La hermana blanca

The opening sequence of The White Sister is worth watching, if only to appreciate the filmmaking technology in 1933. There's a crowded, joyous festival in the town square, and it's filmed with inventive camera angles and movements that make you think you're watching a movie ten years ahead of its time. I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance, but the beginning was very entertaining.

Onto the plot: Helen Hayes is engaged to a man she doesn't love. Her father, Prince Lewis Stone-it seems like he's always playing her father, doesn't it?-approves of the match, but she longs for adventure and excitement. She's drawn to the boisterous festival, and during the commotion, she catches a glimpse of Clark Gable and immediately falls in love. They start meeting in secret until she gets bold enough to tell her father she wants to call off her engagement. How does Lew react? If you've seen his movies, you know he often doesn't make it to the end, and this one's no exception. Just as in Vanessa, Her Love Story, he dies, and Helen puts her grief ahead of her romantic feelings. There's a lot more drama included in this movie-it is a Helen Hayes picture after all-so if you like her, you might want to check this out. I liked Vanessa better, but you can rent both and see which one you prefer. In The White Sister, I never felt she loved Clark Gable enough to do what she does later on in the movie. No spoilers; if you're intrigued, rent it!

This version of The White Sister is the third and final one to date that was brought to the big screen. This old fashioned drama with heavy religious overtones is not a likely candidate for a modern remake.

It's that second version that is the most known. Shot in Italy in 1923 it was the breakout picture for Ronald Colman as he starred with Lillian Gish and a cast of Italian players because the film was shot on location in Italy, a very unusual thing for the time.

In the Citadel Film Series book the Films of Ronald Colman, it was mentioned that Colman had a swarthy complexion and that was why this erudite man of the English speaking language was cast in the film. The same could be said for the casting of Clark Gable as the male lead opposite Helen Hayes in this sound version.

The story was updated from the 19th century and the Italian colonial wars in Libya to World War I. Gable is an air ace in the Italian Air Corps and he meets Helen Hayes who is the daughter of the local nobleman Lewis Stone. He's got an arranged marriage with wealthy Alan Edwards who will help this noble, but impoverished family out of debt. But Helen wants Clark after spending a little time with him.

But fates just keep them apart, especially after Lewis Stone is killed in an automobile crash and Gable goes off to World War I. Other than the updating of the time of the story and the elimination of a sister for Hayes, if you've seen the Colman-Gish silent version you know what happens here.

Someone like Tyrone Power who was a few years away from breaking into stardom at another studio would have been far better at handling the mushy romantic dialog. Certainly Ronald Colman might have done well with it even though he was British to the core. Gable is too American for the part though he does his best with it. The female lead is very suitable to Helen Hayes, especially with her Catholic background.

Fans of Clark Gable will still like The White Sister, but it will never be rated among his better films.

This is my all-time favorite film. A lovely romantic love story with Helen Hayes & Clark Gable. It is not on video so, your only chance to see it is if you get TCM (Turner Classic Movies). They sometimes air it. If it is on...be sure to catch it!

THE WHITE SISTER (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933), directed by Victor Fleming, stars Helen Hayes and Clark Gable for the first and only time (not counting separate scenes for the same movie titled NIGHT FLIGHT (1933) starring John and Lionel Barrymore). Based on the 1909 novel by F. Marion Crawford and dramatized by Walter Hackett, THE WHITE SISTER was used as the basis of two earlier silent screen treatments (Essanay, 1915) with Viola Allen and Richard Travers; and more famously (Metro, 1923) starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman. This 105 minute adaptation for the screen by Donald Ogden Stewart updates the story to the World War but remains true to form with material from which it is based.

Set in Italy, Angela Chiarmonte (Helen Hayes) is introduced as a religious woman whose closest friend is her parish priest, Father Saracinesca (Edward Arnold). Her father is Prince Guido (Lewis Stone). She is engaged to Ernesto Traversi (Alan Edwards), a man of her father's choosing. During the church festival, Angela's limousine is rear-ended by a car full of soldiers driven by Giovanni Severi (Clark Gable), who takes an immediate interest in her. After meeting him again at the carnival, Angela goes againstthe wishes of her her caretaker/companion, Mina (Louise Closser Hale) by spending time with this young soldier. After his visit to her home, and six days before her marriage to Ernesto, Angela and Giovanni are caught kissing by her father. With Giovanni forced to leave, Angela argues the fact she loves this soldier and refuses to marry a man she does not love. Not wanting Angela to suffer the same fate as his late wife, Guido follows Angela to the officer's club where she is to meet Giovanni, only to be killed in a car accident which leaves Angela in a state of shock. Only after Angela resumes her love with Giovanni, he is called off to war with hope of marriage upon his return. Receiving word of Giovanni killed in action, Angela chooses a new life by becoming a nun. With Giovanni having survived injuries and three years in prison camp, he makes his escape, searching for Angela, unaware she has already taken her final vows. Featuring May Robson (The Mother Superior); Nat Pendleton, Inez Palage and Gino Corrado in smaller roles.

Having first seen THE WHITE SISTER on New York City's WNEW, Channel 5 in 1970, aside from getting to see a much younger Helen Hayes, whose performance in AIRPORT (Universal, 1970) stole the show from it's all-star cast (winning an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress), I was unaware this premise had been done twice before, making this one of the many sound remakes of material done during the silent film era. Regardless of American actors playing Italian characters, Helen Hayes and Clark Gable (with mustache) are believable enough to overlook these obstacles which thankfully did not have them attempt Italian accents. Memorable moments include behind the scenes in the nunnery with Angela taking vows to the supreme sacrifice for her love to the church and God. Though not strictly a religious movie, it's a love story bearing a religious theme. Tastefully done, well directed and acted by its principal players make this worth seeing.

Reportedly a success in 1933, THE WHITE SISTER never got home video distribution, but did become available on DVD with second disc being the 143 minute Lillian Gish edition, as well as occasional broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. (***)

Uggh! Apart from the wonderful acting of Helen Hayes and Clark Gable, this is a very silly and forgettable romance. Clark plays a young soldier than falls for a princess. They know that their love is doomed due to the difference in their social status, but despite everything their love seems unavoidable. Later, when she thinks Gable dies, she drops everything to become a,....NUN!!! Then, when Gable returns it is too late,...she's married to God and cannot renounce her vows (though exactly WHY I couldn't figure out). If you haven't guessed, the plot just seems really hokey and silly. And, unfortunately, it is just that and nothing more. I only recommend it for fans of Hollywood's Golden Age and Clark Gable. All others, I'm afraid, will see it and be turned off older movies and that would be a shame.

By the way, this is a remake of a silent film which starred Lillian Gish and Ronald Coleman. In many ways, the film was better than this 1933 remake and the old fashioned plot seems more suited for a silent.