HOLLYWOOD PRIEST: THE STORY OF FR. “BUD” KEISER

Name: HOLLYWOOD PRIEST: THE STORY OF FR. “BUD” KEISER
Item: HOLLYWOOD PRIEST: THE STORY OF FR. “BUD” KEISER
Author: Gaby Gaduh

"Zealous Hollywood Priest"

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

HOLLYWOOD PRIEST: THE STORY OF FR. “BUD” KEISER is an insightful documentary on PBS about the life and ministry of Father Elwood Keiser. It focuses on the priest’s life before Hollywood, his time preaching to the talent in LA in 1957, and his 40-year career as a producer in the entertainment business. The movie highlights Father Bud’s heart to serve others and his ministry on television through his program INSIGHT. It covers his mission trip to Africa and the triumph of his venture into theatrical moviemaking.

HOLLYWOOD PRIEST is an intriguing, inspiring look into how Father Bud expanded his ministry outside the Catholic Church through the entertainment industry. It features interviews from several famous actors like Martin Sheen and Bob Newhart, plus priests who knew Father Bud. The interviews capture a glimpse of Father Bud’s heart for ministering to everyone, not just the Catholic Church, which was first frowned on by several church leaders. HOLLYWOOD PRIEST lacks some technical polish, but its uplifting portrait of Father Bud contains powerful themes of the power of prayer, God’s Word and perseverance for the sake of evangelism.

Content:

(CCC, BBB, N, D):
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong Christian, biblical, moral worldview champions Theism, the Word of God, church, prayer, and evangelism, but there is one scene that could cause confusion for some as it presents Father Bud’s interest in inclusion of all people in his churchly ministry as borderline Monism, but it’s later clear that he wants them to turn to the Gospel;
Foul Language:
No foul language;
Violence:
There is no violence, but the scenes where Father Bud witnesses starvation in Africa are shocking; Sex: No sex, but the documentary does spend time talking about Father Bud’s struggle to decide whether he should continue in the priesthood or marry a nun he loves, but he ends up deciding to stick with his Catholic calling; Nudity: Some scenes of Father Bud in Africa include upper-male nudity, but it’s non-sexual;
Alcohol Use:
No alcohol use;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Characters are seen smoking cigars in some still frames, but there are no drugs; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Nothing objectionable.

More Detail:

HOLLYWOOD PRIEST: THE STORY OF FR. “BUD” KEISER is an insightful documentary airing on PBS about Father Ellwood “Bud” Keiser’s 40-year ministry in Hollywood and uses interviews with actors, directors and priests to highlight Father Bud’s early Priesthood, his move to Los Angeles in 1957, and his efforts to bring Christian faith into the entertainment industry. HOLLYWOOD PRIEST is an intriguing, inspiring look into how Father Bud expanded his ministry outside the Catholic Church through the entertainment industry and contains powerful themes of the power of prayer, God’s Word and perseverance for the sake of evangelism.

After teaching God’s Word to some people in Hollywood, several actors and producers encouraged Father Bud to start a ministry through television. However, the local Cardinal wasn’t ready to warm up to Father Bud’s idea that the Good News of God’s Word is for the whole world, not just the Catholic church.

Father Bud saw an opportunity to reach the nation through television, and so he took his first chance on a show called INSIGHT. As producer and host, Father Bud addressed Americans across the nation and discussed the search for meaning, freedom and love in light of the Bible.

INSIGHT became a huge success in America, which attracted some of the industry’s best actors like Edward Asner, Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, Martin Sheen and many more. According to the actors who worked with Father Bud, INSIGHT was a unique opportunity for them to act in compelling roles but for little pay.

However, Father Bud’s success would soon be met by two challenges. Not only would Father Bud question his priesthood due to a growing love interest with a nun, he would later question his role in television when televangelists began to dominate national TV stations.

A trip to Africa, with his friend John Amos, the actor from ROOTS and GOOD TIMES, would change his perspective on ministry forever. Through earnest and constant prayer, Father Bud aimed higher than just TV and set out to make his first movie. With little funding and support, Father Bud exercised his perseverance and passion to produce the Marxist liberation theology movie ROMERO, a story about a controversial priest assassinated in El Salvador.

HOLLYWOOD PRIEST is an intriguing, inspirational look into how Father Bud expanded his ministry to people outside of the Catholic Church through the explosion of the entertainment industry in America. The movie features interviews from several famous actors like Martin Sheen and Bob Newhart, as well as priests who knew Father Bud. The interviews capture a glimpse of Father Bud’s heart for ministering to everyone, not just the Catholic church, which was frowned upon by several church leaders at the time. HOLLYWOOD PRIEST does lack some technical finesse or polish, but the uplifting true story of Father Bud contains powerful themes of the power of prayer, God’s word, and perseverance for the sake of evangelism.