Change of Habit (1969)

Change of Habit movie storyline. Michelle Gallagher, Irene Hawkins and Barbara Bennett are three nuns who are volunteer nurses sent into a poor, racially mixed neighborhood. In order to “fit in” they arrive sans habits. The clinic is run by a young doctor by the name of John Carpenter. Each of the three woman find themselves confronted with a different personal issue of a secular nature. How will their change of habit affect each one’s solution and will their change of habit be a permanent one? Supporting characters include the old parish pastor, the local money lender, an autistic child, and a couple of neighborhood snoops.

Change of Habit is a 1969 American drama film directed by William A. Graham and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Richard Morris, the film is about three Catholic nuns, preparing for their final vows, who are sent to a rough inner city neighborhood dressed as lay missionaries to work at a clinic run by a young doctor. Their lives become complicated by the realities they face in the inner city, and by the doctor who falls in love with one of the nuns.

The film was produced by Joe Connelly for NBC Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. Filmed on location in the Los Angeles area and at the Universal Studios during March and April 1969, Change of Habit was released in the United States on November 10, 1969. It spent four weeks on the Variety Box Office Survey, peaking at #17.

Change of Habit was Presley’s 31st and final film acting role; his remaining film appearances were in concert documentaries. The film was Moore’s fourth and final film under her brief Universal Pictures contract; she would not appear in another theatrical movie until Ordinary People in 1980. Moore and Edward Asner, who also appears in the film, would go on to star in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which premiered in September of the following year.

Directed by: William A. Graham
Starring: Elvis Presley, Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara McNair, Jane Elliott, Leora Dana, Edward Asner, Robert Emhardt, Doro Merande, Ruth McDevitt, Richard Carlson, Laura Figueroa, Lorena Kirk, Virginia Vincent
Screenplay by: James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, Eric Bercovici
Cinematography by: Russell Metty
Film Editing by: Douglas Stewart
Costume Design by: Helen Colvig
Set Decoration by: Ruby R. Levitt, John McCarthy Jr.
Art Direction by: Frank Arrigo, Alexander Golitzen
Music by: Billy Goldenberg
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: November 10, 1969 (USA)