''Glory! Glory!'' is a 1989

televangelism Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-proc ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for h ...

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 premium television network, 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 ba ...

in two parts.

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 rock and roll singer and 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 newsreporter 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 decide 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 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 Aca ...

as Lester Babbitt *

Winston Rekert Winston Houghton Rekert (June 10, 1949 – September 14, 2012) was a Canadian actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Adderly'' and '' Neon Rider''. Career A Vancouver native, Rekert started acting at age 12, appearing ...

as Chet *

Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...

as Rev. Dan Stuckey *

George Buza George Buza is an American-born Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in the '' X-Men Animated Series''. Personal life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, as a young man and became a Canadian citizen in 1998. C ...

as Vincent * Richard Alden as Sen. Monteith *

Philippe Ayoub Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count ...

as Aide

References

External links

* {{Lindsay Anderson 1989 films 1989 television films Films about television Films about evangelicalism Parodies of televangelism Films directed by Lindsay Anderson American black comedy films 1980s parody films American parody films Religious comedy films 1980s black comedy films Canadian comedy television films English-language Canadian films British television films 1989 comedy films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films