In God We Tru$t

In God We Tru$t

Year: 1980

Runtime: 97 mins

Language: English

Comedy

Brother Ambrose, a naïve monk, is tasked by his abbot with raising $5,000 to keep the monastery from shutting down. He journeys to Hollywood, where he bumps into a cast of eccentric personalities while trying to secure the needed funds, leading to comedic misadventures.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – In God We Tru$t (1980)

Explore the full timeline and setting of In God We Tru$t (1980). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Late 20th century

The narrative unfolds in a modern era dominated by mass media, televised sermons, and road‑traveling ministries. It portrays a contemporary US landscape where salvation and sponsorship are marketed side by side. The presence of a mobile church bus and urban settings places the events in a time of shifting religious influence and media sensationalism.

Location

Hollywood, Church of Divine Profit, monastery

Scenes jump between the neon glare of Hollywood and the solemn walls of a monastery. Hollywood serves as the playground for con artists, televangelists, and flashy religious schemes, while the monastery anchors the story in faith and tradition. The Church of Divine Profit signals the film's critique of monetized faith, and the monastery offers a counterpoint rooted in spiritual duty.

🎬 Hollywood setting 🏛️ Monastery setting ⛪ Church environment

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:42

Main Characters – In God We Tru$t (1980)

Meet the key characters of In God We Tru$t (1980), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Brother Ambrose (Marty Feldman)

A naive, earnest monk on a mission to save his monastery who travels to Hollywood and confronts the temptations of money and fame. His moral compass is tested as he navigates con artists, seduction, and the lure of quick salvation, revealing both his courage and vulnerability.

🕊️ Innocence 🎯 Idealism 🤔 Temptation

Dr. Sebastian Melmoth (Peter Boyle)

A smooth-talking con artist who befriends Ambrose and becomes entangled in the monastery’s crisis. He is a morally gray figure whose schemes highlight the dangers of manipulation in a world obsessed with money and salvation.

🃏 Con artist 💰 Money-driven 🗺️ Manipulation

Mary (Louise Lasser)

A prostitute who offers shelter to Ambrose and grows to care for him, later revealing ties to Melmoth. Her relationship with Ambrose introduces romance, complexity, and the potential consequences of their actions.

💃 Seduction 💖 Complicated loyalties 🤰 Pregnancy

Armageddon T. Thunderbird (Andy Kaufman)

A flamboyant televangelist who builds a rival mobile church and enlists Ambrose to amass wealth. He epitomizes the opportunistic, profit-driven side of modern religion, initially posing as a mentor figure for Ambrose.

🎭 Televangelist 💰 Profit-driven 🤝 Alliance with Ambrose

Abbot Thelonious (Wilfrid Hyde-White)

The stern, principled head of the monastery who seeks to secure funds to keep their doors open. He embodies the tension between faith, duty, and financial pressure.

🏛️ Monastic leadership 🕯️ Faith under pressure 💼 Financial stress

G.O.D. (General Organizational Directivatator) (Richard Pryor)

A sophisticated supercomputer that personality-covers morality and finances for Thunderbird. It acts as the film’s ultimate, machine‑driven moral guide, until it’s destroyed in the pursuit of greed.

🤖 Algorithmic morality ⚖️ Moral arbiter 💸 Redistribution

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:42

Major Themes – In God We Tru$t (1980)

Explore the central themes of In God We Tru$t (1980), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💰 Money and Faith

The plot centers on the monetization of salvation, with the Church on Wheels and a mortgage certificate driving the quest for funds. Televangelists promise divine favor in exchange for donations, revealing how money can shape religious authority. Ambrose’s innocence clashes with Thunderbird’s greed, underscoring the commodification of faith. The film uses humor to expose the tension between spiritual ideals and financial incentives.

🎭 Satire

A naive monk is drawn into Hollywood’s ecosystem of con artists and showmanship, highlighting the gap between pious intent and public performance. The satire targets televangelism, religious marketing, and opportunistic leaders who trade on faith for profit. Through jokes and farce, the film uncovers moral ambiguity and the performative nature of belief. It ridicules the spectacle of modern religion without fully abandoning its humanity.

🤖 Technology and Morality

G.O.D., a sophisticated computer, becomes a battle between a machine’s cold logic and human religious intuition. The device speaks with Thunderbird and, at times, guides Ambrose toward generosity rather than greed. The moral consequences of algorithmic decisions are shown as wealth is redistributed in surprising ways. The film uses the AI deity to critique reliance on systems over faith.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:42

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In God We Tru$t Summary

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In God We Tru$t Summary

In God We Tru$t Timeline

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In God We Tru$t Timeline

More About In God We Tru$t

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