52 Weeks, 52 Religious Films

Based on the real story of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, The Miracle Woman is a pre-code religious film that follows Florence Fallon (Barbara Stanwyck), who loses belief in God after the death of her father, who was a minister. She finds religion to be a way to gain money and power, and opens up a phony temple with a con man she falls in love with.

Director Frank Capra himself was a Catholic, and the film opens up with a warning that this film is depicting the evil of people, rather than religion. And that’s exactly what this film portrays. It’s not saying Christianity is phony, rather evil people use it for self-gain and unfortunately people are blind to see it as so. We see this too much in modern Christian nationalism and it makes me sick.

Barbara Stanwyck is really what makes this film as iconic as it is. A fun fact I learned was that Frank Capra had a huge crush on Stanwyck and decided to cast her in this film for that very reason (I don’t blame you, Mr. Capra). Speaking of Capra, he showcases a lot of directing sauce here with so many great camera movements and shot compositions. Shots that seem rather rare for 1931, making this film an interesting historical piece in the history of cinema.

Also another fun little tidbit about this film; it being a pre-code film, I think this is the earliest showcase I’ve seen of someone flipping the bird on the silver screen. They could show that somehow, and doing research, the earliest case I could find is in Harold Lloyd’s 1928 silent film Speedy. And a fun fact since I’m a huge baseball fan and knew of this fact, the first photograph of someone flipping the bird was from Boston Beaneaters pitcher Old Hoss Radbourn in 1886. He had 59 wins in 1884 with the Providence Grays by the way. An absolute stud on the mound. He’s such an interesting story and if you want to learn more about him, I’d recommend this video.

52 Weeks, 52 Religious Films

Based on the real story of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, The Miracle Woman is a pre-code religious film that follows Florence Fallon (Barbara Stanwyck), who loses belief in God after the death of her father, who was a minister. She finds religion to be a way to gain money and power, and opens up a phony temple with a con man she falls in love with.

Director Frank Capra himself was a Catholic, and the film opens up with a warning that this film is depicting the evil of people, rather than religion. And that’s exactly what this film portrays. It’s not saying Christianity is phony, rather evil people use it for self-gain and unfortunately people are blind to see it as so. We see this too much in modern Christian nationalism and it makes me sick.

Barbara Stanwyck is really what makes this film as iconic as it is. A fun fact I learned was that Frank Capra had a huge crush on Stanwyck and decided to cast her in this film for that very reason (I don’t blame you, Mr. Capra). Speaking of Capra, he showcases a lot of directing sauce here with so many great camera movements and shot compositions. Shots that seem rather rare for 1931, making this film an interesting historical piece in the history of cinema.

Also another fun little tidbit about this film; it being a pre-code film, I think this is the earliest showcase I’ve seen of someone flipping the bird on the silver screen. They could show that somehow, and doing research, the earliest case I could find is in Harold Lloyd’s 1928 silent film Speedy. And a fun fact since I’m a huge baseball fan and knew of this fact, the first photograph of someone flipping the bird was from Boston Beaneaters pitcher Old Hoss Radbourn in 1886. He had 59 wins in 1884 with the Providence Grays by the way. An absolute stud on the mound. He’s such an interesting story and if you want to learn more about him, I’d recommend this video.

Worshipping at the church of Stanwyck. 🙏

Worshipping at the church of Stanwyck. 🙏

فلورنس في صراع بين الايمان الحقيق والاستغلال بين الحاجة للحب والخوف من الخداع بين الضوء الذي تسعى اليه والظلال التي تطاردها عاشت اسوء انواع الحياة حياة تحولت فيها المعتقدات الى وسيلة للربح تم التلاعب بقلبها قبل عقلها تركت في رحمة القدر تقاذفتها الاقدار ولم يكن العالم ابدا رحيما بها كبرت فلورنس وتعلمت ان تعتمد على نفسها لان هناك شيئا بل اشياء بداخلها مفقودة الحب الصدق الامان القيت في عالم الاستعراض حيث تتحول الروحانية الى مسرح الايمان يتم بيعه لمن يدفع اكثر خدعها الرجل الذي كان من المفترض ان يكون مرشدها جعلها اداة لسحب ارواح الفقراء ثم يأتي الرجل الاعمى الرجل الذي يرى فيها انسان حقيقي ويأخذها في رحلة مختلفة الحياة بسيطة ومليئة بالحب الصادق لكنها تسال نفسها هل يمكنني ان اكون محبوبة فقط لاني انا؟ هل هناك تعويض للبراءة التي فقدتها؟ هل يمكنني الهروب من هذا العالم الذي يستهلكني؟ لكن الواقع لا يتركها بسهولة الحقيقة تنهار امامها وتكتشف ان الخلاص ليس بسهولة الحب وحده يدرك الجميع ان معجزاتها ليست كما تبدو المسرح قد انهار الاضواء لم تكن سوى خدعة العالم ينهار من حولها لكن فلورنس التي سقطت كثيرا تنهض من جديد هناك شيء واحد لم يسرق منها روحها قوتها الايمان بشيء اكبر من الخداع

فلورنس في صراع بين الايمان الحقيق والاستغلال بين الحاجة للحب والخوف من الخداع بين الضوء الذي تسعى اليه والظلال التي تطاردها عاشت اسوء انواع الحياة حياة تحولت فيها المعتقدات الى وسيلة للربح تم التلاعب بقلبها قبل عقلها تركت في رحمة القدر تقاذفتها الاقدار ولم يكن العالم ابدا رحيما بها كبرت فلورنس وتعلمت ان تعتمد على نفسها لان هناك شيئا بل اشياء بداخلها مفقودة الحب الصدق الامان القيت في عالم الاستعراض حيث تتحول الروحانية الى مسرح الايمان يتم بيعه لمن يدفع اكثر خدعها الرجل الذي كان من المفترض ان يكون مرشدها جعلها اداة لسحب ارواح الفقراء ثم يأتي الرجل الاعمى الرجل الذي يرى فيها انسان حقيقي ويأخذها في رحلة مختلفة الحياة بسيطة ومليئة بالحب الصادق لكنها تسال نفسها هل يمكنني ان اكون محبوبة فقط لاني انا؟ هل هناك تعويض للبراءة التي فقدتها؟ هل يمكنني الهروب من هذا العالم الذي يستهلكني؟ لكن الواقع لا يتركها بسهولة الحقيقة تنهار امامها وتكتشف ان الخلاص ليس بسهولة الحب وحده يدرك الجميع ان معجزاتها ليست كما تبدو المسرح قد انهار الاضواء لم تكن سوى خدعة العالم ينهار من حولها لكن فلورنس التي سقطت كثيرا تنهض من جديد هناك شيء واحد لم يسرق منها روحها قوتها الايمان بشيء اكبر من الخداع

Pre-code Capra takes on religion and evangelical con artists, yeah this one aged well. Another great Stanwyck performance, and I really liked David Manners' performance, it's nice to see him outside of Universal Horror.

Pre-code Capra takes on religion and evangelical con artists, yeah this one aged well. Another great Stanwyck performance, and I really liked David Manners' performance, it's nice to see him outside of Universal Horror.

i also worship barbara stanwyck

i also worship barbara stanwyck