Main Cast: Gilbert Roland, Angela Clarke, Frank Silvera, Jay Novello, Richard Hale
Release Year: 1952
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
Like its spiritual predecessor Song of Bernadette, Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima is based on a true story. The year is 1917: the place, Fatima, Portugal. While tending sheep, three farm children (Susan Whitney, Sherry Jackson and Sammy Ogg) claim to see a vision of the Virgin Mary. The local adults insist that the kids keep quiet about this vision, fearing reprisals from the anti-Catholic Portuguese government. But word gets out, and soon thousand of pilgrims are flocking to Fatima, awaiting the "miracle" that the vision promised to deliver to the three youngsters. And, then, on October 13, 1917, as witnessed by 70,000 pilgrims, the sun mysteriously sunk in the sky and many of those present claimed to have been miraculously cured of their ailments. Thankfully, Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima never stoops to proselytizing. If one believes the story, fine; if one does not, well, facts are facts. Young co-star Sherry Jackson later appeared on TV's Make Room for Daddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima is often and perhaps inevitably compared to The Song of Bernadette, and it's easy to see why. While Fatima is a good movie, it suffers in comparison with Bernadette. While both films dealt with religious figures and events, Bernadette managed to give complexity and depth to its main character. Fatima is not so fortunate, in part because its main character is a child. Children can certainly be as complicated as any other human, but it's harder to write a complicated child for the screen -- and the number of young actors talented enough to handle a complex role is also rather small. Even given this situation, however, the makers of Fatima could have dug deeper into the adults in the story and how they are affected by this strange story. Instead, the writers have kept the adults shallow and treated their involvement in a fairly obvious way. None of this keeps Fatima from being a good film, for the basic story is one that is guaranteed to keep one's interest, whether one believes it or not. But it does keep Fatima from a much better film. As indicated above, young Susan Whitney, though good, is not quite up to carrying as much of the film as she is asked. Sherry Jackson and Sammy Ogg, however, are quite good, and the adults, especially Gilbert Roland, do very well, even when not given a lot to do. Although Fatima will always appeal more to those who believe in the story and who will therefore be more inclined to overlook its flaws as drama, it still hs enough story to keep even skeptics interested. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Norman Rice - Manuel Marto; Frances Morris - Olimpia; Susan Whitney - Lucia Dos Santos; Sherry Jackson - Jacinta Marto; Sammy Ogg - Francisco Marto; Carol Heath; David Leonard - Bishop; Michael Mark - Priest; Ralph Moody - Villager; Paul Picerni - "Red" Agitator
Credit
Edward Carrere - Art Director, John Brahm - Director, Thomas Reilly - Editor, Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score), Gordon Bau - Makeup, Edwin DuPar - Cinematographer, Bryan Foy - Producer, G.W. Berntsen - Set Designer, Robert Burks - Special Effects, James O'Hanlon - Screenwriter, Crane Wilbur - Screenwriter
It is 1917, and Portugal is feeling the aftereffects of a storm of Masonic, anti-religious sentiment and the violent overthrow of the government by socialist forces. Many church fathers are jailed, and all are fingerprinted, photographed and registered as (possible) criminals. The rural town of Fatima is small enough to have escaped much of this persecution; their church remains open, and most of the people are very devout.
Watching their flocks and playing in a field outside town on May 16 (the actual date of the first apparition was May 13), Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto see a flash of light and think it is going to rain. Gathering their sheep together and heading for home, they run straight into an unusual "cloud of light" surrounding a little tree on which a lady stands. Speaking slowly and gently, the lady asks them to return on the 13th of each month and to offer their sufferings to God for the salvation of sinners. She entreats them to say the Rosary for world peace. Later, they encounter their agnostic friend Hugo who tells them it is best not to reveal the vision to anyone else, but of course on returning home Jacinta immediately divulges her sightings.
Jacinta and Francisco's parents believe the story, but Lucia's mother reacts with disgust and subjects her daughter to emotional and physical abuse. She forbids Lucia to return to the Cova, but Lucia does so, and is told that her cousins will die and go to heaven "soon", while she will live a long life in holy service. The church father suggests the visions might be from Satan. The local authorities close the Fatima church until its father can convince the parishoners that no visions have or will happen. The next month, on July 13, the lady appears again, predicting "another and worse war" (WWII) will happen if the world doesn't stop sinning. She also predicts evil will come from Russia if that country is unconverted. Kidnapped by provincial administrator Arturo Santos, the children are threatened with death if they don't change their story. Trying to frighten them, he has first Jacinta, then Francisco dragged into another room. Jacinta's terrified screams convince Lucia that her cousins are dead, but she refuses to deny what she's seen. Warning her that she's about to experience "the full treatment", Santos reunites her with her cousins, who are very much alive, then throws them all in jail. There they find Hugo, who stands by them as they convince all the prisoners to join in the Rosary.
Unable to find any prosecutable evidence, Arturo frees the children, who find that the entire population of Fatima has been standing outside waiting for them.
On October 13, when the lady promised "a sign that will make them believe," about forty thousand people arrive, waiting through a torrential downpour. At precisely noon the clouds part and the sun shines brightly upon all the people -- then the sun shifts through a rainbow of colours and appears to drop toward the ground. Many people panic, some pray or watch calmly, and a few disabled people are healed. As the sun returns to normal we see Hugo standing in the middle of the kneeling crowd, his hat still on. Removing it, he says "Only the fool sayeth there is no God." A short epilogue shows the huge basilica where the tree once stood. Inside, Lucia is a nun praying before the tomb where her cousins are buried, with the converted Hugo at her side.
