Lilies of the Field

Name: Lilies of the Field
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1963-06-04
Duration: 1 h 34 min
Rating: 7.5
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis

Sidney Poitier as the life-loving ex-GI who one day encounters five nuns escaped from beyond the Berlin Wall...

Lilies of the Field (1963)

Timing: 1:34 (94 min)

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no scores

7.2/10
226

7/10
753

7.5/10
15000

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Everything about the movie

Video 1

Photo 21

Actors and characters

Video for the film Lilies of the Field — Lilies of the Field (1963) Original Trailer [FHD]

3:15

Photo 21

Release date

1963-06-04

Country

United States

Production

United Artists, Rainbow Productions

Genre

Comedy, Drama

Budget

$240 000

Box office

$7 000 000

Website

Director

Ralph Nelson

Actors

Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, Pamela Branch, Stanley Adams, Dan Frazer, Bobby Driscoll, Ralph Nelson
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Ralph Nelson

Camera operator

Ernest Haller

Composer

Jerry Goldsmith

Artist

Audition

Editing

John W. McCafferty
Whole Team (18)

Short description

An unemployed construction worker heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats. The farm is being worked by a group of East European Catholic nuns, headed by the strict mother superior, who believes the man has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert.

What's left behind the scenes

The film's plot was tied to the construction of a church, so at night the crew actually had to build it to match the storyline's requirements. A real church was actually built, and it could have stood for many years, but filming took place on leased land, so the structure had to be demolished at the end of the shooting period.
Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) waived his usual fee and agreed to appear in the film for a smaller amount and a percentage of the profits.
To film the movie, director Ralph Nelson (1916-1987) had to mortgage his own house.
In the singing scene, the nuns sang so well that it sounded almost unbelievable. They were told to sing worse, and they sang terribly. In the end, sound dubbing had to be used in this scene.