Flying Padre
Cast
Fred Stadtmueller Bob Hite Pedro
Credits
Cinematography: 
Stanley Kubrick
Music: Nathaniel Shilkret
Editing: Isaac Kleinerman
Produced by: Burton Benjamin
Plot
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.
Sinekatalog’s take
A short documentary on a priest who flies his own small plane to reach scattered parishioners across a vast rural parish. It is modest and workmanlike, with the early signs of a gifted visual eye. Of interest mostly to those curious about a famous filmmaker's beginnings.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 5.5 / 10 (5,551 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
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