Flying Padre

1951 · directed by Stanley Kubrick

Rating

53/100

Hit

no

Stanley Kubrick’s short documentary about Father Fred Stadtmueller, a Catholic priest serving a vast 4,000-square-mile parish in rural New Mexico. To reach his scattered congregation, he pilots his own Piper Cub aircraft, the Spirit of St. Joseph. Over two days, Kubrick follows the “flying padre” as he conducts Mass, mediates between quarreling children, attends a funeral, and airlifts a sick child to medical care—capturing both the challenges and quiet heroism of his daily mission.

Flying Padre (1951), directed by Stanley Kubrick, rates 53/100. See how its director, cast and crew rate across their careers.

Cast

• Bob Hite
• Fred Stadtmueller

Crew

• Stanley Kubrick — Director of Photography
• Isaac Kleinerman — Editor

More from Stanley Kubrick

1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) — 99/100 · hit
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) — 95/100 · hit
3. Spartacus (1960) — 94/100 · hit
4. A Clockwork Orange (1971) — 93/100 · hit
5. Barry Lyndon (1975) — 93/100 · hit
6. Paths of Glory (1957) — 91/100 · hit

How these numbers work: Methodology