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The Miracle Of Our Lady Of Fatima [1952]
![The Miracle Of Our Lady Of Fatima [1952]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NvXlWY22L._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £17.99
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McCarthy era paranoia wins out over faith in typical 50s Hollywood hokum
Review date: 2007-05-06 Rating: 4 out of 10
Shot in the spectacularly crappy WarnerColor system, the unconvincing color is the least of the credibility problems with The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, in which any relationship to the real events at Fatima in 1917 is purely accidental (no mention of any secrets here). The kind of film that gives atheism a good name, it could probably convert the Pope to the ranks of the unbelievers so outrageously heavy-handed is its Hollywood piety. But more bizarre than the clichéd sentimentality is the fact that this isn't a film about faith at all but an astonishingly crude and cynical McCarthy era bit of anti-Communist propaganda - hey folks, even God hates Commies! The one surprise is the outright hostility with which the local Catholic priesthood is depicted: disbelieving, antagonistic and clearly doing everything possible to hush things up to protect their jobs and to avoid giving the cartoon commies an excuse to persecute them again, it does hint that someone somewhere along the production line wanted to do something a bit more daring before the saccharine won out. The fact that the film's real-life leading character saw the film and didn't like it says it all.
The DVD transfer copes as well as can be expected with the vagaries of the color system, though some interior shots are particularly grainy and unnaturalistic.
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Frank Silvera
Angela Clarke
Gilbert Roland
Creators:
Frank Silvera (Primary Contributor)
Gilbert Roland (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Pinnacle Vision
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Vision
EAN: 5031446770177
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-12-04
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 102 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1952
Language: English (Original Language)