Like 1955s "A Man Called Peter" and 1961s "The Hoodlum Priest", 1964s "One Man's Way" is a tightly focused study of one man and his unshakable faith in God and himself. Collectively this trio of films affirms for all believers, but most especially for those in full time service, the paramount necessity of those twin pillars of faith if one is to survive, to adapt from William Shakespeare, the slings and arrows of outrageous society. Individually each film deals with unique yet often similar personalities, providing us with some interesting insights as to what motivated whom and why.
In "A Man Called Peter", we are first introduced to a young boy seized with the notion of going to sea. Years later an adult Peter Marshall, walking in a blinding fog across the Scottish moors, believes it is the voice of God that saves him from a perilous tumble into a lime pit. A life-changing event, that experience inaugurates his unshakable belief that 'The Chief' would always guide him to wherever he was meant to be.
"The Hoodlum Priest", Father Charles Dismas Clark was a Roman Catholic cleric whose equally unshakable faith propelled him into efforts to ensure that ex-convicts got a chance for a better life upon release from prison. The payoff was Dismas House, a halfway house established in St. Louis, Missouri, mandated to ease the transition from regimented prison routine to rehabilitated ex-con able to move beyond his criminal past.
"If the Lord ever calls me, I'm not going." So says a a very young Norman Vincent Peale in "One Man's Way", a film based upon the book "Minister To Millions" by Arthur Gordon. Somewhat loosely based upon Dr. Peale's life, the man became, like Dr. Marshall, a charismatic orator who filled empty churches. Unlike Dr. Marshall, he also went on to author a number of best selling books, most famously led by "The Power of Positive Thinking."
Sadly (at least for me) "One Man's Way" lacks the gravitas of the other two. Oscillating between synthetic biography and near Billy Graham polemic sans altar call, it never really establishes Peale as an either likable or interesting character about whom we should care. Playing off more as a cheapie made-for-television movie-of-the-week than compelling, theatrical motion picture, its only saving grace is the screen debut of Diana Hyland as Peale's hard-to-get, reluctant girlfriend/eventual spouse. But even there, we have no sense of how this woman with the notable lack of faith (a) handled the presumably ever present demons of her past thinking when those inevitable challenges/troubles arose or (b) more importantly, the transition from rebellious, near non-conformist to dutiful minister's wife dealing with the ladies who lunch and go to Dr. Peale's church. (Dr. Marshall's wife Catherine seems to have had no such issues mainly because she seemingly grew up a more conforming believer who went regularly to church.) Regrettably, William Windom and Virginia Christine as Peale's parents are, unsurprisingly, quagmired as one dimensional cardboard cutouts who deserved much better.
Interestingly, actor Don Murray essays the very disparate Father Dismas Clark and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale with the sort of unassailable sincerity he always brought to such endeavours. It's just too bad he didn't have as much to work with in this one because he showed in earlier efforts like "Bus Stop", "The Bachelor Party", "A Hatful Of Rain", "These Thousand Hills" and most especially "From Hell To Texas" a lot more depth and range than he gets to display in "One Man's Way." Indeed, because he also lacked the vocabulary of Richard Todd's Dr. Peter Marshall, Murray's preaching scenes are often annoying and long winded. An actor I have long admired, I am only sorry that I can't give this film more than a civil five.
Finally, three other titles worth checking out, "Dead Man Walking" with Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn and "Romero" with Raul Julia, both of which, also focus on specific full time service believers and social justice concerns. Also "The Cross and the Switchblade", the story of the Rev. David Wilkerson (portrayed by Pat Boone, directed by Don Murray) and Wilkerson's work with troubled street kids.
In "A Man Called Peter", we are first introduced to a young boy seized with the notion of going to sea. Years later an adult Peter Marshall, walking in a blinding fog across the Scottish moors, believes it is the voice of God that saves him from a perilous tumble into a lime pit. A life-changing event, that experience inaugurates his unshakable belief that 'The Chief' would always guide him to wherever he was meant to be.
"The Hoodlum Priest", Father Charles Dismas Clark was a Roman Catholic cleric whose equally unshakable faith propelled him into efforts to ensure that ex-convicts got a chance for a better life upon release from prison. The payoff was Dismas House, a halfway house established in St. Louis, Missouri, mandated to ease the transition from regimented prison routine to rehabilitated ex-con able to move beyond his criminal past.
"If the Lord ever calls me, I'm not going." So says a a very young Norman Vincent Peale in "One Man's Way", a film based upon the book "Minister To Millions" by Arthur Gordon. Somewhat loosely based upon Dr. Peale's life, the man became, like Dr. Marshall, a charismatic orator who filled empty churches. Unlike Dr. Marshall, he also went on to author a number of best selling books, most famously led by "The Power of Positive Thinking."
Sadly (at least for me) "One Man's Way" lacks the gravitas of the other two. Oscillating between synthetic biography and near Billy Graham polemic sans altar call, it never really establishes Peale as an either likable or interesting character about whom we should care. Playing off more as a cheapie made-for-television movie-of-the-week than compelling, theatrical motion picture, its only saving grace is the screen debut of Diana Hyland as Peale's hard-to-get, reluctant girlfriend/eventual spouse. But even there, we have no sense of how this woman with the notable lack of faith (a) handled the presumably ever present demons of her past thinking when those inevitable challenges/troubles arose or (b) more importantly, the transition from rebellious, near non-conformist to dutiful minister's wife dealing with the ladies who lunch and go to Dr. Peale's church. (Dr. Marshall's wife Catherine seems to have had no such issues mainly because she seemingly grew up a more conforming believer who went regularly to church.) Regrettably, William Windom and Virginia Christine as Peale's parents are, unsurprisingly, quagmired as one dimensional cardboard cutouts who deserved much better.
Interestingly, actor Don Murray essays the very disparate Father Dismas Clark and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale with the sort of unassailable sincerity he always brought to such endeavours. It's just too bad he didn't have as much to work with in this one because he showed in earlier efforts like "Bus Stop", "The Bachelor Party", "A Hatful Of Rain", "These Thousand Hills" and most especially "From Hell To Texas" a lot more depth and range than he gets to display in "One Man's Way." Indeed, because he also lacked the vocabulary of Richard Todd's Dr. Peter Marshall, Murray's preaching scenes are often annoying and long winded. An actor I have long admired, I am only sorry that I can't give this film more than a civil five.
Finally, three other titles worth checking out, "Dead Man Walking" with Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn and "Romero" with Raul Julia, both of which, also focus on specific full time service believers and social justice concerns. Also "The Cross and the Switchblade", the story of the Rev. David Wilkerson (portrayed by Pat Boone, directed by Don Murray) and Wilkerson's work with troubled street kids.