Legião das Abnegadas

This extremely rare film is a combination view of the very rigorous training nurses used to have to undergo in the 1930s in order to get their nursing degrees and then a rather uninspiring forbidden romance between a nurse and a doctor.

Although the romance part of the film was most probably what attracted audiences, it is the serious salute to nursing and the importance of both strict confidentiality and strict adherence to responsible behavior in the plot that set it apart.

I viewed this film in its entirety at UCLA - they own a print - over 25 years ago. Deservedly Oscar nominated for Best Film and Best Sound.

The 24 year old Jesse Lasky jr got his break on this film as a co-writer learning how to collaborate with other established writers. Although the film plods along, there are worse films out there. I still think he was lucky to get on this project, but nevertheless, the world that we live in is unfair.

"The White Parade" is a film not unlike all medical series set in a hospital that we've seen over the last half-century. Marcus Welby, MD, ER and Scrubs are just some of the shows that relate to this exceedingly rare Oscar Nominee.

The film is set in a medical training hospital, where nurses are rigorously trained for duty in real hospitals. Loretta Young is the main nurse, June Arden; there are several other we follow from inception to graduation.

The film is slow and comical at first but becomes more dramatic near the end. A fine pre-cursor to other medical dramas, with decent performances. The film is short, 80 min, and feels like it could have been longer.

"The White Parade" is indeed an extremely rare film in that the only surviving print resides at the UCLA archive. I watched this film, and, to say the least, it is in very bad shape (this is why it has never been released on home video.) The print is fuzzy and almost bleached out, yet still watchable. Near the end of the film, it inexplicably cuts to an image saying, "disc 7." Fast forward a little and we continue the film to the end.

Several frames are cut and spliced together, and some frames "jump," where we see two different frames on screen at once.

I guess UCLA hasn't had a chance to restore it yet... I'm sure they will someday.

Oscar film buffs, if you ever get a chance to go to UCLA and watch this film, do so!