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White Sister, The (1923)

*** (out of 4)

Adaptation of the Francis Marion Crawford novel, this screen version has Lillian Gish playing Angela Chiaromonte, the woman who gets cut out of her rightful inheritance by her evil step sister (Gail Kane). She then suffers a second heartache when the man she loves (Ronald Colman) is reported dead. With nowhere else to turn she decides to become a nun since they were the ones who saved her from the streets but soon the man she loved comes back but can she break her vow to God to take him back? This is a very handsome production of a novel that was filmed quite a few times including a remake ten years later with Clark Gable. This version is certainly very easy on the eyes and it features some very good performances but clocking it at nearly 140-minutes, the running time certainly doesn't do it any favors. The biggest problem is the running time as many scenes just seem to go on and on and on when they could have been cut down and it probably would have made the film float a lot better. Just take a look at the first thirty-minutes and everything that happens could have been told just as well with about ten or more minutes cut down. With that said, the film is still worth viewing for several reasons with the performances being one. Gish does her usual great job and really digs deep into this character and brings it to life as someone we really do care for and feel sorry for. As expected, we have some wonderful close ups of Gish's brilliant eyes that have no problem showing her sadness. Also, Gish is given another sequence where they were clearly trying to recapture the "terror" sequence from BROKEN BLOSSOMS but it doesn't work nearly as well here. The scene involves her learning that the man she loves is dead. Colman, in his screen debut, turns in a very good performance as well as he too really delivers in terms of the character's emotions and the pain he's going through as the woman he loves might not be able to love him. The direction by King is very good throughout and especially towards the end when the climax features a large volcano erupting and causing major panic in the streets. Fans of Gish and silent films will certainly want to check this out but I'm sure others will probably be bothered by the long running time. I know some versions are out there running nearly forty-minutes shorter and I actually checked a bootleg I had bought before watching the restored version on TCM and it actually only runs 66-minutes!!! One day I might try watching that version just to see how the film plays with more than fifty-percent of its time missing.

Assisted by luminous photography and Henry King's sympathetic direction, Lillian Gish delivers a most compelling performance in this lavish production, filmed entirely in Italy. True, she has excellent support from subdued yet charming Ronald Colman, chillingly malevolent Gail Kane, J. Barney Sherry and others, but it's Miss Gish's movie and she makes the most of it.

Camera-wise, King's direction is very static, but nonetheless engaging. He not only has an eye for the pictorial values of his sets and locations, but adroitly maintains audience interest at a high level through the various predictable turns of the plot, although the long-awaited climax proves somewhat disappointing and lacks spectacle.

The White Sister (1923) : Brief Review -

A Great Tragic Romance on Catholism versus Eternal Love. The First Lady of America Cinema Lilian Gish had already done a lot of amazing work in Classics like 'Birth Of A Nation', 'Intolerance', 'Broken Blossoms' and 'Way Down East' and almost all the characters she played left people praising her like never before and never after. But even after so many memorable performances she still had a lot of talent left in her and The White Sister was one of those film where she showed it. I couldn't stop gushing over her cuteness even though i have already seen her in similar roles so many times. That's the magic and unearthy impact she had. The White Sister is tragic romantic drama away from the mainstream melodramatic love stories where the devotional ethics bids across the eternal love to put them in an unsolvable situation. A young woman becomes a nun when she believes her sweetheart has been killed, but things get complicated when he returns alive. Let's pay more attention to the writing of the film than other aspects because it was an unconventional approach to justify the tragedy and yet it simplifies things with the ease. Of course, most of the credit goes to the original novel for this mind-blowing thought of Catholism versus Love which might have turned controversial if not handled with correct sese. After that, it was all about Lilian Gish and her adorable cuteness which was nothing less than a treat. Ronald Colman was surprisingly good in his obsessive and passionate role. Director Henry King did a reasonable job pointing out every possible details within a short runtime, and the engaging factors were helmed very well too. Overall, a nice break from typical Tragic Romance which fulfills the general or should I say solid expectations.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest

In Italy, the Lordly volcano Vesuvius "waves his plume of peace to a smiling city in the valley". Of course, the volcano is, in actuality, "a seething ferment of unrest." The city is equally dominated by the wealthy Chiaromonte family, who live in a monstrous palace. Among them are half-sisters Lillian Gish (as Angela) and Gail Kane (as Marchesa). Ms. Gish is in love with young Ronald Colman (as Govanni Severini); and, they plan to marry. The sisters' father Charles Lane (as Prince Chiaromonte), when not focusing on his devotionals, likes to ride horses; unfortunately, he falls off his horse, and dies.

Wicked sister Kane destroys the Prince's will; and, in the eyes of The Law and The Church, inherits everything. Bad becomes worse when the Catholic church refuses to recognize the deceased Prince's second marriage, which produced Gish; so the wedding with Colman becomes a not-so-blessed event. Finally, Kane throws Gish out of the palace. Later, poverty-stricken Gish is reunited with her beloved Captain Colman. They plan to wed when he returns from a mission to Africa; but, he is reportedly killed, fighting Arab bandits. Then, Gish becomes a nun. When her more earthly intended turns up alive, Gish must choose between her spiritual husband, Jesus Christ, and the physical Ronald Colman…

Way too long, and directorially unfocused, Henry King's "The White Sister" does not reach its lofty expectations. There are, however, some extraordinarily beautiful scenes; and, the lead performances are excellent. The film seems relatively "reverential", considering the subject matter; though, Colman rails against, "The tyranny of the church - enslaving women who should be wives and mothers!" Undoubtedly, Gish and King were familiar with the original portrayal of "The White Sister", by Viola Allen, on stage (1909) and screen (1915), and sought to bring the story to more "epic" proportions. It appears as if water replaced the more difficult to film lava, for the less-than-climatic finish.

******* The White Sister (9/5/23) Henry King ~ Lillian Gish, Ronald Colman, Gail Kane, J. Barney Sherry

Have for a long time had a very high appreciation for silent film, short and feature. DW Griffith favourite Lillian Gish was among the finest silent film stars and one of the few who translated well into talkies (see for example 'The Whales of August' at the end of her life). Ronald Colman did some great work in his career and it was interesting to see him in a silent film and so young. Have also liked some of Henry King's other work, with 'The Song of Bernadette' becoming an instant favourite on first watch four or so years ago.

'The White Sister' is a very interesting and well crafted film with a lot of excellently executed elements. Colman and King went on to do better, though it is one of King's better and more interesting early films and forays in silents, but Gish shows that she could work brilliantly with directors other than Griffith. The subject matter was a bold one for back then and it was unusual for any film to tackle religion against a contemporary background, which is done very well actually in 'The White Sister'.

It's not perfect. It for my tastes a little too on the overlong side, which made for some stodgy over-stretched pacing here and there.

Did also find it melodramatic, with some of the support acting being theatrical. Some of the camera work is on the static side.

Most of it however is beautifully framed and elegant and makes the most of the atmospheric and never cheap backdrops. King directs with a very confident hand and there was never a sense of him being out of his depth or not knowing what he was doing. 'The White Sister' is thought provoking, often very moving and the religious element of the story doesn't preach surprisingly and is as bold as it sounds.

Gish is wonderful in a very expressive and nuanced performance that touched me deeply, she indeed did suffering better than a vast majority of silent film stars and to me she was one of the best. The role was the kind that could easily have been overacted, but Gish doesn't. Despite being robbed of his beautiful speaking voice, Colman shows even early in his career that he could do aristocratic suavity beautifully. The two smolder together.

Overall, liked it a good deal while not being in total love with it. 7/10.