Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi is a 1961 DeLuxe CinemaScope epic film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the 1958 novel The Joyful Beggar by Louis de Wohl. The film starred Bradford Dillman, in one of his few sympathetic leading film roles (he usually played a villainous character onscreen), Dolores Hart and Stuart Whitman. Shot entirely in Italy, it was a box office bomb.
Plot
Francis Bernardone (Bradford Dillman) is the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi. He joins a military expedition, but deserts when an inner voice commands it. He gives up all his worldly goods to dedicate himself to God. Clare (Dolores Hart) is a young aristocratic woman who, according to the film, is so taken with St. Francis that she leaves her family and becomes a nun. This follows a lengthy rivalry between Francis and the warrior Count Paolo for Clare's affections and values; Clare follows a monastic life instead of marrying Paolo, but Francis and Paolo are eventually reconciled.
More details
| author | Eugene Vale |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Italy |
| director | Michael Curtiz |
| editor | Louis R. Loeffler |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | al-kamil assisi francis bernardone francis of assisi inner voice stigma sultan |
| musicBy | Mario Nascimbene |
| producer | Plato A. Skouras |
| productionCompany | Perseus Productions |
| publisher | 20th Century Fox |
| theme | biographical biographical drama epic |