Bento de Espinosa Yes, it is a beautiful and well-done movie. All main characters are very fine actors. Alida Valli's performance is outstanding. But, apart from being overlong, towards the end the story, which is simple and far-fetched, becomes silly, and I could not help but think that this film was financed by the Catholic Church or other Christian organization, because in the second half it does become very religious, with a quite pathetic ending. Still, being a big fan of Alida Valli, I enjoyed this movie.

Christmas-Reviewer BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION & THAT IS WHAT IS GOING ON HERE FOR THIS FILM! NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FAREIn this film a publicity man is escorting a woman body back to her hometown. In flashbacks we see who this woman was. In a nutshell she is an actress who just finished her 1st starring role. The day after the film is completed she passes away. The man escorting her body however is very sad. See not only did he never tell her how he felt about her he found out the studio is going to not release film. They are going to remake it. The film today is dated. Most people will get hired of hearing Fred MacMurray ending almost every sentence with "Baby". Putting that aside the film is still very good. It is a winner!

clanciai This is an impressing story that gets constantly more interesting as it develops. It starts in mild sadness as Fred McMurray comes to a rather sordid and backward Coal Town with a coffin in order to bury it there, as that apparently was the last wish of the deceased. In flashbacks her story is gradually revealed, and as the tragedy unfolds of a film star who got the chance of her life to make Joan of Arc to only die for it, the additional plots start to gather, involving tremendous complications piling up at Coal Town, where Frank Sinatra as a poorer parish priest gradually starts to play a part - he even gets the opportunity to sing a song. Well, the plot thickens and gathers momentum and grows to affect the whole of the United States, as also Lee J. Cobb as Fred's producer reluctantly is involved. The amazing phenomenon of the film is how it gradually develops into something of a cathedral in structure involving many people and many plots and subplots, and there is no surprise anywhere, not even any real miracle, everything is logic and natural and can be explained, as even Frank Sinatra honestly enough stands up to the naked truth, and still there is something of a miracle about it all, as all these people without any intention of their own get included in the fabric of destiny as it weaves its web around them all, finally even bringing Lee J. Cobb to his knees. It's an amazing film and story in all its simplicity and very touching basic humanity - the scene in the Chinese restaurant is my favorite and a marvel of humanity in itself. This is no legend, and there is nothing supernatural about anything here, but it's simply a very human story presenting the magic of life as it could happen anywhere and fill everyone with wonder in the pure incredibility of reality. This is a film to discover, enjoy - and love.

Lynne Bronstein I discovered this movie about ten years ago, on TV. The next day, a co-worker asked if I had watched it; I said yes, and we both agreed we had been moved by it. For my co-worker, this was not surprising; she was a Catholic. But for me, a Jewish semi-secular humanist, it was odd to admit I had felt something close to faith because of a late-40s studio picture. The message of "The Miracle of the Bells" is that regardless of one's faith, there is the possibility of hope. The goodness that exists in human beings is not brought out by rigid observance to rules, but by acts of kindness and understanding. I don't want to say how this comes about or whether there really is a miracle in the Biblical sense. That is for viewers to find out. But the film brings tears to my eyes. Alida Valli is amazing-watch her face, her eyes, especially in the sequences where she plays Joan of Arc-she seems lit from within by faith. I love the scene in the Chinese restaurant, a scene of friendship and love. I wish this movie, like its heroine, was more well-known. I try to help it along by mentioning it whenever I can as one of those little gems, a quiet picture that may make you think, a nice example of Hollywood fantasy films of the 1940s, and a movie that will help you feel better if you feel down.I know I just rented it for that reason.