The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)

"Only the fool saith, 'There is no God'."

Director
John Brahm

Cast

Susan Whitney - Lúcia dos Santos
Sherry Jackson - Jacinta Marto
Sammy Ogg - Francisco Marto
Gilbert Roland - Hugo da Silva
Angela Clarke - Maria Rosa dos Santos
Jay Novello - António dos Santos
Frank Silvera - Arturo dos Santos
Richard Hale - Fr. Ferreira

This is definitely a random movie to jump to just after I reviewed "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Cannonball Run." But here it is.

In 1952, Warner Bros. released "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" based on a supernatural event that took place in Fatima, Portugal (a small village at the time) on the 13th day of each month from May to October 1917. 

Shepherd children Lúcia dos Santos, age ten, and her cousins, Francisco (nine) and his sister Jacinta Marto (seven) said a lady “all in white, more brilliant than the sun and indescribably beautiful” appeared to them as they were out in a field tending to their herd. 

They didn't initially claim she was the Virgin Mary. People drew that conclusion themselves at first. 
World War I was raging across the globe in 1917. Among the messages the lady told these shepherd children was that "Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father (i.e. the Pope in Rome) will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated." 

This was unheard of in 1917. Not Holy Mother Russia! What errors did Mother Russia possess that she would spread throughout the world terrible enough to cause wars, famine, and lead to the persecution of the Catholic Church? Little did these children, let alone any of the villagers, know that in a few months, a revolution would erupt in Russia which would overthrow the imperial government and place the Bolsheviks in power. The Russian revolution would reach its climax in the final month of these apparitions in Fatima. 

Of course, scholars more intelligent than I and the rest of us in this room believe these errors refer to Communism. 

The children also said the war was going to end soon (World War I) but a worse war would emerge, which it did in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. 

It's an immensely bold and unbelievable statement for poor naïve obscure shepherd children, who never left their small village in Portugal, to make. But it was a time, much like today, where anti-religious sentiment (particularly aimed towards Catholicism) was growing and spreading around the globe, even in Portugal. Political uprisings were much too common. Unfortunately, anti-Catholicism (Christianity in general) remains among the last acceptable prejudices.

Despite threats and intimidation from Portuguese government leaders, these children stuck to their story.  

The message of what has been called "Miracle of Fatima" boils down to the importance of prayer and reparation for sin.  

The events are a continued testimony of the Church's continuous fight against secularism and hateful anti-Christian movements which were rampant then and continue full force today. The movie captures the struggle and religious persecution in Portugal as it occurred during this period - the result of the 1910 revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy. This is where the movie begins.

Churches are forced to close at the commands of the secularist government. Priests and religious (monks and nuns) are arrested and treated like criminals for speaking out against the revolutionary ideas. 

Fatima, however, is a small enough village to evade the evil hand of this persecution for some time, at least. The local church remains open, and Catholics still practice their faith. 

Lúcia (Susan Whitney) and her cousins Jacinta (Sherry Jackson) and Francisco (Sammy Ogg) are out tending to their flock. They decide to pray a rosary. But rather than say it properly, they do their own short, short version by shouting "Hail, Mary" along each bead. And hail Mary, they did!

Though the skies are clear, they hear a loud thunderclap and see a flash of light in the distance.

Suddenly, while thinking rain is imminent despite the absence of rain clouds, they see a glowing cloud on top of a small bush. There's a lady standing on top of this glowing cloud of light who starts talking to them.

She asks that they return on the 13th of each month, and to "offer their sufferings to God for the salvation of sinners." She also requests they pray their Rosary for world peace and the salvation of souls. That's easy enough, one would think. 

After they leave, the kids tell their family friend, Hugo da Silva (Gilbert Roland) about their encounter. Hugo, being an agnostic, humors the kids but of course thinks it's just a story from their collective imagination. 

They also tell their parents about the beautiful lady they saw. Lucia's mother, Maria Rosa dos Santos (Angela Clarke) is angry at the story for some reason and forbids her daughter to return to the Cova de Iria where the kids claimed they saw this beautiful lady.

In no time, news spreads among the locals, and then travels outside of Fatima. People from all around come to the conclusion that the children are seeing the Mother of God though none of the children claimed she was Mary. Crowds begin gathering in Fatima to see the children and, perhaps, the Virgin Mary. 

Despite her mother's instructions, Lucia goes back to the Cova de Iria along with the other two as instructed by the lady. 

She tells them that, according to the lady, Francisco and Jacinta will die soon and go to Heaven, but Lucia will live a long life. It's worth pointing out that, in fact, Francisco and Jacinta did die shortly after these events. Lucia, however, became a Carmelite nun and remained a nun until her death on Feb. 13, 2005. 

The local priest, Fr. Ferreira (Richard Hale) isn't so quick to jump on the word of these children. Naturally, he's very skeptical as well as weary about local authorities catching wind of these claims lest their unwanted attention and anti-religious hatred come down upon the village and its church. 

He suggests that if they are actually having visions, it could be the devil appearing as an angel of light in order to deceive. 
The provincial administrator Artur Santos (Frank Silvera) immediately responds to these assertions, and thinks the local priest is responsible. He believes the parish priest is trying to start some sort of revolt, and is using these children as his puppets.

So, he closes the local church until Fr. Ferreira convinces the parishioners that no apparitions of the Virgin Mary have nor will take place. 

Fr. Ferreira asks other priests to inform their respective parishioners not to come to Fatima seeking alleged apparitions of the Mother of God. But, faithful come regardless. And the children continue going to the Cova de Iria on the 13th of each month.

Artur Santos kidnaps the children with bribes, and then threatens to kill them if they don't admit they're lying. 

The children however stick to the their story about the woman who appears to them. 

