Sister Maureen denied she had given birth; when examined by medical staff, she said she couldn't remember being pregnant. As well as another production starring Peggy Cass and Susan Strasberg. Mother Miriam tells Livingston that Agnes must have conceived on January 23, because that is the night Agnes burned her bedsheets confessing they were "stained". [10], The police found ticket stubs and other information in the nun's room indicating that precisely nine months earlier she had traveled out of state to an educational conference. They argue about Agnes' mother and birth, and how much Agnes knows about sex and pregnancy.

The Father for Agnes of God on TrailerAddict.

. Sister Agnes is suspected of killing the baby, so psychiatrist Martha Livingston is assigned by a court to determine if she is competent to stand trial. [6][7], In 1984, the play was staged in Mexico City, Mexico. Livingston receives permission from the court to hypnotize Agnes, but Mother Miriam is strongly against it, believing it will strip her of her innocence. The girls' high school, St. Agnes, where some of the nuns taught, is closed. Mother Miriam admits that she knew Agnes was pregnant and put the wastebasket in her room, but denies she killed the baby. Tilly also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. [16], Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, "Theatre Factory looks at faith, failings with 'Agnes of God, "Miss Ashley Replaces Lee Remick in 'Agnes, "'Agnes Of God': The Mysteries Of Belief", http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/27th-august-1983/24/theatre, https://articles.latimes.com/1992-02-24/entertainment/ca-2127_1_writing-program, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bPEcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S2cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5275,1182231&hl=en, "NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Galveston Daily News - 1977-02-17 - Search Newspaper Articles", https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/646136972.html?dids=646136972:646136972&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+27%2C+1977&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=People+of+N.Y.+Vs.+Sister+Maureen&pqatl=google, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-BszAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kjgHAAAAIBAJ&pg=2753,1311932&hl=en, "Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search", https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19770304&id=LTkwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jeAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2428,1155129, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z24tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wokFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4722,971268&hl=en, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agnes_of_God&oldid=968688302, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 July 2020, at 21:59. I really like this movie - as frustrating as it is being left, at the end of it, never getting the answer to the question who was the newborn's father - God (via immaculate conception, like it's made to seem perhaps was the case), or some on-site male taking advantage of childlike, innocent-minded, oblivious Agnes? Pielmeier was inspired to write the play after seeing in article in a newspaper about an event that occurred in a convent in Brighton, New York, just outside the city limits of Rochester. Dr. Martha (Jane Fonda) tries to find out who is the father of Agnes' baby. During the run, Elizabeth Ashley was succeeded in her role by Diahann Carroll and Amanda Plummer by Mia Dillon, Carrie Fisher and Maryann Plunkett. The Mother Superior must expound the possibilities of miracles while recognizing the realities of today's world. The baby was found dead in her small convent room in a waste basket, asphyxiated. Agnes tells Livingston of her friendship with Sister Marie-Paul, the oldest nun, who showed her a "secret place" – a bell tower, which she then shows Livingston. She is desperate to keep Agnes naive, and declares that she couldn't have known what pregnancy was or remember the father. There are no other characters on stage. Roger Ebert similarly sided, giving it one star and saying that though it "deals in the basic materials of a criminal investigation (cynical cops, forensic details, courtroom testimony), it has a seriously clouded agenda.". [5], In 1983, the play was staged in London at the Greenwich Theatre. She had covered up the pre… Agnes is found not guilty by reason of insanity and returned to the convent where a doctor can "visit" periodically. Amanda Plummer received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and Page was nominated for Best Actress in a Play. Suddenly, Agnes exhibits stigmata in her hands, and begins bleeding profusely. A production also was staged at the Center Stage Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, starring Tania Myren-Zobel as Agnes.

In a Roman Catholic convent near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, during evening prayers, the nuns hear screams coming from the room of Sister Agnes, a young novice. Livingston obtains a second court order to put Agnes under hypnosis again. The film was a modest financial success, as it grossed $25,627,836 domestically. Agnes is a beautiful but tormented soul whose abusive upbringing has affected her ability to think rationally. Under hypnosis, Agnes reveals that on the night Sister Marie-Paul died, she told Agnes she'd seen "Him" from the bell tower and directed Agnes to meet "Him" in the barn. Feel free to contact us at please enable javascript to view with your scoops, comments or advertising inquiries. Despite generally mixed reviews from critics, the film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bancroft), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Tilly), and Best Original Score.

She tells the judge that she heard "Him" singing beneath her bedroom window for six nights in a row, and then on the seventh night he lay on top of her.

The convent where the incident occurred is adjacent to the still-functioning suburban parish and school.

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The play opened on Broadway on March 30, 1982 at the Music Box Theatre and closed on September 4, 1983 after 599 performances. During the trial, the father of the baby was never named. The stage play concerns three main characters: Martha, the psychiatrist; the Mother Superior; and Agnes, the novice. Trailer Addict has setup TA, Trailers Anonymous. The title is a pun on the Latin phrase Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). [4] A national tour was launched in 1983. (A historian explains that many old convents have "secret" tunnels, to let the nuns move between buildings during the winter.) She and a young Monsignor argue about whether her lack of faith will leave her unable to treat Agnes with dignity. Livingston learns that Agnes' mother was verbally and sexually abusive, telling her she was a "mistake"; and that Agnes is Mother Miriam's niece. In a Roman Catholic convent near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, during evening prayers, the nuns hear screams coming from the room of Sister Agnes, a young novice. Dr. Martha (Jane Fonda) tries to find out who is the father of Agnes' baby. The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agnes_of_God_(film)&oldid=970590738, Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe-winning performance, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 August 2020, at 06:56. It was written by John Pielmeier, based on his 1979 play of the same name. She admits that Mother Miriam was present when the baby was born, but then left briefly; whereupon Agnes killed the child believing that, like herself, the baby was a "mistake". The 1985 film adaptation was directed by Norman Jewison, with a script also written by Pielmeier. In 1980, the play further was developed at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. How Does ‘Flash Gordon’ Stack Up To Other Classic Superhero Films? [1] Martha covers the full gamut of emotion during the play, from nurturer to antagonist, from hard nosed court psychiatrist and atheist to faith-searching healer. Livingston discovers that a workroom in the convent has a concealed staircase to a tunnel leading to the barn. Watch the clip titled "The Father" for the film Agnes of God (1985). Agnes is found in her room bleeding profusely, and in a wastepaper basket there is a dead baby with its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck.

While looking around the convent grounds, Livingston comes across a barn. The trial was over in ten days, and Maas found the nun not guilty of all charges by reason of insanity in March 1977. [2] Reviewers praised the performances of Tilly and Bancroft, but felt that there were holes in the plot and movement. Gene Siskel said that it played "with some challenging ideas and some sensationalistic events, but ultimately it fails to earn its right to toy with such subjects."