The Reluctant Saint (1962) was an unusual choice for Austrian star Maximilian Schell, hot off of his Best Actor Academy Award for his role of a German lawyer in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Considered a bit of a heartthrob in 1962, Schell didn't capitalize on that status, choosing instead to concentrate on his craft and play a simple-minded saint. He would later say that despite winning the Oscar® for Judgment at Nuremberg , he "did three better performances in Child of Our Times on TV, in my German Hamlet and in The Reluctant Saint "

Directed and produced by Edward Dmytryk from a screenplay by John Fante and Joseph Petracca, the film was billed as "The picture that's got everything! Plus the surprise of your life!" It was a fictionalized biopic of Giuseppe Desa, known as Saint Joseph (or Giuseppe) of Cupertino, a mentally challenged young man living in Italy in the 17th century. Unable to graduate from school or to hold down a job, he is finally brought to the local monastery to work. His unusual ability with the animals causes the monks to deem him suitable for the priesthood, and it is during his prayers to the Virgin Mary that Joseph begins to levitate in religious ecstasy, causing mix reactions amongst the faithful. One of the priests, Don Raspi, thinks he is possessed by a demon and performs an exorcism. When it fails, and Joseph continues to levitate, even Raspi must admit that there may be some spiritual force at work.

A US/Italian co-production by Dmytryk-Weiler Productions for Davis-Royal Films International, with distribution by Columbia Pictures, the film was shot in Rome and Lazio, Italy with a cast that included Ricardo Montalban as the doubting Don Raspi, Akim Tamiroff, Lea Padovani, Mark Damon, and Harold Goldblatt, and a soundtrack by composer Nino Rota. Released in West Germany on November 2, 1962, the film opened in New York in time for Christmas on December 3rd. Time magazine wrote that "Maximilian Schell attains new histrionic heights in the amusing, amazing story of San Giuseppe of Cupertino (1603-63), a saint who could literally fly," but the film performed less than stellar returns at the box office, prompting Edward Dmytryk to write in his autobiography that The Reluctant Saint was, "one of my favorite films and my biggest flop."

By Lorraine LoBianco

SOURCES:
http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=22117
Collins, Richard John Fante: A Literary Portrait
Dick, Bernard F. Radical Innocence: A Critical Study of the Hollywood Ten
Dmytryk, Edward Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten
Maltin, Leonard Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965
Osborne, Robert A. Academy Awards Illustrated: A Complete History of Hollywood's Academy Awards in Words and Pictures
"The Reluctant Saint" Time 9 Dec 62