Outside of being the latest in a long series of recent pictures presenting the human side of the Catholic Church ("The Sullivans," "The Song of Bernadette," and "Going My Way," among others), Fox's "Keys of the Kingdom" is chiefly a production on which Gregory Peck is expected to ride to fame.

It is undoubtedly more than a vehicle for Gregory Peck, however. For one thing, it may be considered by some a bid by Hollywood for a return to the one-feature system. "Keys of the Kingdom," running well over two hours, will be run without the plaguing "co-feature."

A. J. Cronin had very obviously not read "Going My Way" when he wrote "Keys of the Kingdom," but many of the Barry Fitzgerald touches are presented here by Edmund Gwynn. The novel, like all of Cronin's, has a consistent theme of human aspiration and courage with big does of excitement thrown in. It is a tear-jerker, but it is not unrelieved by lighter moments.

Gregory Peck, who appeared previously in the unfortunate "Days of Glory," in which he had to shout his pretty nothings above the boom of cannon, has the quiet reserve and the shy grin of Gary Cooper; which is not to say that he is a second-rate Cooper--he's just a duplicate and will end up in westerns.

It is inevitable that Thomas Mitchell should be in a picture like this, which should be enough to label the thing as mildly religious and nicely folksy. jgt