A World War Two Movie Church

A Man Called Peter (1955)

During World War Two, the Canteen Musical was a popular film genre. Canteens were places that provided food and entertainment for soldiers, usually on leave or preparing to go overseas. In 1944 alone, studios released Hollywood Canteen (about movie stars entertaining service men), Stage Door Canteen (about Broadway stars entertaining service men), and Cowboy Canteen (about service men being entertained on a dude ranch). All of these were based on actual service projects to honor those going to battle.

In A Man Called Peter, a portion of the film recalls a canteen created in a Washington D.C. church. During World War Two, the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church opened its doors for a “Saturday Evening Canteen” with “Songs” and “Jokes.” (I noticed that the film also showed trays of donuts. A consistent thing, perhaps because it was true, is that these films always show donuts served.) According to the film, the pastor of the church, Peter Marshall (Richard Todd), got into some hot water for this.

In the film, Marshall instigates the canteen and leads in the singing of popular songs (such as “Mairzy Doats”) around the piano. Many from the church volunteered (even a U.S. Senator who attends the church). But one night, an elderly matron of the church, Miss Laura Fowler (Marjorie Rambeau) comes to the church to bring flowers to the Lincoln Parlor on the anniversary of the 16th President’s death (Lincoln attended the church). As she steps into the parlor, she sees a couple kissing! She's appalled and tries to have the canteen shut down due to the scandalous behavior.

Fortunately, Rev. Dr. Marshall is able to explain that the couple had just been married by Marshall himself. The young sailor was about to be shipped overseas, and he and his new bride were enjoying their two-hour honeymoon. The couple had just forgotten to lock the door. The scandal is averted and the canteen is allowed to carry on.

Miss Fowler doesn’t know how easy she has it. 

I was a youth pastor for many years. At various camps and retreats, teenagers were caught doing more than kissing, and I worked as a chaplain in a mission homeless shelter where one of my chief duties was to make sure the restrooms weren’t used for drug deals and other carnal transactions.

Miss Fowler's idea of the church is that it is a place where nice respectable people go to meet one another for the edification to be found in sermons and fine music. Marshall preaches a different view of the church: “Religion is not for sale, it is given away. The Christ of the Scriptures was a manly Christ. He himself was red blooded: he called a spade a spade and let the chips fall where they may…He invited people the church doesn’t usually appeal to. He wants people of all kinds, He want to hear laughter…His big carpenter’s hands stretched out in welcome.” (Marshall’s description of Christ here is rather like the contemporary criticisms of modern American evangelism, equating Jesus with John Wayne, but I still find his vision more compelling than Miss Fowler’s.)

The canteen is just a small part of this film. The rest tells the story Peter Marshall (not to be confused with the host of Hollywood Squares), who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1915 but migrated to America and went on to become a prominent pastor and the Chaplain of the United States Senate.

I’ve included A Man Called Peter (based on Catherine Marshall's biography) in our month on War Churches because of the ministry of his church to servicemen and for one other incident in Marshall’s life portrayed in the film. His wife, Catherine (Jean Peters), gives birth to their only child, a son, on the same day that Marshall was to address the United States Navel Academy in Annapolis.

He leaves his wife and newborn son to give the address. Arriving at the school, he feels compelled to give a different sermon than the one he originally planned. For his text he uses James 4: 14, “Your life is a vapor.” He says this is a “strange statement to find in the New Testament.” I don’t find it a strange statement at all. All of Scripture points to the life’s brevity and the parables of Jesus often have life coming to an unexpected, abrupt end. But nonetheless, Marshall goes on to preach about the need to prepare oneself to meet God because no one knows when this life may end.

The date of Marshall’s son’s birth and his address to the Navel Academy was December 7, 1941. The day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, which shortly led to the United States entering World War Two. Death was about to be a tangible reality to the young sailors that Marshall spoke to on that day. And Marshall’s ministry was about to be greatly changed by during war time in the nation’s capital.

Marshall would struggle with mortality in his own life, too. His wife suffered a prolonged illness which kept her bedridden for many months. Marshall also faced his own life-threatening illness (neither illness is specified in the film) but recovered with the help of the prayers of his congregation. But in 1949, Marshall spoke to his congregation about being homesick for his native land of Scotland. He then fainted in the pulpit and passed away at the age of 46.

