The Angel Wore Red (1960)A clergyman leaves the priesthood over the church's indifferent position during the Spanish Civil War but finds himself attracted to a beautiful entertainer. Director:Nunnally Johnson |
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The Angel Wore Red (1960)A clergyman leaves the priesthood over the church's indifferent position during the Spanish Civil War but finds himself attracted to a beautiful entertainer. Director:Nunnally Johnson |
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Complete credited cast: | |||
Ava Gardner | ... |
Soledad
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Dirk Bogarde | ... |
Arturo Carrera
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Joseph Cotten | ... |
Hawthorne
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Vittorio De Sica | ... |
Gen. Clave
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Aldo Fabrizi | ... |
Canon Rota
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Arnoldo Foà | ... |
Insurgent major
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Finlay Currie | ... |
Bishop
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Rossana Rory | ... |
Mercedes
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Enrico Maria Salerno | ... |
Capt. Botargus
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The Spanish priest played by Dirk Bogarde is troubled by his church's lack of concern for the poor; he decides to leave the church. By chance, the same day the Republicans call on the people to attack the churches and the priests, so though in plainclothes he is liable to arrest and execution. A beautiful cabaret singer (Ava Gardner) hides him for awhile but both are eventually made prisoner. The plot revolves around a relic taken from his erstwhile church by another priest that all sides are convinced would assure them victory... Written by bigOther
This film has an abiding place in my film canon, for one very good reason.
It isn't a great film, as both the other IMDb reviewers have gone out of their way to stress (although some of their criticisms were a little unfair. I thought, for example, that Joseph Cotten fared better than they say). However, it is virtually the only entertainment vehicle I have ever seen - including film, TV, radio, newspaper, magazine - that dares to show the truth about the left-wing Republicans/anti-Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.
The Spanish Republicans have been lionised for decades for their allegedly heroic struggle against fascism (although it is actually a moot point to what extent Franco's Nationalists were fascist). However, this film is brave enough to show the truth - that the Spanish Republicans singled out religious targets and many harmless middle class targets and killed or persecuted them. It also dares to show the truth that the Republicans ran the areas they controlled along Stalinist lines. Which is not surprising, given the links with Communists and Stalinist Russia that some of them had.
The file deserves enormous credit for showing this, and it is a shame that no-one has pointed this out on IMDb - until now.