A biting satire of the commercialization of religion, told through the story of the Virgin Mary.A biting satire of the commercialization of religion, told through the story of the Virgin Mary.A biting satire of the commercialization of religion, told through the story of the Virgin Mary.
Jan McDuffie
- Queen 3
- (as Jan Mc Duffie)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilmed in 1971 as "The Greatest Story Overtold," before Bette Midler's career took off. In 1974, the film had a brief theatrical run in New York City as "The Divine Mr. J" (Mr. J supposedly referring to Jesus), suggesting that the now-famous Midler, who had a minor role as The Virgin Mary, was the star. The movie quickly disappeared after legal threats from Midler and horrific reviews. In the early 1980s, it briefly resurfaced on home video, titled ''The Thorn'' in an attempt to cash in on Midler's mainstream hit The Rose (1979). It quickly disappeared after another round of legal threats.
- Crazy creditsThe character of Pontius Pilate, who was played by Peter Meek, is spelled as "Pontius Pilot" in the movie's closing credits.
- ConnectionsEdited from Intolerance (1916)
Featured review
Bad Cinema - a true guilty pleasure!
I too, am surprised to see this listed on IMDB - the last time I checked it wasn't here. I have a copy of this film on VHS - probably one of five or six that were sold nationwide... this film belongs in the "so bad it's good" category. Apparently shot on 16MM stock, Bette and a cast of unknowns portray the life of Christ. The acting is abominable. The plot, what there is of it, is pretty lame - most of it is discussion on the building of 'crosses', and no, that's not what you might think. Bette is somewhat funny in her portrayal of the Virgin Mary as a Jewish Mother, and to anyone who might be offended by that - think about it, what else would Mary have been? An old Dan Ackroyd SNL sketch comes to mind when discussing this film, the one where he played Leonard Pinth Garnell, the host of "Bad Cinema"... this film could easily have been one of his features. All that aside, it's still one of my favorite guilty pleasures!
helpful•102
- hank-schafer
- Dec 10, 2003
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- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- A Story Too Often Told
- Filming locations
- Detroit, Michigan, USA(main filming location)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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