The Miracle (1959 film)

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The Miracle
Image:TheMiracle1959.jpg
Directed by	Irving Rapper
Produced by	Henry Blanke
Written by	Karl Vollmöller Frank Butler Jean Rouverol
Starring	Carroll Baker Roger Moore
Running time	121 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Miracle is a 1959 remake of a 1912 German film Das Mirakel directed by Cherry Kearton and Max Reinhardt, which in turn was based on a 1911 Karl Vollmöller pantomime play by the same name.

The 1959 film version stars Carroll Baker and Roger Moore and was directed by Irving Rapper for Warner Bros. It was two hours long and shot in Technicolor. While the original play and film had been set in medieval times, this version was set during the Napoleonic era in Spain - in fact, its climax involved the Battle of Waterloo. Directed by Irving Rapper, and not presented as a pantomime, it was panned by critics, and had the misfortune to be released to theatres the same week as MGM's 1959 version of Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston - one of the most successful epic films of all time. Even worse, Warner Bros. had, earlier that same year, released The Nun's Story, a film starring Audrey Hepburn in which the main character was also a nun having doubts about her vocation, and it had been a commercial and critical smash hit, garnering several Oscar nominations. Both films were produced by Henry Blanke, and most likely, The Miracle drew the inevitable comparisons to The Nun's Story.

[edit] Plot

Teresa (Baker), an aspiring nun, suddenly finds self doubt when she falls in love with Captain Michael Stuart (Moore), a touring British soldier. Believing him dead when he returns to duty she leaves her convent and joins a band of traveling Gypsies. This causes a cherished statue of the Virgin Mary to come to life and secretly take Teresa's place at the convent. Believing herself cursed from love she travels Europe becoming a celebrated singer. Discovering Michael still alive during a concert tour Teresa comes to a crossroad, marry her soldier or return to the convent and persue her faith once more. Traveling back to the convent she decides to remain a nun which causes the statue of Mary to return to its rightful place.