Having seen and enjoyed The Divine Sister in 2011, I've avoided watching The Bells of St. Mary's because I'm afraid it will destroy my decades long appreciation of it -- despite its dated qualities. However, the false sensibility which pervades the film apparently made it ideal fodder for Busch's masterful spoofing.
In the scene following the schoolyard fight between Tommy and Eddie, O'Malley tells Mother Superior that Tommy's fighting skills will prepare him for life in what is, after all, "a man's world". He also warns her that too much comforting of Eddie may cause the other boys to regard him as a -- at which point he pauses and Mother Superior says "a sissy, father".
Of course, in The Divine Sister Busch's dialogue cuts through all the coded bullshit as Timothy (quoting Sister Acacia) tells us he's being labeled a cock-sucking little faggot. Following that pronouncement, I love the way that Busch as Mother Superior expertly channels Bergman's restrained disapproval of such an explicitly vulgar epithet. |
