''Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows'' is a 1968 American

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 James Neilson and starring

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Caro Eggleston; October 1, 1938 – February 17, 2023) was an American actress. She was the mother of actor Andrew Stevens. Stevens began her acting career in 1959 in the film ''Say One for Me'', winning the Golden ...

and

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. She was known for as a leading lady in films such as ''The Private Life of He ...

. Written by Blanche Hanalis, the film is based on a story by Jane Trahey about an orthodox mother superior who is challenged by a progressive younger nun when they take the girls of St. Francis Academy on a bus trip across the United States. The film is a sequel to '' The Trouble with Angels'' (1966). Russell, Barnes, Mary Wickes and Dolores Sutton all reprise their roles as nuns from the original film.

Plot

The conservative Mother Superior and the glamorous, progressive young Sister George shepherd a busload of Catholic high-school girls from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to an interfaith youth rally in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. As they debate expressions of faith and the role of the church during the tumultuous 1960s, they must also contend with the various antics of two rebellious, troublemaking students, Rosabelle and Marvel Anne. During their long drive to California, the group experiences fun in the

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

and swimming pool, various difficulties including spending the night at an all-boys Catholic school, encountering hostile bikers and blundering onto an outdoor Western movie set, anachronistically ruining an important scene and reducing the excitable director (Milton Berle) to apoplexy.

Cast

as Mother Superior *

as Sister George *

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

as Film Director *

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...

as The Bishop * Van Johnson as Father Chase * Robert Taylor as Mr. Farriday *

as Sister Celestine * Mary Wickes as Sister Clarissa * Dolores Sutton as Sister Rose-Marie * Susan Saint James as Rosabelle * Barbara Hunter as Marvel Ann * Alice Rawlings as Patty * Hilary Thompson as Hilarie * Devon Douglas as Devon * Ellen Moss as Tanya * Cherie Lamour as Cherie * June Fairchild as June

Production

Development

The film was announced in May 1967.

Casting

Along with Russell, the three featured nuns from '' The Trouble with Angels'' ( Mary Wickes as Sister Clarissa,

as Sister Celestine and Dolores Sutton as Sister Rose-Marie) returned for the sequel. Barbara Hunter also reprised her role as Marvel Anne, the cousin of Mary Clancy,

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...

' character. The character of Sister George was originally written as Sister Mary Clancy, but after Mills declined to appear in the film, the part was rewritten. Susan Oliver and

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until the age of 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Mi ...

were also considered for the role of Sister George. Susan Saint James made an early film appearance, gaining her wider attention beyond television guest shots.

Filming locations

Principal photography began on July 17, 1967 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where many scenes in the first half of the movie were filmed, including Market Street near 13th Street and City Hall, and a protest scene at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

. Other scenes were filmed in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

at Dorney Park and at St. Mary's Villa, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

home for troubled youths on Bethlehem Pike in

Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. History Lenape The historical territ ...

. The Catholic boys boarding school where the group spends the night was actually Germantown Academy, about south of St. Mary's Villa. The church shown just prior to the boarding school is Ft. Washington Baptist Church, which is only about northeast of St. Mary's Villa. The early scenes on the bus en route to California were filmed in nearby Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and along the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

( Interstate 76).

Soundtrack

The theme song was written and performed by singer-songwriter duo

Boyce and Hart Sidney Thomas "Tommy" Boyce (September 29, 1939 – November 23, 1994) and Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; February 18, 1939) were an American duo of singer-songwriters. In addition to three top-40 hits as artists, the duo is well know ...

. Composer

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...

, best known for his work on the television series '' Mission: Impossible'', collaborated with Boyce and Hart on the title song and supplied the incidental score. * "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" (Schifrin, Boyce, and Hart) performed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart – 1:59 * "Goodbye Baby (I Don't Want to See You Cry)" (Schifrin, Boyce, and Hart) performed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart – 2:57

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

called the film a "cute-as-a-button comedy" and wrote: "Considering the apparent success of the original film, to say nothing of the immense popularity of other fantasies about nuns who fly and sing, there is probably a large audience waiting to be gulled into somnambulistic complacency by these new slapsticky and sentimental antics...The film must rely on the inventiveness of its comic situations and on the appeal of its players. The comedy, however, is strictly up-dated 'Junior Miss,' and the performances right out of Hollywood stock..."

References

External links

* * * {{James Neilson 1968 films 1968 comedy films 1960s American films 1960s English-language films American comedy films American road movies American sequel films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films about Catholic nuns Films about religion Films about Catholicism Films directed by James Neilson Films shot in Allentown, Pennsylvania Films shot in New Mexico Films shot in Philadelphia