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There is never a shortage of priest characters on our screens. Even Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald won Oscars for playing priests. Robert de Niro has been ordained four times (including a bishop). Many stars have been eager to play priests, as have numerous supporting actors. The question arises: how have been priests portrayed over the decades? There have been kindly priests with their advice, stern priests who laid down the law, heroic priests on mission, in more recent years, priests who have been abusers. And there have been priests who were part of the scenery, especially at funerals.
This is something of a comprehensive look at priests on screen, looking at portrayals from the late 19th century, over the decades, for 120 years. The films considered are mainly English-language but quite there are a number from other cultures. The book offers some Church background and developments, the range of films, a highlighting of a key film representing each decade. It also has separate chapters on Irish priests, Australian priests, exorcism priests and a chapter on films and abuse. There also Appendices on historical films, saint priests and popes.
While one could read the book from cover to cover, it is mainly a book for reference. There are some detailed appreciations. There are some shorter considerations. Not everyone can see every film, not for want of trying! There are Indexes for exploring: film titles, directors, and actors who have played priests.
Peter Malone is an Australian Missionary of the Sacred Heart. He has reviewed films for over fifty years and written many books and articles on cinema and religious themes. He has taught theology, scripture and media studies at the Melbourne College of Divinity (now the University of Divinity), at the National Pastoral Institute and the Heart of Life Centre for Spirituality and Pastoral Formation. He served as President of the Pacific region of OCIC (International Catholic Organisation for Cinema), its international President, 1998-2001 and, when it merged with Unda (International Catholic Organisation for Radio and Television) to form SIGNIS (World Catholic Organisation for Communication), he was elected its first President, 2001-2005.
“Screen Priests” is a fascinating historical look at films about Roman Catholic priests from the first until Martin Scorsese’s 2016 religious and cinematic masterpiece “Silence.” With the scope spanning decades and the breadth embracing films mostly from the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada and Australia, the researcher will find a treasure trove and the film aficionado will relish Peter Malone’s encyclopedia knowledge and sometimes trivia of the world of priests on the silver screen. I found the historical introduction to the church and priesthood a helpful context to understanding the worlds of sacerdotal cinema. The appendices and index assist greatly in navigating this impressive tome.
–Rose Pacatte, F.S.P., D.Min. is a Los Angeles-based award-winning co-author of several books with Peter Malone, as well as the current film critic for the National Catholic Reporter and St. Anthony Messenger.
From saints to sinners, martyrs to missionaries, exorcists to confessors, over time the portrayal of priests on the silver screen has changed dramatically. Peter Malone’s encyclopaedic knowledge of film has produced to date the most comprehensive, readable and engaging book on this topic. This monumental study, however, also equally maps social history and theological developments with the critical insight of an insider, both priest and film critic. Malone writes with the assurance of an authority, because he is an authority.
–Richard Leonard SJ is author of Movies That Matter, The Mystical Gaze of the Cinema and Where the Hell is God?
Priests, from the early times of cinema, have been seen in many roles, from small to major roles, on and behind the screen. Peter Malone’s book discusses the presence of these priests on the screen and reveals that these “priest-character” are rather complex, from child abuser to the heroic defender of human rights even to the point to sacrifice their own lives for faith and cause. In going into the manner how in so many different moments in history priests have been, Malone addresses a fascinating story of the changes in Catholicism and its institutions in the culture of the 20th and early 21 century.
–Guido Convents, Secretary of the Cinema Desk, SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communication), film historian, longtime editor of SIGNIS-Media, author of several books on African cinema.