Instead of killing them, he throws them in jail with criminals and murderers. 

They meet Hugo in their cell. And when the children ask all the inmates to pray with them, despite their initial protests and disdain for prayer, the inmates begin praying a rosary with the kids, much to the guard's surprise. 

Artur Santos is persuaded to release the children since there's no evidence the state can prosecute them on. So, he reluctantly releases them. 

October comes around and the children said the lady, who eventually revealed herself as "the Lady of the Rosary," promised that God would perform a miracle to convince everyone of what the children saw and were told to reveal. And a miracle does take place shocking the entire crowd in attendance - especially Artur Santos and his company who are watching the kids at the Cova de Iria. 

The entire event was capped with a solar anomaly witnessed by thousands of people in which the sun began to grow in size looking like it was heading towards the earth, spiraling in the sky, and changing colors. Those witnesses claimed they were able to look at the sun without averting their eyes from its brilliance. 

It was pouring rain when the sun did this in the sky. After it was over, witnesses claimed their clothes and the ground were completely dry. 

The movie echoes the call for prayer made at Fatima, and the consequences that naturally fall upon ungodly people, leaders, and nations who not only don't pray, but discourage it by any means altogether.  

The story of this Marian apparition is fascinating, even from a historical vantage point, based on what was said and the period in which it was said. Call me bias, but it's worth reading about regardless if one is Catholic or not, or believes these events actually took place or never happened.. 

This movie was made during a period when Hollywood, though certainly far from any religious conviction, at least maintained some respect for it - even Catholicism. 

Now, well... audiences turn mostly to independent filmmakers and Christian film companies for religious-based movies that don't mock Christianity or portray it as some sort of debilitating mental disease simply for going against the tide of current backward social/ political nonsense.   

While the main depictions in this Warner Bros. film are more or less accurate, the story is very condensed so there's significant aspects of the actual event missing. 

The movie still manages to depict the heart of the subject despite various liberties taken in the general story. The character Hugo for instance is a fictional and meant to bring about some lightheartedness and comic relief to the story. 

Thankfully, these creative liberties don't necessarily distract or hinder from the significance of the events portrayed on screen. 

The message was given to children rather than adults or leaders as children wouldn't change or add to it based on their personal political ideologies. 

They're innocent enough to say precisely what it said without fear of "offending" the wrong people or inserting their own agenda. I think that's why this Warner Bros. movie is seldom, if ever, counted or listed among the cinematic classics of the golden age of film. Though it may be well known among Catholic circles, it has become relatively obscure. This movie came out the same year as "Singin' in the Rain," "The Quiet Man", "Ivanhoe," "The Greatest Show on Earth," and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." The overall message of this event is one that, well, doesn't mix with current political ideologues. Still, the movie exists and does have a following. 

Susan Whitney, Sherry Jackson, and Sammy Ogg.

It's worth mentioning that the events of Fatima were the subject of a 2020 film called, "Fátima" directed by Marco Pontecorvo.
My problem with "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" and most Christian movies in general is that Hollywood tends to over sentimentalize the characters and religious content. 

Catholicism isn't particularly a religion of emotional sentimentalism or one that is meant to appeal to emotions, though emotions have their place. It's a religion that appeals to the intellect and reason while elevating the soul. 

Hollywood back then had a knack for depicting religion as lighthearted, flowery, maybe superficial and as charming as a Rockwell painting. Think of those Bing Crosby movies where he plays a priest. I suppose it's not the worst thing in the world. At least Hollywood back in the golden age attempted to depict Catholicism in an appealing light. In other words, there's no apparent malicious intent. 

Occasionally Hollywood makes serious religious movies such as "The Ten Commandments" and Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," both of which are great and certainly foundational. "The Ten Commandments" though isn't without boisterous fanfare and over dramatization.

Franco Zeffirelli's 1977 mini-series "Jesus of Nazareth" comes to mind when I say "over dramatization." I think of the scene where Jesus (Robert Powell) raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus is depicted as performing the miracle like He's performing a mind blowing trick at a sensational magic show, and this is the grand finale. 

Jesus' hands are raised, climatically drawing in power as he stares at the tomb. He shouts, "Lazarus! Come forth!" and out shuffles Lazarus. Personally, I think Jesus simply told Lazarus to arise without needing to put on a show for onlookers. And Lazarus arose.  

But Hollywood loves a dramatic spectacle, even when Jesus is involved. I'd rather have that than oversentimental mushy religious depictions. That's why I didn't care at all for the 2004 movie, "Thérèse" about the life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. The sentimentality is lathered on pretty thick as I recall and the characters feel way too artificial.
With "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" there's a hint of that but not too much. The film depicts the suffering and anguish the children and their families had to endure. In one seen, local government authorities try to bribe the children to make them confess they're lying. When that doesn't work, they threaten to drop each of them into boiling hot oil, describing how their flesh will cook right off their bones. 

The movie is a respectable effort in telling the Fatima story despite the elimination of certain facts in the case.

German film director John Brahm is an interesting choice for director. He's directed some film noir stuff like "Guest in the House," "Hangover Square" and the psychological thriller film noir, "The Locket." He also directed Vincent Price in the horror movie, "The Mad Magician." 

Get this, the last movie I could find with Brahm as director is called, "Hot Rods to Hell" from 1967. He also directed some episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Again, interesting choice. I'd love to dig into this movie's history, and why Brahm was set to direct. 

The real emphasis is on the children sticking to their experience in the face of their tyrannical and God-less government alongside interrogation from their local bishop who didn't want the church to close, and the parish priest to become another prisoner of tyrannical authorities. The movie treats the subject matter and the children delicately and with reverence. "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" deserves an audience regardless of their beliefs and affiliations.