Drama

The Keys of the Kingdom

- THE PICTURE THAT TOUCHES NEW HEIGHTS OF EMOTION

A young priest, Father Chisholm is sent to China to establish a Catholic parish among the non-Christian Chinese. While his boyhood friend, also a priest, flourishes in his calling as a priest in a more Christian area of the world, Father Chisholm struggles. He encounters hostility, isolation, disease, poverty and a variety of set backs which humble him, but make him more determined than ever to succeed.

Release Date : 1944-12-15

Language :MandarinCantoneseEnglish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : 20th Century Fox

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Fr. Francis Chisholm

Original Name : Gregory Peck

Gender : Male

Character Name : Willie Tulloch

Original Name : Thomas Mitchell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Angus Mealey

Original Name : Vincent Price

Gender : Male

Character Name : Reverend Mother Maria-Veronica

Original Name : Rose Stradner

Gender : Female

Character Name : Francis Chisholm, as a boy

Original Name : Roddy McDowall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fr. Hamish MacNabb

Original Name : Edmund Gwenn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Monsignor at Tweedside

Original Name : Cedric Hardwicke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nora as a Girl

Original Name : Peggy Ann Garner

Gender : Female

Character Name : Nora, as an Adult

Original Name : Jane Ball

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske

Original Name : James Gleason

Gender : Male

Character Name : Agnes Fiske

Original Name : Anne Revere

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mrs. Chisholm, Francis' Mother

Original Name : Ruth Nelson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Joseph

Original Name : Benson Fong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Chia

Original Name : Leonard Strong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Pao, Envoy for Mr. Chia

Original Name : Philip Ahn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fr. Fitzgerald, Dean at Holywell

Original Name : Arthur Shields

Gender : Male

Character Name : Aunt Polly

Original Name : Edith Barrett

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sister Martha

Original Name : Sara Allgood

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lt. Shon

Original Name : Richard Loo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sister Clotilde

Original Name : Ruth Ford

Gender : Female

Character Name : Father Craig

Original Name : Kevin O'Shea

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hosannah Wong

Original Name : H.T. Tsiang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Philomena Wang

Original Name : Si-Lan Chen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anna

Original Name : Eunice Soo-Hoo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alec Chisholm (uncredited)

Original Name : Dennis Hoey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sister Mercy Mary (uncredited)

Original Name : Ruth Clifford

Gender : Female

Character Name : Uncle Ned (uncredited)

Original Name : J. Anthony Hughes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taoist Priest at Boy's Healing (uncredited)

Original Name : James B. Leong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese Servant (uncredited)

Original Name : Richard Wang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese Servant (uncredited)

Original Name : Joseph Kim

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese Doctor (uncredited)

Original Name : Moy Ming

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese Captain (uncredited)

Original Name : Beal Wong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Orderly (uncredited)

Original Name : Clarence Lung

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joshua (uncredited)

Original Name : Eugene Louis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Andrew (uncredited)

Original Name : Georgie Nokes

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-06-30

I sometimes wonder whether politics in the 21st century might be a bit more stable around the globe, were we not to have spent much of the last century sending folks like "Father Chisholm" all over the place imposing Christianity on peoples who had got along splendidly for aeons without it... This film depicts one such gentleman - a well meaning Father who struggles to find fulfilment at home in Scotland. His seminarian friend Edmund Gwenn is now the Bishop, and decides he needs a challenge - so he is duly dispatched to China where he is tasked with spreading his faith amongst those in a war-torn province coming to terms with the end of the Ming dynasty and the ascension of the new Republic. Oscar nominated Gregory Peck brings quite a bit of nuance to his role. He arrives to find his mission in ruins and a congregation he could count on one hand. His sense of humanity and his determination to help the poor, sick, and needy attracts the attention of the local mandarin, whose son he helps recover from a life-threatening illness. In return, he is provided with land and builders; builds a new mission and even manages to secure the services of three nuns - the senior of whom he has a bit of a contretemps with before war presents them all with more important issues to deal with... The story is told by way of a retrospective, so we know all along roughly what happens in the end - but Peck along with a solid supporting cast including Thomas Mitchell and Rosa Stradner keep this creatively photographed story engaging for an, admittedly, long 2¼ hours. Keep an eye out for a few short scenes from Vincent Price and a very young Roddy McDowell (just 16) too.