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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The White Angel which was a film about the crucial years in the life of Florence Nightingale when she during the Crimean War popularized the career of nursing for women and sanitary hospitals. Her work in Great Britain and Clara Barton in the USA during the Civil War set the standards for the nursing profession as we know it now.Nightingale came from an upper class background and that probably stood her in good stead because someone who had to worry about how the next month's rent was to be paid or the next meal coming from could not have taken on what she did or faced down the sexist attitudes of her age.The British cinema did the best version of her life in 1951 with Anna Neagle playing Nightingale. Besides Florence herself the real name of only one other character is used, that of Lord Raglan the Commander of the British forces in the Crimea played here by Halliwell Hobbes. The real players are used in the Neagle film.This was a change of pace for Kay Francis who usually was more glamorous in her roles than here. Francis reminds me a lot of Rosaland Russell when she did Sister Kenny.This was part of Warner Brothers biographical films of the late 30s and The White Angel was the only one to have a female subject. The White Angel bogs down a bit in spots and for a more accurate film the Neagle picture is better. Still this is reasonably entertaining and Kay Francis fans will like it.

The good news -- it's a relatively interesting film where you can learn a little superficial history about Florence Nightingale and the time period in which she lived.The bad news -- this is an unimpressive performance by Kay FCrancis.In regard to Kay Francis, she is one of those actresses who were very famous in the early days of the American sound cinema. She turned in fine performances in many films. However, bu 1936 she was on the verge of being identified as "box office poison". During the time frame that this film was being made, she was complaining to Warner Brothers about the scripts being given to her. In this case, however, I feel that Francis' performance here is shallow and stereotypical...at some points almost verging on being corny.In other regards, however, it's quite a good film. It has rather high production values. And, while they take liberties with history, the film still gives one a fair understanding of the general situation of women in medicine of that era.The supporting cast fares better than Ms. Francis. Ian Hunter plays a journalist, and while not a big part, he does nicely. Nigel Bruce doesn't play the fool here...just an incompetent. Donald Crisp plays a military official who bitterly opposes Nightingale's efforts. Henry O'Neill also does well playing a doctor who enthusiastically supports Nightingale.This is an okay film if you like old-fashioned biopics.

The sharp, focused performance by Kay Francis carries this film into an impressive arena for its viewer. I've seen in several times and although Francis doesn't go into histrionics in her portrayal like some of the "greats" would -- Francis exemplifies the determination, courage, and humaness of one who "feels a calling". She never wavers in what she is about, frustrated but not discouraged, and Francis' subtlety emphasises these qualities. The beginning of the film offers Francis a chance to don the elegant gowns of the mid 1800's, but most of the film she's wearing a plain nurse's uniform and often looking quite drawn from the conflicts with male prejudice on the Crimean front and the squalid conditions that she faced in all directions. I don't know how historically accurate the film is, but it gets to the heart of the Nightingale story and what she was up against. Strong support from players like Donald Crisp and Ian Hunter add to the overall success.

Warner Brothers in the 1930's was known a lot more than their Busby Berkley musicals and gangster dramas. They filmed a successful series of biographies, from George Arliss' "Disraeli", "Voltaire", and "Alexander Hamilton", to Dolores Del Rio's "Madame DuBarry". When Paul Muni had a hit with his performance as Louis Pasteur, Warner Brothers decided to give their biggest leading lady, Kay Francis, the chance for hers as "the lady with the lamp", Florence Nightingale.This was a departure for Kay, who had appeared in a series of romantic dramas which for the most part had not done all that well at the box-office. The rising success of another Warner Brothers contract actress Bette Davis had Francis desperate to do something other than suffer in mink. Unfortunately for Kay, the film was released in July when the majority of the audience-teenagers-wanted action and adventure, not a history lesson. Then, there were the reviews, which were respectable-for the film's overall production, but not for Kay. They all mostly agreed that Kay was badly miscast as the noble Florence. The film begins with wealthy young Florence fixing the broken leg of a dog, then deciding, much against the wishes of her family, to enter nursing. She is appalled by nursing conditions, and does all she can to change them. Cleaning out the drunk and cruel harpies which seem to represent 75% of the nursing profession, Florence finds an ally in a kind-hearted nun (Eily Malyon) who becomes her assistant. War erupts, and Florence works at the front harder than any of the women she hires. Of course, this takes a toll on her health, as does the presence of doctor Donald Crisp who objects to her methods.I agree with the critic's conception of Kay's miscasting as Florence. While I don't know what she looked like in real life, something tells me that the nursing uniforms worn by Kay were not nearly as glamorous looking. Only in a Kay Francis movie can the heroine walk through a dirty hall of sick soldiers looking as if she's heading out to a nightclub. Kay's makeup never falters, even in her sickly state. It's not that Kay's performance is bad; something tells me that she was never able to sink her teeth into this role as Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck would have done. Sadly, the failure of this film seemed to doom Kay's remaining days at Warner Brothers to long-suffering mothers or romantic heroines. Seen today on Turner Classic Movies, "The White Angel" can easily impress its audience with its overly noble portrayal of a saintly woman who changed the nursing profession single handidly. When compared to the Paul Muni and George Arliss bios, where it lacks is in the lack of a presence of a strong leading lady. Kay Francis still remains one of my favorites, and as a movie, this is enjoyable, but she's still Kay Francis, regardless of the lack of sables and minks. The story of Florence Nightingale had several other attempts on screen: in a 1950's English film with Anna Neagle; and on TV in the 80's with Jacqueline Smith. Just the mentioning of the last one makes me ask the question: didn't the people who made that version read the reviews of this one?