The Cinapse Selects column is written by our team on rotation, focusing on films that are past their marketing cycle. Maybe we’ll select a silent film, cult classic, or forgotten gem. We’re all about thoughtfully advocating film, new and old, and celebrating what we love. So join us as we share about what we’re discovering, and hopefully you’ll find some new films for your watch list, or some validation that others love what you love too!
It’s doubtful that many who remember Hayley Mills fail to recall fond memories of her work on the screen during the heyday of classic Disney comedies. The actress charmed her way into movie-goers’ hearts with Pollyanna (winning an Oscar in the process), gave life to one of the catchiest Disney tunes in The Parent Trap, and headlined one of the studio’s biggest moneymakers of the decade with That Darn Cat! Unfortunately, the late ‘60s and ‘70s brought a series of misjudged film choices due in large part to the influence of the actress’ then-husband, director Roy Bolting. Moves such as turning down the title role in Lolita proved fatal, while flops such as Endless Night and Twisted Nerve (memorable only for introducing Quentin Tarantino to the film’s now-iconic theme) were a far cry from the success Mills had previously enjoyed. However, the charming and surprisingly eloquent comedy The Trouble with Angels remains a rare bright spot between the two sides of the actress’ on-screen career thanks to the film’s sense of fun and its universal comment on friendship.
In The Trouble with Angels, semi-problem child Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) has been sent by her Uncle George to attend an all-girls Catholic boarding school named St. Francis Academy in the northeast. Immediately upon arrival, she meets Rachel Devery (June Harding), with whom she instantly becomes best friends due to a mutual dislike their new school’s strict guidelines and a shared love for wreaking havoc. Their antics don’t sit too well with the stern Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell), who immediately considers the two girls to be the bane of her existence. Throughout the next three years, the girls enjoy an endless series of pranks and learn a thing or two about the world that awaits them.
At the heart of The Trouble with Angels is a tale made up of the kind of moments which come to define a friendship. While certain scenes, including the one where the girls try on bras for the first time, may not resonate with the entire family, others such as cheating on schoolwork, sneaking off during class trips, secretly smoking cigarettes, and dodging gym class are all the kind of universal experiences which make up the best of teenaged friendships. It’s the seemingly never ending series of mischievous ventures that Mary drags Rachel into (signaled each time by the former proclaiming “I’ve got the most scathingly brilliant idea!”) where The Trouble with Angels gets most of its laughs from. Moments such as creating an unfortunate plaster cast of a fellow classmate’s face and making the entire faculty and class believe the school is on fire are glorious highlights. While the pranks themselves are funny, it’s the kind of adventure and wonder they give off which is symbolic of the way such escapades do indeed carry and breathe life into the best of friendships.
It’s to be expected that a film such as The Trouble with Angels would insist that its characters do a bit of growing up in the process. The movie excellently shows this in the character of Mary, who although tucked away in the confines of a boarding school, still manages to learn important lessons about the world. One moment includes the act of selflessness, which happens when Mary discovers that one her teacher nuns (a great beauty in her own right, according to Mary) is leaving to teach the children of a leper colony. “But suppose you get it,” Mary exclaims. “Then I pray I’ll have the strength to endure,” her teacher calmly replies.
It’s seeing things through mother superior’s eyes, however, that adds greatly to Mary’s overall maturity. Moments include secretly watching the Mother Superior weep over the death of a fellow nun (shedding her tough exterior in the process) and hearing her reminisce about her short-lived career as a fashion designer, which included an apprenticeship with a top designer and aspirations which very much could have been realized. “But how could you give it up,” asks Mary. “I found something better,” the Mother Superior responds with love and contentment in her eyes.
After years of starring in Disney films, which made her the Jennifer Lawrence of her generation, The Trouble with Angels proved the perfect transitional role for Mills. The actress is at her best in this, her first post-Disney role, quite simply because the greatest of all her instinctive acting qualities are being used. She’s playful and rambunctious, but also steadfast in what she believes. Meanwhile, she manages to make Mary’s ascension into maturity seem genuine and poetic. The actress shares some great chemistry with Harding, who (in her lone film outing) gels so much with the more seasoned Mills that there isn’t a second you don’t believe they are truly kindred spirits. For her part, Russell enjoys what was probably the last great film role she ever had, bringing a hidden warmth and sparkling deadpan quality to the Mother Superior. Russell makes her character a true taskmaster, but also shows her to be a real person in the way she cares about her fellow nuns and the girls themselves.
Critics and audiences warmly accepted The Trouble with Angels when it was first released in the spring of 1966, praising the performances, the story, and the direction, which came courtesy of former screen siren-turned-movie director Ida Lupino (in what would ultimately be her final and most successful outing behind the camera). The film’s success spawned a later sequel titled Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows, which allowed Russell another fun turn at her character, but failed mainly due to Mills’s decision not to participate.
The Trouble with Angels is ultimately a film about the many different moments which make up friendship, and of growing up in general. The movie does such an admirable and effective job at showing friendship in all its glory and beauty, that when an event happens which one friend considers to be a betrayal from the other, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. While the betrayal in question might seem trivial at first, its symbolism and comment on the trust and loyalty that flows between friends is nothing short of profound. The feelings the scene gives off last right up until the film’s final moments, in which all the adventures the two friends have shared wonderfully culminate in an ending that doesn’t fail to to stir emotions in anyone who has ever shared their life with someone they would call a best friend.
