Pamela Hutchinson sings the praises of film's faithful sisters, from Black Narcissus to Sister Act, reckoning with cinema's habit of using nuns for moral dilemmas and sacred singalongs.
Movie nuns may appear to be here to save your soul and keep the sinners of the world on the straight and narrow, but their appeal is more than black and white, inspiring films ranging from the devout dramas of The Bells of St. Mary's, The Nun's Story and Heaven Knows, Mr Allison, to Ken Russell's shockingly subversive and sacrilegious The Devils.
On screen, do we want to see another serene and saintly sister? Or a bad mother?
