The White Sister (1933 film)

Plot

Italian aristocrat Angela Chiaromonte (Helen Hayes) spurns the potential husband chosen by her father (Lewis Stone) in favor of Giovanni Severi (Clark Gable), a handsome army lieutenant. When her lover is reported killed in World War I, Hayes renounces the world to become a nun. After she takes her vows, the lieutenant shows up very much alive. He implores her to give up the order, but she refuses. The lieutenant is later injured in a bombing raid; he dies, with Angela lovingly at his side.

Cast

Production

Principal photography on The White Sister began in December 1932 with two units assigned to the production. Director Fleming completed all of the interiors and backlot sequences at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios at Culver City, California. Second unit director Cullen Tate was in charge of all the aerial sequences filmed in Reno, Nevada. Aerial coordinator Paul Mantz gathered all the aircraft required: Stearman C3, Curtiss Fledgling and Travel Air J-5 biplanes, leased from the Los Angeles area. All the aircraft were repainted to stand in as Italian and German fighters.

Reception

The White Sister generally received favorable reviews, with Variety saying, "Helen Hayes is the sorrowing Angela, as solid and satisfying a bit of acting as comes to the screen in a blue moon. Clark Gable is a gallant soldier hero and leaves nothing to be desired." Reviewer Mourdant Hall from The New York Times reflected, "It is a beautiful production, but its scenes never seem as real as those of the old mute work."

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $750,000 in the United States and Canada and $922,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $456,000.