Today is the Feast of St. Anthony in the Catholic church. I was thinking this was the feast day mentioned in The Medarra Block, but I went back and listened and it is actually the Feast of St. Francis. In the episode, Scotty is tipped off to an impostor priest(?) who says they are busy preparing for the Feast of St. Francis, but Scotty figures out that day is near Christmas and it was now April. Oddly enough, the Feast of St. Francis is and to the best of my knowledge always has been in October. It seems strange they would go to such lengths to mention a specific event and not double check the facts, doesn't it?

I think the answer to our quandary Becca, is that there are two Feasts of Saint Francis. First you have St. Francis of Assisi whose feast day is 4 October—the one you’re thinking of. St. Francis of Assisi was known for his love of all creatures. He also founded the Franciscans.

Then you have St. Francis Xavier whose feast day is 3 December. This must be the one Scotty was referring to. St. Francis Xavier co-founded the Jesuits.

I’m sure both men would be delighted to know that they have their very own Wikipedia pages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Xavier


Ecclesiastical Jimmy

Excellent, Ecclesiastical Jimmy! It had crossed my mind that they might be referring to another St. Francis, but St. Francis of Assisi is the better known of the two I think. However I am familiar with St. Francis Xavier as well, as I have often visited the Misson San Xavier del Bac near Tucson. Are you familiar with it? It is a spectacular church that was built in the 1700s and is called "The White Dove of the Desert." I always thought if I Spy had ever filmed in Arizona, it would have made a beautiful location set, don't you think?





I have always been intrigued by the amount of Catholic imagery on I Spy, whether it's churches, convents, priests, nuns, etc. - they seemed to be an important element in so many episodes. I think it's interesting that in Turnabout for Traitors, Kelly in desperation heads to the one place he can think of for safe refuge - a Catholic church.

Do you think this was merely a function of the many predominantly Roman Catholic countries where the stories were set?

Thanks for your reply!

Becca

Yes, my feeling is that any Catholic imagery was a natural result of some of the locations (and not at all natural in some others). Sheldon Leonard and David Friedkin had Jewish origins—I’m not sure about Morton Fine though he probably did too. I don’t think they had any reason to push a Catholic view of the world. In a place like Mexico where you can’t help but trip over Catholic iconography, the churches and other stuff made for cool locations. In Japan they tended to film around a lot of shrines and temples. Mission San Xavier del Bac certainly would have made a great location had they gone to Tuscon (no, I’ve never been there). I can’t think of any “Catholic” locations in the episodes set in the United States. They preferred to go to places where pagans congregate, like Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

Secular Jimmy

Speaking of the Jewish bosses - Sheldon, Friedkin, and Fine ... here's a delightful story from Sheldon Leonard's book “And the Show Goes On” (NY: Limelight Editions, 1995) about Fouad Said, cinematographer extraordinaire, who was born in Egypt.





“We were shooting in Guadalajara when the 7-Day War broke out in Israel. On the morning of the day after Israel trashed the Egyptian army, destroying their ground and air forces, Fouad Said approached Friedkin, Fine, and me, his 3 Jewish bosses, as we were standing in the huge Central Market planning camera setups.

“‘Today all the shots will be out of focus.’ he said and stalked away.”







As always,
Tatia

....

Lol, great story Tatia. It would sure be nice if the parties involved could co-exist like that today

Take care,
Becca