''Glory! Glory!'' is a 1989

televangelism Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring

Ellen Greene Ellen Greene is an American actress and singer. She has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actress and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many ...

that originally aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

in two parts. In the film, a radio preacher's operation is covertly controlled by his son. When the father finds a more skilled (and less honest)

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

to promote his act, he severs all ties with his son. The son has the idea to turn a female

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer into the

televangelist Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

and faith healer Sister Ruth. Her act is a success, but her craving for

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and her sexual promiscuity are threatening her reputation.

Investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend ...

s find out that Ruth had an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, and a church leader uses the information to

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

her.

Plot

A radio preacher's operation is controlled by his honest but bland son. When the preacher is made a media superstar by a savvy huckster, the son is left behind. Everything changes when the son wanders into a bar and witnesses the performance of a woman

singer. He realizes she is just what he needs to rise to the top of the world of televangelism. At first, sister Ruth, the rock and roll singer, takes the job as a means for fame and money. She uses the church for drugs and eventually has a sexual relationship with the preacher's son named Bobby Joe. She also indulges in cocaine and is sexually promiscuous. We soon discover that she is pregnant and decides to have an abortion to help the church and herself to avoid scandal. She then shoots up the charts and becomes a national sensation. With the prospect of going on a national tv network. The network decides to make the show more exciting. They decide to have Sister Ruth do healings on air. At first she had actors, but eventually she is able to heal people. Which freaks her out and makes her think she is really a messenger of God. Because of the show's popularity a investigative news show decides to profile them. They discover the alleged healed people were either fabricating their story or were temporarily healed. Sister Ruth feeling bad about not healing anyone ends up having an affair with the newsreporter. A church leader worried what Sister Ruth would tell the reporter. He decided that he would have her room bugged and caught the sexual encounter on tape. We soon discover that the news shows producers discover that a church leader stole 2 million dollars and hid it in Switzerland. Forcing his hand and getting the heat off of him. He decides to tell them that Sister Ruth had an abortion. They decide that they will ask her about it on the show. The news reporter decides to give Ruth a heads up. She tells the church leader and Bobby Joe. So the church leader pulls out the audio tapes of the affair and decides to blackmail him. He gives in and decides not to mention the abortion. So the first national episode airs and Sister Ruth sings. She stops singing and tells the audience that at first she took the job because of the money and exposure and then tells them she had an abortion and that she quits. Rev. Bobby Joe comes out and tells the audience that he is a sinner and had a sexual relationship without being married. He admits to blackmail and other sinful things. And finally the church leader comes out and tells everybody that he is the guilty one and that Ruth and Bobby Joe should stay and gets the audience to cheer for them to stay. At the end everybody comes out and hold hands with the main stars, even

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and Bobby Joe's dead father.

Cast

as Ruth * Richard Thomas as Rev. Bobby Joe *

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

as Lester Babbitt * Winston Rekert as Chet * Barry Morse as Rev. Dan Stuckey * George Buza as Vincent * Richard Alden as Sen. Monteith * Philippe Ayoub as Aide

References

External links

* {{Lindsay Anderson 1989 films 1989 television films 1980s parody films 1989 black comedy films American rock music films Canadian rock music films Films about television Films about evangelicalism Parodies of televangelism Films directed by Lindsay Anderson American black comedy films American parody films Religious comedy films Canadian comedy television films English-language Canadian films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films Films about singers Films about abortion Films about faith healing Films about cocaine American musical television films Canadian musical television films American comedy television films