''White Banners'' is a 1938

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...

and starring

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

Fay Bainter Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Bainter wa ...

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

Bonita Granville Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an American actress and producer. The daughter of vaudevillians, Granville began her career on the stage at age three. She initially began as a child actress, making h ...

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Career ...

, and

Kay Johnson Catherine Townsend Johnson (November 29, 1904 – November 17, 1975) was an American stage and film actress. Family Johnson was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Her father was architect Thomas R. Johnson, who worked in the firm of Cass Gil ...

. Produced by

Henry Blanke Henry Blanke (December 30, 1901 – May 28, 1981) was a German-born film producer who also worked as an assistant director, supervisor, writer, and production manager. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award ...

and

Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...

, the screenplay was adapted by Lenore J. Coffee, Abem Finkel and Cameron Rogers from the 1936 novel of the same title by Lloyd C. Douglas.

Plot

On a dreary, cold and snowy day in a small town in 1919

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, a

peddler A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used fo ...

named Hannah Parmalee (Bainter) appears at the door of a kind couple, Paul Ward (Rains) and his wife, Marcia (Johnson), selling apple peelers. Asked by Mrs. Ward to come inside and warm up, Hannah sees they are struggling financially and are in need of some domestic help. She offers her services and becomes their cook and housekeeper for

room and board Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, Manual labour, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at h ...

. Mr. Ward, a science teacher by day, is an inventor by night attempting to create something that will provide sufficient money for Marcia, their teenaged daughter Sally (Granville) and their new baby, to have some luxuries in life. Hannah, who is extremely wise and helpful, comes up with some good ideas. She persuades Ward to sell old and useless furniture to raise money and make a place for his work in the basement. Their teenaged neighbor, Peter Trimble (Cooper), is one of Ward's students and the son of the richest man in town, Sam Trimble (O'Neill). Hannah is very pleased to know Peter and to be a part of his life. In her devotion to him, however, she is never able to indulge the motherly instinct she feels, except in an indirect way. He is very good at science and, after Hannah suggests that he set a good example for the boy, Ward asks young Trimble to become his assistant. Sally develops a crush on Peter. Ward's invention, an "iceless

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

," is unintentionally revealed by Peter to local mechanics Joe Ellis (William Pawley) and his brother Bill (Edward Pawley). When the Ellis brothers steal it and have it patented, Peter feels so bad about what he did that he lies when Ward asks him about it. In the meantime, Sally becomes ill with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. Hannah persuades Ward that it is best to "

turn the other cheek Turn may refer to: Arts and entertainment Dance and sports * Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body * Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool * Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel * Turn, ...

" and to give young Peter another chance. Ward then develops a new and better feature for his invention, which is on its way to becoming a great electric refrigerator for homes. Sally recovers and she and her mother, Marcia, leave on a trip with the baby. Another crisis arises, however, when Thomas Bradford (James Stephenson), a wealthy businessman from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, arrives to discuss financing of Ward's invention. Hannah reveals to Ward that Peter Trimble is her son who she was forced to give up all those years ago because he was born

out of wedlock Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

. Sam Trimble adopted him after his own baby died, but Bradford is the boy's real father. When Bradford finds out that Peter is his son, he wants to claim him. Hannah, however, persuades him to not reveal the truth to Peter. Hannah, satisfied with the kind of young man her son has become, and that he is on the right path in life, leaves with Peter believing that his adoptive parents are his biological parents. She walks off into the wintry landscape.

Cast

as Paul Ward *

as Hannah Parmalee *

as Peter Trimble *

as Sally Ward *

as Sam Trimble *

as Mrs. Marcia Ward *

James Stephenson James Albert Stephenson (14 April 1889 – 29 July 1941) was a British stage and film actor. He found extraordinarily rapid success in Hollywood after arriving in his late 40s, but he died unexpectedly in his early 50s. Early life Stephenson ...

as Thomas Bradford *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Dr. Thompson *William Pawley as Joe Ellis *

Edward Pawley Edward Joel Pawley (March 16, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri – January 27, 1988 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American actor of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate is Edward Joel Stone Pawley; he never ...

as Bill Ellis *

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: T ...

as Charles Ellis *

Mary Field Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; ...

as Hester, Trimble's secretary *

Edward McWade Edward McWade (January 14, 1865 – May 17, 1943) was a writer, stage actor and an American film actor. Biography McWade was born in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1865. His father was notable stage actor Robert McWade Sr. (1835-1913) and ...

as Sloan, the furniture dealer

Reception

The film, Fay Bainter and others of the cast received very good reviews in the ''Los Angeles Times''.''Los Angeles Times'', Jul. 1, 1938, "White Banners Conveys Serene Spiritual Theme," p. 15. Bainter was nominated for the Academy Award for

Best Actress in a Leading Role The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...

for her performance as Hannah Parmalee.

In popular culture

*''White Banners'' is referenced in the song "Hana," written and performed by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

on her album ''Shine'' (2007).

References

External links