“Something tells me that an irresistible force has been let loose in New England.”

There is something magical about the idea of unbreakable faith. We may live in an era where a lot of Western culture advocates for a more secular view of humanity, and where art that positively tackles religion is usually relegated to its sub-genre, which is mostly hidden from view in fears of ruffling the feathers of the supposed intellectuals that believe that the separation of church and state should extend to artistic expression. A lot of the time, these films are not very good, since they’re usually produced cheaply and without much artistic integrity. However, this was not always the case, since the Golden Age of Hollywood was populated by films that not only centered around faith but were massively successful, drawing in audiences who appreciated these wonderfully charming films that usually told meaningful stories with a twist of comedy in many instances. One of the more memorable examples of this comes in the form of Come to the Stable, a wonderfully eccentric and heartfelt comedy that follows the story of two French nuns who make their way into some part of New England, where they intend to build a hospital in a small town, only to find themselves getting considerable pushback by the community, who are certainly sympathetic to their cause, but far from enthusiastic about having them essentially take over their town, especially when they are joined by a dozen of their fellow sisters in the religious order. Written by Oscar Millard and Sally Benson, and directed by the always reliable Henry Koster (who is known for making warm, wholehearted comedies about slightly more serious subjects), Come to the Stable is a true delight in every way, with its genuine love for its subject matter and a lovely sense of humor being a major asset in how it tells the story.

One of the great merits of Come to the Stable is that it is a film that makes its intentions very clear, with the message being evident from the very first frame of the story. This is a film about tenacity and belief, and how they two need to co-exist in some way, at least in terms of offering something meaningful to those who need it. The story of two nuns making their way into some quiet community in New England, intentionally disrupting the tranquility of this idyllic hamlet for the sake of accomplishing what they consider to be their god-given mission, is a wonderful way to explore the dynamic between religious and society, which was already quite contentious at the time, and would only grow more prominent in the divide as time progressed. Time and place need to be taken into account, since the specter of the Second World War lingers heavily over this film, almost to the point where it can be classified as a post-war film by proxy, in the same vein as something like The Best Years of Our Lives, insofar as it is a tender story about the aftermath of a destructive war, focusing on individuals trying to assimilate back into society, but struggling with their trauma of the conflict. This is much less prominent in Come to the Stable, which centers around two nuns who were part of the war effort, but it does factor into the story in a very interesting way, developing into something quite compelling. The film examines these ideas through a hilarious and heartfelt comedy that is built on the common trope of a series of set-ups and punchlines that are delivered in a neat, concise order, never allowing any room for surprises but offering just enough ambiguity to keep us invested in the story. Layered onto this is the idea of faith being the binding agent that keeps society together, which adds a genuine sense of empathy to a film that desperately needed it to not be too overly emotional.

However, there is only a finite amount of work that a film like Come to the Stable can do before the cracks begin to show and the heavy-handed emotions begin to shine through – but to its credit, the film never attempts to be anything more than we see on screen. The overall nature of the story lends itself to a slightly more overwrought execution since without some sense of sentimentality, it would not strike much of a chord. It is in control of its emotions, but this doesn’t mean that it always manages to keep them subtle – there are dramatic moments that are slightly overplayed, but this is a result of the era in which the film was produced, where the message had to be hammered in continuously, under the false impression that audiences needed to constantly be reminded about what this film represented, in fear that the message would go over our heads. However, the most memorable moments are those in which Koster deviates from the sometimes quite forthright and demanding morality tale at the heart of the film and instead focuses on the more freewheeling aspects – the sequences where our protagonists race through the streets in a Jeep, or where one of them reveals herself to secretly be a tennis champion or any of the other countless moments of genuinely quirky charm that weaves its way through the narrative in interesting and compelling ways. This is where Come to the Stable is at its best, and it helps soften the sometimes heavy-handed blow of the message beneath the film, which is still very touching, despite being quite overwrought at some points, including the slightly ambigious conclusion that doesn’t feel like the happy ending the film deserved.

Much of the attention directed towards Come to the Stable focuses on the two central performances since they were delivered by a pair of the most exciting actors working at that point. Loretta Young was one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, someone who had developed quite a following and was part of many memorable films, even if her cultural imprint plummeted in the subsequent years, leading to her being viewed almost exclusively as a remnant of the past, rather than the timeless star that she was positioned to become at the time. She is wonderfully heartfelt as Sister Margaret, a young nun who is driven by nothing but her faith and genuine belief in doing what she feels to be right, and Young’s well-documented devotion to Catholicism makes this performance even more meaningful. Celeste Holm was similarly positioned as someone primed to become a major star, but she veered towards more character-based work, and this film proves that this was the right decision, since as the eccentric Sister Scholastica, she is wonderfully endearing, and is the heart of the film, playing the naive but steadfast younger nun who is also intent on achieving her goals, but often tends to be at the mercy of her more forceful colleague, who acts as the mouthpiece for their operation, in comparison to Holm’s more subtle but still very endearing sidekick. The central duo is the primary reason Come to the Stable works so well, but they’re supplemented by the always reliable Elsa Lanchester, who is at her most endearing as the small-town artist who proves to be the unintended catalyst for the events in the film, and Hugh Marlowe, one of the more peculiar leading men of the era, someone whose acting style (which very good) often veered towards being more off-kilter than we would usually expect. A strong ensemble can sell even the most unconventional of stories, and Come to the Stable certainly proves this to be the case in many ways.

If anything is proven by Come to the Stable, it would be that one doesn’t need a majorly original concept or any surprising elements to make a great film. At the risk of sounding inappropriately nostalgic, they quite simply do not make films like this anymore, and it stands as a remnant of a bygone era, one in which filmmaking was much simpler – it may have been far more predictable, but it has a sense of wholesome charm that we don’t find regularly anymore. The heart and soul that exist beneath the surface of the story cannot ever be mimicked or recreated, since it is built almost entirely on creating a quiet atmosphere in which the story can meditate on certain ideas that are not all that serious or consequential, but still have a foundation within reality and provoke thought. Overall, Come to the Stable is a delightful and funny film that uses its time wisely, developing interesting ideas while still managing to be quite meaningful in unexpected and often quite moving ways. It may be overly sentimental and be filled to the brim with cliches, but this is easily excusable as the style of the time, and we find that it still navigates certain ideas with elegance and honesty, enough to keep us invested and pay sufficient tribute to the people on which this film is based, as well as the entire religious community, who are suitably celebrated for their desire to make the world a better place, something that has somehow been lost in a lot of contemporary depictions of faith and belief.