Ridgefield Playhouse Film Society Documentary Film Series Screens GOD IS THE BIGGER ELVIS, 5/25

On Friday, May 25th at 7:30pm, the Ridgefield Playhouse Film Society "Documentary Film Series" presents "God Is The Bigger Elvis", produced and directed by Rebecca Cammisa. The documentary is the story of a remarkable place in Bethlehem, CT and a woman whose unlikely story opened the door to a world seldom seen by outsiders. Fifty years ago, Dolores Hart was a rising star in Hollywood. She had starred in ten movies with numerous iconic actors including Montgomery Clift, Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani and Elvis Presley.

Engaged to be married at 23, Dolores Hart left Hollywood behind to become a Benedictine nun at the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Although this meant that she and her fiancé, Don Robinson, would never marry, he continued to visit her at the Abbey for 47 years until his death last December.

In the 2012 Academy Award nominated HBO documentary, "God Is The Bigger Elvis", we meet Mother Dolores Hart, Prioress who introduces us to the world inside the Abbey of Regina Laudis. There she contributes to the spiritual guidance of 38 cloistered Benedictine nuns whose daily lives are also documented in the film. Mother Dolores has documented the life of the monastic community for Abbey archives for over 40 years and she conducts necessary Abbey correspondence through email.

When the 73--year-old Benedictine nun attended the 84th Academy Awards in February 2012, Mother Dolores walked the red carpet for the first time since 1959, when actress Delores Hart was a presenter and a beautiful young star who had given a blushing Elvis Presley his first screen kiss. “God was the vehicle,” she said of her odyssey. “He was the bigger Elvis.”

Currently, the only nun who is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mother Dolores will be on hand for the Q&A with RPFS hosts Ira Joe Fisher and Morton Dean, EMMY Award winning television journalists.

The event will be a "One-Time Private Screening." All the seats are reserved and the $10 ticket donations will benefit the “New Horizons Renovation Project” of the Abbey of Regina Laudis.
The hosts for the screening will be the television EMMY award-winning journalists, Ira Joe Fisher and Morton Dean. Attached below is the link to view the trailer at www.hbo.com/documentaries/god-is-the-bigger-elvis/index.html.

Seating is limited, so please order your reserved seats today. For information or to purchase reserved tickets, please go to the Ridgefield Playhouse online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org or phone 203-438-5795. The Ridgefield Playhouse is located at 80 East Ridge Avenue, Ridgefield, CT 06877.

More Articles by This Author...