White Sister

In the shadow of smouldering Mt. Vesuvius stands a small Italian village, serene in its age and dignity. The beauteous Donna Angela resides there, along with her wicked sister Marchesa and their elderly father. Angela is in love with a dashing soldier, Captain Giovanni Severi, currently stationed in Africa. They plan to marry upon his return, but Angela's father is killed in a riding accident before that can happen. Marchesa then secretly alters the old man's will so all his property is left to her. Simultaneously, Angela is informed that her lover has gone missing in action. Heartbroken and homeless, she joins a convent, choosing to devote the remainder of her existence to God. Giovanni shockingly arrives afterwards, having narrowly escaped the battlefield with his life. He pleads with Angela to leave the convent, but the girl stubbornly remains steadfast to her vows. As the two argue, ancient Mt. Vesuvius begins to erupt, threatening to destroy the village and all those who live there…

Considered one of the most important cinematic achievements of the silent era, The White Sister was a milestone in the career of Lillian Gish. Up until that point, the actress had worked exclusively with D.W. Griffith, starring in The Birth of a Nation (1915), Hearts of the World (1918), Way Down East (1920) and Orphans of the Storm (1921), among others of the great director's films. Her enthusiasm for close friend Richard Barthelmess' Tol'able David (1921) made Lillian want to work with that picture's director, Henry King. Gish subsequently signed a contract with small studio Inspiration Pictures for $15,000, with the proviso that she could select her director and source material. She chose to adapt the popular novel The White Sister by F. Marion Crawford, which had already been made into a successful stage play and a 1915 film starring Viola Allen. Lillian later said she wanted to do this particular story because she felt the assumption of a nun's habit to be one of the most beautiful things in Western civilization. For her co-star, Gish and King found 31-year-old British expatriate actor Ronald Colman onstage in a performance of La Tendresse. They quickly signed him to a contract, beginning a career that would last long past the advent of sound. A crew of 24 spent six months shooting in Italy, with Lillian involved heavily in every aspect of production. Premiering in New York on September 5, 1923 at the 44th Street Theatre, The White Sister opened at the extravagant (but not unheard of) length of thirteen reels. Despite the running time, it was a critical and commercial success, validating Lillian's desire for independence from Griffith. She would co-star again with Colman next year in Romola (1924), also directed by King and filmed in Italy. The White Sister would be famously remade in 1933 with Helen Hayes and Clark Gable.