Change of Habit

Change of Habit is a 1969 American musical drama film directed by William A. Graham and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Richard Morris, the film is about three Catholic nuns, preparing for their final vows, who are sent to a rough inner city neighborhood dressed as lay missionaries to work at a clinic run by a young doctor. Their lives become complicated by the realities they face in the inner city, and by the doctor who falls in love with one of the nuns. The film was produced by Joe Connelly for NBC Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. Filmed on location in the Los Angeles area and at the Universal Studios during March and April 1969, Change of Habit was released in the United States on November 10, 1969. It spent four weeks on the Variety Box Office Survey, peaking at #17. Change of Habit was Presley's 31st and final film acting role; his remaining film appearances were in concert documentaries. The film was Moore's fourth and final film under her brief Universal Pictures contract; she would not appear in another theatrical movie until Ordinary People in 1980. Moore and Edward Asner, who also appears in the film, would go on to star in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, one of the most popular television shows in the 1970s.