White Banners

It starts out like the original Imitation of Life where Louise Beavers shows up at Claudette Colbert's house looking for a job, but in this case it's Fay Bainter trying to sell her apple peelers on a cold, windy, snowy day in dreary Indiana. The film is very realistic in its portrayal of the weather, making you feel cold and depressed. When the lady of the house invites her in to get warm and Hannah sees the disorder in the kitchen, she(like Louise Beavers) sees a perfect opportunity to get a job with room and board.

Offering to save the family money (she sees immediately they are struggling), they take her offer and come to love her like family. She comes up with ideas like selling their old useless furniture for cash, gives Claude Rains a spot in the basement to work in peace on his experiments (he is a professor by day and an inventor by night). She is wise and has the instinct to know when something is going to go wrong trying to save the family whatever heartache she can.

When Jackie Cooper (spoiled rich boy) takes a job as Rains assistant, it is the beginning of his life changing him into a fine young man. Only by accident does he cause Rains harm thru an error of judgment. But justice prevails, as Hannah tells Rains to turn the other cheek and go on.

Hannah stumbling upon this house at a time when they are in need of help provides her the opportunity to get what she came for. That being said - all is well at the end. When you see her walking off in the snowy storm, the same way she came in, one cannot help but feel sorry for her - hoping that she would turn around and stay, but doing so would cause her too much pain. Like some of the other poster's, I taped this out of curiosity, and wound glued for the entire film. Definitely a keeper.

I caught this gem early one morning, after waking up early unable to fall back asleep. How fortunate, White Banners is a movie I had never heard or knew about. I really did not expect much. Was I surprised how quickly I was drawn into this wonderful light drama. Wonderfully written and directed. The casting superb in all choices and Fay Bainter was simply magnificent and unforgettable. Truly a most memorable and haunting performance. Claude Rains, always great, gives a spunky and marvelously slightly eccentric touch to his masterful performance. Cooper and Granville are great together. Kay Johnson (Madam Satan) what a surprise! Very nice subdued performance. I was really glad to have discovered this forgotten classic. As wonderful as A Wonderful Life. I highly recommend making time to catch this, it's worth every minute of it's 92 minutes; wish it was longer.

Just happened to wake up very early this morning and stumbled upon "White Banners" on Turner Classic Movies. What a nice little film. Fay Bainter, normally known for her outstanding support of many a fine lead actor, is given a chance to shine in a more substantial and pivotal role. Claude Rains turns in his usual fine performance and there is fine work from young actors Bonita Granville and Jackie Cooper. In lesser hands this film could easily lapse into a puddle of maudlin sap, but these fine performers truly elevate this moving and interesting story. The film is based on a Lloyd C. Douglas short story. Douglas was also the author of "Magnificient Obsession" and "The Robe. Would love to see this one on DVD someday. Until then, I'll be watching TCM's schedule for it. A film not to be missed!

I saw a preview of this movie on TCM and was very interested, so I made a point to watch it. I am so glad I did!

I can't remember ever seeing Claude Raines in a such a light-hearted, at times comedic, role; he is delightful! At first I thought I had stumbled upon a "Mary Poppins" type of movie, especially when Hannah--perfectly portrayed by Fay Bainter, who is not remembered in present day as much as she deserves--begins to pull things out of her bag; but as the story moved on I recognized it as so much more. The supporting cast, as was so often the case in the days of the studio-controlled movies (like it or not) is also excellent, especially Jackie Cooper and Bonita Granville.

A wonderful film, a tale of hope and the results of perseverance.

Today on Turner Classic Movies I watched a tribute to Jackie Cooper on his birthday. After seeing Jackie play children who always had some kind of drama going on in his characters lives and crying all the time, it was nice to see him as a nice young man who grew from being immature and selfish to mature, unselfish, and grateful.

In many of Jackie Cooper's films he played characters who were much younger than his actual age (ex: O'Shaunessy's Boy (1935), in real life he was about 12 or 13, but in the film, he is playing someone who is about 10 or 11, same in Dinky and in Tough Guy (1936), he was really 13 or 14, but in the film he is probably between the ages of 9-11). So, in White Banners it was nice seeing him someone his own age and he gave a touching and challenging performance. I also must commend Fay Bainter (1938 Academy Award nominee Best Actress (Banners) and supporting actress (Jezebel)), for she gave an excellent performance as a mother who sacrifices the best for her child. Also the rest of the cast was great. An excellent film!