sutton as Sister Rose-Marie) returned for this outing. Barbara Hunter also reprised her role as Marvel Anne, the cousin of Mary Clancy, Hayley Mills' character (despite having been seen in the graduation line-up at the finale of the first film). The role of Sister George was originally written as Sister Mary Clancy; After Mills declined to appear in the film, the part was rewritten as Sister George, rather than recasting the role of Mary Clancy. Actresses Susan Oliver and Connie Stevens (no relation to Stella) were also considered for the role of Sister George. The supporting cast includes Milton Berle (as a bombastic John Ford type film director), Arthur Godfrey (as the Bishop of the diocese where the St. Francis Academy is located), Van Johnson (as the head of a Catholic boys high school) and Robert Taylor (as a wealthy rancher in his final film).

Filming locations

Filming began on July 17, 1967 in Philadelphia.[4]

Many of the scenes in the film's first half were filmed in Philadelphia, including Market Street near 13th Street, a couple of blocks west, right outside City Hall, and a protest scene at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Other scenes were filmed in the Lehigh Valley at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and at St. Mary's Villa, a Catholic home for troubled and at-risk youth on Bethlehem Pike in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

The "boarding school" at which the group stops was actually Germantown Academy, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of St. Mary's Villa, although the church shown just prior to the boarding school is actually Ft. Washington Baptist Church, which is only about 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of St. Mary's Villa. A scene prominently displays Dorney Park, an amusement park in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The early bus scenes were filmed in nearby Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, with the exception of the scene where the bus (which bears an appropriate Pennsylvania license plate) stalls at a railroad crossing and is nearly hit by a Santa Fe passenger train (which does not serve the Philadelphia area).

Soundtrack

The theme song was written and performed on the soundtrack by pop act and songwriting duo Boyce & Hart. Composer Lalo Schifrin, best known for his work on the television series Mission: Impossible, collaborated with Boyce & Hart on the title song and supplied the incidental score.

  • "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" (Schifrin, Boyce, and Hart) performed by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart – 1:59
  • "Goodbye Baby (I Don't Want to See You Cry)" (Schifrin, Boyce, and Hart) performed by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart – 2:57[5]

See also

References
  1. "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969, pg 15.
  2. "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows!". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  3. Friedkin to Direct 'Minsky's' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 23 May 1967: d9.
  4. Van Johnson Joins 'Angels' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 30 June 1967: d11.
  5. "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968)". Soundtrack Collector. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
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