The Birth of Saint Mary's

"The Birth of St. Mary's, by Robert F. Gowen. is a deeply moving and well-nigh incredible accomplishment in amateur film production. Described as a chronicle in retrospect by the church that it pictures, the film moves bravely into the treacherous domain of costume drama and emerges triumphant. To recreate the gracious life of another day, to catch the feeling of its clothes and the flavor of its customs, to stage all of this against settings not only dramatically sound but full of beauty as well — such were but part of the problems of the producer. Perhaps greatest of all was the task of carrying on each step of this work with the willing, but often wilting, help of an entire community, the accomplishment, through infinite patience, of holding this group together for an entire year. Mr. Gowen has done it all superbly well. To this triumph of teamwork he has added sensitive direction, finished acting by his players and genuinely first rank color photography of largely interior setting. A double turntable musical score, carefully selected for historical accuracy, accompanies the production. The Birth of St. Mary's is a loving and lovely testimony, destined to increase steadily in stature as it becomes itself a part of the past." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 602-603.

So accurate were the historical details in The Birth of St. Mary's, by Robert F. Gowen, ACL, that even the handset type used for the titles was more than fifty years old." Movie Makers, Jan. 1938, 8. "Four hundred and fifty persons crowded the auditorium of the Washington School, in Ossining, N. Y., at the recent premier screening of The Birth of St. Mary's, a presentation made under the auspices of the Ossining Historical Society. Produced by Robert F. Gowen, ACL, the film tells, in 1000 feet of 16mm. Kodachrome, a retrospective chronicle of the founding and growth of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, at Scarborough, on the Hudson." Movie Makers, Nov. 1937, 549. Gowen writes on shooting a historical drama in "Filming a Century" (Movie Makers, July 1937, 328, 354-356). The film was awarded second place in an Eastern seaboard interclub movie contest in 1938 (Movie Makers, April 1938).

On Saturday April 20, 2024, the BMSHS organized a showing this movie. The showing took place in the Parish Hall at All Saint's Church. It was preceded by a short presentation on the history of Saint Mary's. The audience seemed to enjoy both the presentation and the movie and asked lots of questions. Once again, we'd like to thank The Rev. Kevin Veitinger, Rector, All Saints Episcopal Church, Briarcliff Manor for welcoming us into his lovely church.

To see the movie click on the image at the top of this page. The speaker notes for the presentation can be found here: