A Superbly Christian Movie

Time out! You’ve got to see this movie, Stars in My Crown–one of the best I’ve ever seen (and I watch a lot of movies).

Don’t think of it as a Western, even if it’s set in a small town somewhere Out West, some time after the Civil War. It could be anywhere, and just about any time. It has a flavor of Ray Bradbury, Mark Twain. And the Bible. Very much the flavor of the Bible.

Joel McRea plays the town’s parson, a man of strong but quiet faith dealing with the problems and the trials of the townspeople, in the church and everywhere outside. Small problems–and big ones, including a typhoid outbreak and an ugly racial incident.

Much of the soundtrack is classic hymns, sung by the parson’s congregation. Am I getting old? These moved me very close to tears. And they were altogether necessary to help carry the story’s message. I’m saving the title hymn for tomorrow’s first post.

This is a slice of life, a depiction of Christianity at work in the real world of saints and sinners, with most of the people in it a little bit of both.

We rented it on amazon, but I also found it later on Youtube.

See it. You’ll be glad you did.