''White Wings'' (French: ''Les ailes blanches'') is a 1943 French

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

Robert Péguy Robert Péguy (14 December 1883 – 21 July 1968) was a French film director best known for his films of the 1920s and 1930s. He directed some 30 films between 1910 and 1946. His career peaked in the 1930s. Selected filmography * ''600,000 ...

and starring

Gaby Morlay Gaby Morlay (born Blanche Pauline Fumoleau; 8 June 1893 – 4 July 1964) was a film actress from France.

Jacques Dumesnil Jacques Dumesnil (born Marie Émile Eugène André Joly; November 9, 1903 – May 8, 1998) was a French film and television actor. Early life Jacques Dumesnil was born as Marie Émile Eugène André Joly on November 9, 1903 in Paris, France ...

and Marcelle Géniat.Rège p.930 It was shot at the Photosonor Studios at

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Lucien Jaquelux Lucien Jaquelux (1894–1946) was a French set designer and film director.Rège p.529 He also worked as a painter and illustrator. He began his filmmaking career in the silent era. Selected filmography * ''The Nude Woman'' (1926) * '' Celle qui d ...

and

Lucien Aguettand Lucien Aguettand (28 January 1901 – 14 February 1989) was a French art directorHayward p.205 who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * ''Little Devil May Care'' (1928) * ''All That's Not Worth Love' ...

Synopsis

Sister Claire, a nun is dedicated to saving girls who have fallen on hard times, due to her own experience many years before. She encounters a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who comes to tune the

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

's harmonium, a widower with three daughters. He is particularly concerned about the eldest girl Lucette, who has fallen into bad company and has become

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

Cast

Gaby Morlay Gaby Morlay (born Blanche Pauline Fumoleau; 8 June 1893 – 4 July 1964) was a film actress from France.

as Claire Neubourg devenue Soeur Claire *

as Gérard Clairval * Marcelle Géniat as Soeur Louise - la tante de Claire * Jacques Baumer as Henri Lebourg *

Irène Corday Irène Corday (1919–1996) was a French film actress, who played a mixture of lead role, lead and supporting roles.Burch & Sellier p.139 She starred in the title role of Thérèse of Lisieux in ''Thérèse Martin (film), Thérèse Martin'' (1939) ...

as Lucette * Pierre Magnier as Dupuis-Villeuse *

Lysiane Rey Lysiane Rey (Jacqueline, Andrée, Albertine, Louise Leharanger) (13 November 1922 in Amiens – 1 October 1975 in Maisons-Laffitte) was a French actress. With Albert Préjean she was the mother of actor Patrick Préjean, and the grandmother ...

as Nadine *

Georges Vitray Georges Vitray (1888–1960) was a French film actor.Crisp p.155 Biography Georges Victor Leporcher was born in Paris, France to Constant Leporcher and Victorine Victoire Bricier. Georges took the name Vitray as a stage name. Georges' mother ...

as Maître Verdier - le notaire *

René Dupuy René Dupuy (17 May 1920 – 1 August 2009) was a French actor, theater director and theater manager. A student at the Conservatoire national d'art dramatique in Paris, René Dupuy was later theater manager of: * the Théâtre Gramont from 1954 ...

as Albert *

André Nicolle André Nicolle (1 June 1885 – 25 February 1945) was a French film actor.Phillips p.212 Selected filmography * ''The Chocolate Girl'' (1927) * ''Karina the Dancer'' (1928) * ''The Vein'' (1928) * ''Temptation'' (1929) * '' The Unknown Dancer'' ( ...

as Le directeur des Folies-Bastille *

Jean Sinoël Jean Sinoël (13 August 1868 – 30 August 1949), often known simply as Sinoël, was a French actor and singer. Born Jean Léonis Blès in Sainte-Terre, Gironde, France, he died in Paris in 1949. Selected filmography * ''Captain Craddock'' (1931) ...

as Hyacinthe *

Charles Lemontier Charles Lemontier (1894–1965) was a French film actor.Aping p.76 Selected filmography * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Judex'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Rigolboche'' (1936) * '' You Can't Fool Antoinette'' (1936) * '' ...

as Belin *

Jacqueline Pagnol Jacqueline Andrée Pagnol (née Bouvier; 6 October 1920 – 22 August 2016) was a French actress. She acted in many French films in the 1940s and 1950s. She was the wife of French author and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. Biography Early life Jacq ...

as Cricri *

Saturnin Fabre Saturnin Fabre (4 April 1884 – 4 October 1961) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''La rafale'' (1920) - comte de Bréchebel * ''Mademoiselle de La Seiglière'' (1921) * ''The Road Is Fine'' (1930) - Le professeur Pique * ''L ...

as Siméon

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: encyclopédie des films, 1940–1950''. Pygmalion, 1986 * Burch, Noël & Sellier, Geneviève. ''The Battle of the Sexes in French Cinema, 1930–1956''. Duke University Press, 2013. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1943 films French drama films 1943 drama films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Robert Péguy French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films scored by Tony Aubin {{1940s-France-film-stub