The White Angel

[mrsl]

.
I don't know who had the final say-so on the cast for this movie, but I'm glad he or she decided to go with the serene Kay Francis. I can't imagine anyone else of the time who could give this role the conviction she did. I really don't care how correct the facts are, if there are any facts at all because Ms Francis makes you believe she is Florence Nightingale with the lamp. The biggest part of her role is her calm in the middle of disaster, even when she is arguing with the head doctor, she's doing it in such a lady-like way, you want to punch him out for giving her such a hard time. Actually Donald Crisp is the doctor and who can play an ostrich like Mr. Crisp can? Ian Hunter is a reporter helping her along in her fight by getting her story back to England and trying to get help in the form of funds from the Queen and the Medical committee.

I've seen several versions of the Florence Nightingale story but this one was by far the best.
.

[jdb1]

If this really was the best one, then Miss Nightingale has been mightily ill-served. I couldn't get through the first 30 minutes of it -- I thought it was ghastly. And almost totally fanciful, too. The real Florence was more self-righteous, and a much bigger pain in the a** than the noble portrait painted by Kay Francis. (She was uninterested in stereotypical female roles, though, and made no bones about it. She kept her fiance on the hook for almost ten years before dumping him, and was completely infatuated with her favorite female cousin, whom she apparently went on and on and on about to anyone who would listen.)

Francis was a real trooper not to lose her focus, considering the soppy, dumb dialogue, the pseudo-instructional school film style (with intertitles and flowery spoken dialogue trying to signal the audience how to react -- don't they trust us?), and the ridiculously overwrought music. I would characterize this one as Big Studio Hollywood at Its Worst. Embarrassing. Poor Florence. Poor Kay.

[mrsl]

.
Dear Judith:

Regardless of the beginning of the movie, if you recall I said: "I really don't care how correct the facts are, if there are any facts at all", as we know, in most biographical movies, facts are completely unknown items. I read a book about Ms. Nightingale when I was a teen, so I've forgotten most of her life story, but my post was more of an accolade to Kay Francis and her portrayal, no matter how contrived. I just think she did a great job in bringing Florence to life, and I in my pea brain would wish Florence had been as nurturing and caring as Kay presented her.
.