Editing The Bells of St. Mary's (section)

==Reception==
The film holds {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bells_of_st_marys|title=The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}|archive-date=December 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207191721/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bells_of_st_marys|url-status=live}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> 
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' felt that the film was too similar to ''[[Going My Way]]'', and  "although a plenteous and sometimes winning show, lacks the charm of its predecessor—and that comparison cannot be escaped."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B07E0D9163FE533A25754C0A9649D946493D6CF|title=Movie Review - The Bells of St. Mary's|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|author-link=Bosley Crowther|date=December 7, 1945|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 11, 2016|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311125901/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B07E0D9163FE533A25754C0A9649D946493D6CF|url-status=dead}}</ref> The reviewer for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Picture is packed with many simple scenes that tug at the heart and loosen the tears as directed by McCarey and played by the outstanding cast."<ref>{{cite journal |date=November 28, 1945|title=Film Reviews |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |location=New York |page= 10 }}</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' commented: "As in ''Going My Way'', which he also wrote, produced, and directed, Leo McCarey has proved again that great pictures do not require pretentious stories ... The acting of the entire cast is excellent. Crosby delights one with his ease and natural charm, and Miss Bergman will undoubtedly rise to new heights of popularity because of the effective way in which she portrays her role."<ref>{{cite journal |date=December 1, 1945 |title='The Bells of St. Mary's' with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman|journal=[[Harrison's Reports]] |page= 191}}</ref> [[John McCarten]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote derisively: "Mr. McCarey seems to view the Roman Catholic Church, which is quite a formidable and venerable organization, as a kind of settlement house where good works and jollity provide a lively substitute for religion ... Everything, of course, turns out quite happily, except, perhaps, for those captious souls who regard religion as an adult matter."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=McCarten|first=John|author-link=John McCarten |date=December 8, 1945|title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |location=New York|publisher=F-R Publishing Corp.|page= 86}}</ref>

''The Bells of St. Mary's'' placed fourth on ''[[Film Daily]]''{{'}}s year-end nationwide poll of 559 critics naming the best films of 1946.<ref>{{cite journal|date=January 6, 1947|title='Lost Weekend' Tops '10 Best' |url=https://archive.org/stream/filmdaily91wids#page/n41/mode/2up|journal=[[Film Daily]] |location=New York|publisher=Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.|page= 1}}</ref>

===Box-office===
The film earned receipts of $8 million in North America during its initial run,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety165-1947-01#page/n54/mode/1up |title=60 Top Grossers of 1946 |work=Variety |date=January 8, 1947 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=All Time Domestic Champs |work=Variety |date=January 6, 1960 |page=34}}</ref> making it the [[1945 in film|highest-grossing movie]] of 1945 in the USA.

It made a profit of $3,715,000, making it the most profitable film in the history of RKO.<ref name="rko">Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p46</ref><ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref> Adjusted for inflation, it is considered the 57th highest-grossing film of all time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/|title=Home|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=June 23, 2022|archive-date=October 8, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991008185322/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>