The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

1952 American film by John Brahm

This article is about a movie depicting the religious events at Fatima. For the actual events, see Our Lady of Fátima.

The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| John Brahm
Written by| James O'Hanlon
Crane Wilbur
Produced by| Bryan Foy
Starring| Susan Whitney
Sherry Jackson
Sammy Ogg
Gilbert Roland
Narrated by| Walter Hampden
Cinematography| Edwin B. DuPar
Edited by| Thomas Reilly
Music by| Max Steiner
Distributed by| Warner Bros.

Release date

* August 20, 1952 (1952-08-20) (U.S.)

Running time

| 102 minutes
Language| English
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The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima is a Warner Color feature film made in 1952.[1] It was promoted as a fact-based treatment of the events surrounding the apparitions of Our Lady of Fátima, in Portugal, in 1917.[2][3][4]

It stars Susan Whitney as Lúcia dos Santos, Sherry Jackson as Jacinta Marto and Sammy Ogg as Francisco Marto, with Gilbert Roland as a fictional character named Hugo, a kindly but agnostic friend of the three children, who rediscovered his faith in God through the Miracle of the Sun. The musical score by Max Steiner received an Academy Award nomination. The film was released on DVD on April 4, 2006.

## Plot

[edit]

It is 1917. Portugal is feeling the after-effects of a storm of anti-religious sentiment and the violent overthrow of the monarchy and the government in the 5 October 1910 revolution. Churches in Lisbon and the rest of Portugal are boarded up. Many priests, nuns, monks and friars are shown being fingerprinted, photographed and registered as possible criminals before being jailed. The rural town of Fátima is small enough to have escaped much of this persecution; their church remains open, and most of the people are still devout.[5]

Watching their flocks and playing in a field outside town on May 15 (the actual date of the first apparition was May 13), Lúcia Santos (Susan Whitney) and her cousins, Jacinta Marto (Sherry Jackson) and Francisco Marto (Sammy Ogg) decide to pray their version of the Rosary by yelling out, "Hail Mary!" but not finishing the prayer. In the midst of this activity, they hear a clap of thunder and see a flash of lightning from a distance. Thinking it is about to rain, the children gather their sheep and head for their homes. Another flash of lightning causes them to run straight into an unusual "cloud of light" surrounding a little tree on which a mysterious Lady stands. Speaking slowly and gently, the Lady asks them to return on the 13th of each month, and to offer their sufferings to God for the salvation of sinners. She entreats them to say the Rosary for world peace. Later, they encounter their agnostic friend Hugo da Silva (Gilbert Roland), who tells them it is best not to reveal the vision to anyone else, but on returning home, Jacinta immediately divulges her sightings.

Jacinta and Francisco's parents quickly believe the story, but Lúcia's mother reacts with disgust and subjects her daughter to emotional and physical pressure to give up what she considers to be a dangerous lie. She forbids Lúcia to return to the Cova da Iria, but Lúcia does so anyway on the next month's appearance (June 13), and is told by the Lady that her cousins will die and go to heaven "soon", while she will live a long life in holy service. The parish priest, Father Ferreira (Richard Hale), suggests the visions might be from Satan. The local authorities close the Fátima church until the priest can convince the parishioners that no visions have or will happen. The next month, on July 13, the Lady appears again, predicting "another and worse war" (World War II) will happen if the world doesn't stop sinning. She also predicts evil will come from Russia if that nation is unconverted. Kidnapped by provincial administrator Artur Santos (Frank Silvera; unrelated to Lúcia Santos), the children are first offered bribes, then threatened with death if they do not change their story. Trying to frighten them, he has first Jacinta, then Francisco dragged into another room. Jacinta's terrified screams convince Lúcia that her cousins are dead, but she refuses to deny what she has seen. Warning her that she is about to experience "the full treatment", Artur Santos reunites her with her cousins, who are alive, then throws them all in jail. There they find Hugo, who stands by them as they convince all the prisoners to join in praying the Rosary.

Unable to find any prosecutable evidence, Artur Santos frees the children, who find that the entire population of Fátima has been standing outside, praying and waiting for them.

On October 13, when the Lady promised "a sign that will make them believe", about forty thousand people arrive, waiting through a torrential downpour. The Lady appears and says that the war (World War I) will be over soon and the soldiers will be returning to their homes. At precisely noon, as the Lady raises her hand, the clouds part and sunlight shines brightly upon all the people — then the Sun shifts through a rainbow of colours and appears to move closer, in what many have described as the Miracle of the Sun. Many people panic, some pray or watch calmly, and a few sick and disabled people are healed. As the Sun returns to normal, Hugo stands in the middle of the kneeling crowd, his hat still on. Removing it, he says "Only the fool sayeth there is no God."

