Can anyone say with certainty what denomination church conducted the ceremony? It seemed dangerously near Catholic, but I can't believe for a second that filmmakers in 1950 would have depicted the upper middle class "Banks" family as being Catholic.
Given the pastor's vestments, the kneeling, and all the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost"-ing, I'm guessing it's as close to the C of E as they have in the US -- namely Episcopalian?
It was Episcopalian. BTW, Presbyterians also kneel on occasion, and there's an anthem that's called the DOXOLOGY, which ends with "Father, Son and Holy Ghost".
JS...Proud Episcopalian
Me too, quite proud. however, i am surprised that in 1950 Spencer Tracy's character was allowed to balk at a church wedding without explaining why he balked ( too big and expensive of a setting) He came across as a downright atheist
shareI think he balked because his own wedding had been extremely simple. Given the date of the film, and Kay's age, it was at the height of the Depression...with Ellie in her family's parlor, wearing a plain blue suit. It wasn't the Religious aspect that upset him. It was all the frills that went with it. When he saw the look in Ellie's eyes as she described her hopes for Kay's wedding, he melted like soft butter.
sharehe sure did. like buttah!
shareBy golly Spence wasn't JUST an atheist, he was a 'downright atheist'. Makes me smile.
shareHaving been raised as Episcopalian, I too knew that was it. Besides, if it was Catholic, it would've had stations of the cross and a crucifix at the alter.
Episcopalian was (not anymore, which is why I converted to Catholicism) as close to Catholic as you can be without out actually BEING Catholic.
i grew up catholic. we used to refer to episcopalians as catholics who did'nt speak latin.
shareThat's pretty much it, Ted, except for being able to eat meat on Fridays. We also have "High Church", with incense, bells, glorious Vestments and a Font donated by someone's Great-Great Grandfather. Then, there is "Low Church", with guitars, Folk songs and home made whole wheat bread for the Sacrament.
It can wreak havoc with converts, as I was, for the "twain" rarely, if ever, meet. (g)
"I do hope he won't upset Henry.."
We are Episcopalians and the long-standing joke is this:
"Episcopalians are Catholics, with money!" I always thought the church services were Episcopalian. And, I never thought Stanley (Spencer) was putting down a church wedding because he didn't want her to be married there. It was that there was a never ending stream of complexities and attendant costs for the wedding.
In real life, Tracey was a practicing Catholic which is why he chose to never divorce his wife,though they lived separately for the last 25+
years of his life (spent with Hepburn by his side instead).
Practicing Catholics don't have 25-year affairs with a woman not his wife. Or perhaps he needed more practice at being Catholic.
shareRodrigo Borgia had a longer affair with a woman he was not married to and he was a Pope.
shareHis biographer expressed it as being a "spiritual Catholic". I'm sure many Catholics today can relate to that.
shareThe church my wife attended as a child in Syracuse, NY was an Episcopal church established after the War of 1812. On the cornerstone it states "The Church of England in North America" which it still technically is.
share