NOTES: Australia's number one box-office attraction for 1955. Oddly, the outstanding success of "A Man Called Peter" in Australia was duplicated neither in the United States (where the picture was made and mostly set), nor even in Scotland (where Peter Marshall was born and raised). Lipstein was nominated for an Academy Award for or his Color Cinematography, losing to Robert Burks for "To Catch a Thief". Fox's 27th CinemaScope release.
COMMENT: This is a true story adapted for the screen from Catherine Marshall's biography of her husband. Henry Koster was one of CinemaScope's foremost enthusiasts. He had the distinction of directing America's first CinemaScope production "The Robe". Subsequently, he directed "Desiree", "A Man Called Peter" and "The Virgin Queen". With CinemaScope, Koster maintains he no longer has to worry so much about camera positions. Now he can place his camera in a central spot and forget about it. Now he is free to concentrate on the chief task of drawing superb performances from his players. In "A Man Called Peter" then, the camera itself moves very little.
Richard Todd in the title role of Dr. Peter Marshall, gives one of his greatest performances. It is surely an outstanding tribute to Koster's skill, that Todd maintains interest through considerable excerpts from five sermons — one of them lasts 8½ minutes. Marshall had a forceful personality. He was a robust, energetic, hearty, fearless, sympathetic, ambitious innovator, a powerful preacher, a man who had immense faith in God.
One of Koster's admirable touches is the way Marshall's Scotch accent gradually disappears with the passing of time — as we would expect it to.
Although the film deals with a Presbyterian Minister, it is not in the least offensive to other Faiths. Indeed, one wouldn't know Marshall was a Presbyterian, except for the headlines on the film's newspapers. There is not one other clergyman in the whole picture and no direct references are made to any religion at all. Even the sermons have been very skilfully written. They raise no contentious theological issues, because they exclusively embody material that is common to all Christian sects.
Jean Peters is extremely pleasing in the role of Peter's sympathetic wife, Catherine. Her speech at the Youth Rally is superbly executed. Prominent in the supporting cast, are Marjorie Rambeau as Miss Fowler, a vain, snobbish, aristocratic prude; Jill Esmond as the light- headed yet kind-heart-ed Mrs. Findly; and Les Tremayne as the frightened, puppet-Senator Harvey. I might mention that the characters of Miss Fowler and Senator Harvey develop as the film progresses.
Koster is very particular about acting. He realizes that in a CinemaScope film, the extras must be able to act too. No longer are they indistinct blurs in the background. In this film, I call your attention particularly to the shots of the restless teenagers at the Youth Rally. Koster also places a great deal of emphasis on pictorial effectiveness. Tied in with this, is his love of picturesque backgrounds, illustrated in the film, by the location shots at Washington D.C., and by the scenes on the beach.
Koster's one defect seems to be his inability to direct children. Billy Chapin, as Marshall's son, is somewhat poor.
To Sum Up: This is a really first-class film. It is sincere and genuinely moving. And although it runs for 119 minutes, it is always interesting — due chiefly to Koster's brilliant direction and Todd's forceful acting. In fact, I would describe it as an astonishingly interesting film, perhaps because its sermons and lack of action are so well suited to the peculiarly static theories of director Henry Koster who anticipated today's TV style of directing by hailing CinemaScope as a process that enabled the director to forget about the camera and even editing, so that he could concentrate on drawing great performances from his players. Certainly Todd, in the title role here, gives the finest portrayal of his career.
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