The Nun's Story

"From the very beginning, she was not like the others..."

1959 2h 31m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 205

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.

“From the very beginning, she was not like the others...”

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Cast

Audrey Hepburn
Sister Luke
Peter Finch
Dr. Fortunati
Edith Evans
Rev. Mother Emmanuel
Peggy Ashcroft
Mother Mathilde
Dean Jagger
Dr. Hubert Van Der Mal
Mildred Dunnock
Sister Margharita
Beatrice Straight
Mother Christophe
Patricia Collinge
Sister William

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Writers: Robert Anderson
Languages: Latin, Swahili, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 151 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Latin, Swahili, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fred Zinnemann, shot by Franz Planer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Walter Thompson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fred Zinnemann directs. Franz Planer behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. Walter Thompson cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Latin, Swahili, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 151 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.
467 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Latin, Swahili, English.
6Directed by Fred Zinnemann, shot by Franz Planer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Walter Thompson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Audrey Hepburn and Peter Finch and Edith Evans carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "From the very beginning, she was not like the others...".
11IMDB entry: tt0053131 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 13 themes, including "nurse", "nun", "missionary", "world war ii".