One might argue that there isn’t much warfare in this film to qualify for including it in our theme of “War Churches,” but according to Ephesians 6, every believer should put on “the full armor of God” to engage in battle against the “forces of darkness.” Because the Reverend Doctor Peter Marshall fought that battle well, we’re giving him and his church in A Man Called Peter our highest rating of Four Steeples.

Funny Churches Month: The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)

Disney films have surprisingly few Movie Churches. Faith is a big thing in Disney movies, but usually the films are about having faith in yourself rather than faith in God. People went to Disney comedies with the expectation of wholesomeness -- but not righteousness. In the movies, clubs are much more common than congregations. I'm pretty sure there have been many more ad executives in Disney films than clergy.

But The North Avenue Irregulars was a Disney comedy with both a Presbyterian Church and a Presbyterian pastor. Whether either would be recognized by Presbyterians in the real world as one of their own is a different matter altogether.

The film begins with the Reverend Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann, rich dad from Gilmore Girls) arriving with his children at North Avenue Presbyterian Church. He's a widower because actual married couples, living mothers married to and living with living fathers are even more rare in Disney films than clergy.

No one recognizes the new pastor upon his arrival, and thus zany situations ensue. (The pastor's kids ring the bell in the church tower, nearly sending a handyman on a fall to his death. As I said, zaniness.) This is rather odd, because in the Presbyterian Church the congregation votes for the pastor after he preaches a candidating sermon. They would know who this guy is. This could possibly happen in a church where the pastor is assigned, like say, the Methodists, but seems highly unlikely with Presbyterians.

On the other hand, the Rev. Hill seems to have no idea about the church. When he arrives, the church secretary hands him church reports and the membership list, and he seems quite surprised by the low attendance.  Again, in the Presbyterian Church, the pastor would have visited the church and learned about it before agreeing to serve there. But greater realism would result in fewer amusing double takes.

The secretary of the church and the new pastor have differing philosophies on delegation. The secretary and her father (the late former pastor of the church) used to do all the work in the church because then it was done right. Pastor Hill says he's given it some thought, and he believes sharing responsibility will cause the church to grow. So he randomly asks a woman, whose name he doesn't even seem to know, to be in charge of the sinking fund (meant to help with future capital expenses). I'm all for getting people involved in ministry, but it helps to learn their gifts and abilities before entrusting them with responsibility.

 The woman entrusted with the sinking fund promptly gives it to her husband, who bets it all on a horse race. She informs the pastor of this during the service. Hill isn't in the service when the woman talks to him. Apparently, he stays in his office during the worship preliminaries such as the choir number until it's time for the service. (Hill doesn't seem to care for the choir much. He also hires a local garage band, Strawberry Shortcake, to take their place. You know, for the kids.)

Because he is more interested in the gambled sinking fund money than in teaching the word of God, Hill does a one minute sermon on "Japheth the soldier was a man of mighty valor" so he can rush out to see the bookie who took the bet. Maybe this is for the best, because I kind of doubt there was much interesting content in further exposition of that text.

The Reverend Hill's unsuccessful attempt to get money back from the bookie leads to the main plot and, quite amazingly, the true part of the story. The movie is based the Reverend Albert Fay Hill's true account of his fight against organized crime. The real life Rev. Hill was approached by U.S. Treasury agents to organize a citizens' task force while he pastored the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Rochelle, New York. He approached men in the congregation to help, but since they weren't interested, the women in the congregation took on the job. Women from his church made bets with bookies and followed money runners; that information was used to by the Treasury to prosecute cases.

In real life, Hill's efforts were widely admired, winning positive national attention. In the film, the Reverend's efforts nearly get the church's charter dissolved. (The process for closing a church in the film seems to be quite simple. "The council" which meets in the "head office" somewhere votes to close the church. Then, during a sermon, the pastor announces, "this will be the last service of the North Avenue Presbyterian Church.") Don't worry, though: (SPOILER!) the church is saved.

Which is just as well, because in this town the police are slacking, and someone has to do the crime fighting. As Rev. Hill says, "If the church is not a moral force in the community, then it's just another building with stained glass windows and a steeple." Which is why, in spite of the incredibly theologically shallow offerings of Strawberry Shortcake in the morning service, we're still giving North Ave. Pres. Two Steeples.