A short epilogue, circa 1951, shows the huge basilica where the tree once stood, and a million people outside paying homage to Our Lady of Fátima. At the end of the film, inside the new basilica (where the Cova da Iria once was), Lúcia is now a nun praying before the tomb of her cousins, the converted Hugo at her side.

## Cast

[edit]

* Susan Whitney as Lúcia dos Santos
* Sherry Jackson as Jacinta Marto
* Sammy Ogg as Francisco Marto
* Gilbert Roland as Hugo da Silva
* Angela Clarke as Maria Rosa dos Santos
* Jay Novello as António dos Santos
* Frank Silvera as Arturo dos Santos
* Richard Hale as Father Ferreira
* Norman Rice as Manuel Marto
* Frances Morris as Olímpia Marto
* Carl Milletaire as District Magistrate
* J. Carroll Naish as Narrator
* Ethan Laidlaw as Villager (uncredited)
* Jack Mower as Villager (uncredited)
* Virginia Gibson as Virgin Mary (uncredited)

## Reception

[edit]

A.H. Weiler of The New York Times, in a polite but unenthusiastic review, described the movie as "a spiritual document for the faithful and a serious but unspectacular drama for others."[6]

## See also

[edit]

* Our Lady of Fátima
* Cova da Iria in Fátima
* Sanctuary of Fátima
* Parish Church of Fátima
* Fatima, 2020 film
* The Song of Bernadette, 1943 film

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Malone, Peter (2019). Screen Priests: The Depiction of Catholic Priests in Cinema, 1900-2018. ISD LLC. ISBN 9781925872927. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
2. ^ Bernardi, Daniel; Green, Michael (2017). Race in American Film: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 57\. ISBN 9780313398407. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
3. ^ Sterritt, David; Anderson, John C. (2008). The B List: The National Society of Film Critics on the Low-Budget Beauties, Genre-Bending Mavericks, and Cult. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780786726509. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
4. ^ O'Brien, Catherine (2011). The Celluloid Madonna: From Scripture to Screen. Columbia University Press. p. 23\. ISBN 9780231501811. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
5. ^ Newberry, George (2007). The Devil's Reign: A Documented True Story That Proves the Forces of Good and Evil Do Exist. AuthorHouse. p. 222. ISBN 9781463493011. Retrieved 15 November 2019. "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima 1952 film."
6. ^ Weiler, A.H. (August 21, 1952). "'Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima,' Film Based on 1917 Events, at Two Theatres Here". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima.

* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima at IMDb
* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima at the TCM Movie Database
* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

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Films directed by John Brahm

* Broken Blossoms (1936)
* Counsel for Crime (1937)
* Penitentiary (1938)
* Girls' School (1938)
* Let Us Live (1939)
* Rio (1939)
* Escape to Glory (1940)
* Wild Geese Calling (1941)
* The Undying Monster (1942)
* Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)
* Wintertime (1943)
* The Lodger (1944)
* Guest in the House (1944)
* Hangover Square (1945)
* The Locket (1946)
* The Brasher Doubloon (1947)
* Singapore (1947)
* Siren of Atlantis (1949, uncredited)
* The Thief of Venice (1950)
* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
* Face to Face (1952)
* The Diamond Queen (1953)
* The Mad Magician (1954)
* The Golden Plague (1954)
* Special Delivery (1955)
* Bengazi (1955)
* Hot Rods to Hell (1967)

* v
* t
* e

Our Lady of Fátima

Marian apparitions in Fátima, Portugal, in 1917

Events|

* Guardian Angel of Portugal
* Three Secrets of Fátima
* Miracle of the Sun
* Fátima prayers
* Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
* Pontevedra apparitions
* First Saturdays Devotion

People|

* Visionaries
* Lúcia dos Santos
* Francisco and Jacinta Marto
* Artur de Oliveira Santos
* Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz
* José Alves Correia da Silva
* José Galamba de Oliveira
* Manuel Nunes Formigão

Related places|

* Aljustrel
* Cova da Iria
* Valinhos
* Sanctuary of Fátima
* Chapel of the Apparitions
* Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary
* Basilica of the Holy Trinity
* Parish Church of Fátima
* Sanctuary of the Apparitions

Books by
Sister Lúcia|

* Fatima in Lucia's Own Words (1976)
* Fatima in Lucia's Own Words II (2000)
* Calls from the Message of Fatima (2005)

Media|

* Avé de Fátima
* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952 film)
* Fatima (2020 film)
* A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary: Biography of Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart

Related|

* Fatima Movement of Priests
* Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima
* Sol de Fátima
* America Needs Fatima
* Pope Pius XII 1942 consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
* Message of Fátima Movement
* Wax Museum of Fátima

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