Starring Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne, Anne Shirley, Julien Mitchell, Robert Coote
Directed by George Stevens
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
An exemplary nurse covers for her sister when a child dies on her watch, and leaves to work at a new hospital where she becomes enamored with a doctor warring with the hospital's wealthy chairman.
A fine vehicle for Lombard, with the actress particularly angelic in her role as Nurse Anne Lee, the picture is an efficient drama, albeit with some melodramatic scenes that are at times a bit too hard to believe. Nevertheless, it's well acted, and notable for featuring Peter Cushing, in just his fourth film, as Joe Shand, who begins the film in love with Lee, but switches to her sister after Anne's departure. I thought the story was very progressive for its time, not glamorizing but emphasizing the difficulties of a nurse's life, including contending with unwanted male advances, as well as the daily struggles of all employed at a hospital. More surprising was the fact that although a romantic angle is played up in the connection between Lombard and Aherne, it's not consummated, and made clear that their work takes precedence. This had to be unique at the time, which makes the film stand out all the more today.
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