Line #26 Film/TheWhiteSister


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/white_sister.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Behold, another silent film about Creator/LillianGish being sad!]]
3	''The White Sister'' is a 1923 silent film starring Creator/LillianGish and Creator/RonaldColman. It was adapted from the F. Marion Crawford novel by the same name, which was previously adapted as a film in 1915 (this version is missing presumed lost). In 1933, the novel received a third adaptation, as a talkie directed by Creator/VictorFleming starring Helen Hayes and Creator/ClarkGable. Additionally, a Mexican version was made in 1960.
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5	Set (and filmed) in Naples, Gish is an Italian aristocrat named Angela Chiaromonte and Colman is the dashing Captain Giovanni Severi. They are very much in love, of course. After the death of Angela's father, Prince Chiaromonte, she is cheated out of her entire inheritance by her jealous half-sister, the Marchesa di Mola. But Angela doesn't care about that as she still has Giovanni. He has to go off on a military expedition to Africa, but she promises to wait for him. When she receives word that he was killed by Arabs, she has a mental breakdown. She recovers in a Catholic hospital run by the "white sisters," a.k.a. nuns. Wanting to give back and not wanting to marry any man other than Giovanni, she decides to become a nun herself. But oops, turns out Giovanni is still alive.
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7	Having been released in 1923, ''The White Sister'' entered the PublicDomain in 2019.
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9	!!This film has the examples of:
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11	* ArrangedMarriage: Angela is arranged to marry the son of Count del Ferice. This arrangement is quickly cancelled after it's determined that Prince Chiaromonte's second wife (Angela's mother) was never legally married to him, giving it no bearing on the plot whatsoever.
12	* BilledAboveTheTitle: Just look at the poster on this page, and observe how Lillian Gish's name is larger than the film's title.
13	* BreakTheCutie: It's a Lillian Gish film, after all.
14	* ChekhovsVolcano: They didn't spend the beginning of the film talking about Mount Vesuvius for nothing.
15	* ChristianityIsCatholic: Justified, as the setting is 1920s Italy.
16	* DisneyDeath: Giovanni is not dead after all.
17	* DramaticIrony: As the news of Giovanni's supposed death spreads, it's intercut with scenes of Angela romantically dreaming about their future together. Later, as Giovanni races home to marry her, it's intercut with scenes of Angela officially becoming a nun.
18	* DressingAsTheEnemy: Used by Giovanni during his escape from the Arabs.
19	* GoodShepherd: Monsignor Seracinesca is paternal and understanding, even as he insists that Angela and Giovanni can never be together now that she's a nun.
20	* HollywoodDarkness: The climax features a lot of day-for-night filming.
21	* IGaveMyWord: Of course, Angela would not have become a nun if she'd known Giovanni was alive, but she nevertheless refuses to break her vows.
22	-->''"I have pledged my word to God and He alone can release me!"''
23	* IWillWaitForYou: Angela fully intended to do this, but didn't count on Giovanni turning up alive after his supposed death.
24	* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Being played by Lillian Gish, Angela is, of course, endlessly selfless and noble.
25	* LostWillAndTestament: Following Prince Chiaromonte's death, the Marchesa di Mola burns the will. Combined with the fact that his second marriage, to Angela's mother, is declared legally void, this means the Marchesa gets everything while Angela gets nothing.
26	* ThePlotReaper: Not long after his return to Italy, Giovanni dies for real in a HeroicSacrifice. Yay, no more moral dilemma for Angela!
27	* RebelliousPrincess: Technically not a princess, but Angela nevertheless starts off as an aristocrat with a similar rebellious streak.
28	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: The Marchesa. In a DeathbedConfession, she admits that she cheated her sister out of her fortune, and expresses regret for kicking her out of the house as well. After a moment of struggle, Angela forgives her.
29	* RichesToRags: Angela loses her wealth after her father's death.
30	* SaintlyChurch: The Catholic Church is depicted positively, with no corrupt or unsympathetic characters working for it. In particular, the "marriage to the Church" scene, in which Angela officially becomes a nun, is portrayed with solemn reverence for the rituals taking place.
31	* StayInTheKitchen: "The tyranny of the church -- enslaving women who should be wives and mothers!" Oh, that Giovanni.
32	* TakingTheVeil: Angela becomes a nun because she thinks her OneTrueLove is dead, but actually he isn't.

Context Film / TheWhiteSister