''Nurse Edith Cavell'' is a 1939 American film directed by British director

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

about

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape ...

. The film was nominated at the 1939 Oscars for Best Original Score.

Plot

The story follows the broadly true story of

who went to German-occupied

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

after the onset of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Edith hides the young Frenchman Jean Rappard, but is suspected of this and her hospital is inspected by German troops at regular intervals. Jean is put on a canal barge and despite being searched at the border escapes successfully. Back in Brussels a

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

executes a dozen escaped prisoners who were caught in the woods. Edith and Albert go to try to find wounded on a battlefield near the woods and bring back four British men including Pte Bungey of the Buffs. They are hidden in the hospital in a secret room accessed through a wardrobe in the basement boiler room. The Countess goes to the cobbler to organise their safe transportation. Meanwhile, Edith also tends the young dying Germans in the main hospital. A further three Frenchmen are sent to the border by barge with Mme Moulin. An alleged escaped French PoW arrives at the Countess's mansion. The Countess is suspicious due to his accent and locks him in the kitchen whilst informing the German authorities. The hospital is also being watched. Nevertheless, the numbers increase ... but they include Wilhelm Schultz of the German military intelligence. He therefore works out how Edith and the Countess operate. Esch person is given new ID papers and money. On 5 August 1915 Edith is arrested and placed in the Prison of St Gilles. A campaign begins to release her, but the Germans wish to "set an example" and wish her shot. In the court she is charged with the far more serious crime of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

. The very young Francois Rappard is brought into the court (in handcuffs) as the critical non-military witness. The authorities point out that the people who were helped returned to the front and killed Germans. Edith admits to having had helped at least 200 men escape. The three military judges go to decide her sentence. She is read the sentence in her cell by Cpt. Heinrichs: she is to be shot at dawn. The authorities are evasive when they are asked by the British consul to give the result of the trial. Pleas for clemency are ignored. Some of the proposed firing squad say they are ill as they do not wish to shoot a woman. But on the allotted morning eight soldiers shoot her dead. On May 15, 1919, a memorial service is held in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

Cast

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

as Nurse

Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

as Countess de Mavon *

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

as Capt. Heinrichs * May Robson as Mme. Rappard *

ZaSu Pitts ZaSu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, starred in many silent film drama film, dramas, such as Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic ''Greed (1924 film), Greed'', along wi ...

as Mme. Moulin * H. B. Warner as Hugh Gibson * Sophie Stewart as Sister Williams * Mary Howard as Nurse O'Brien * Robert Coote as Private Bungey * Martin Kosleck as Pierre *Gui Ignon as Cobbler * Lionel Royce as Gen. von Ehrhardt * Jimmy Butler as Jean Rappard * Rex Downing as François Rappard * Henry Brandon as Lt. Schultz *

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Along with Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber is one of the fathers of sword and sorcery. Life ...

as Edith's defence lawyer * Ernst Deutsch as the Chief Prosecutor * Halliwell Hobbes as the pastor who gives the last rites

Reception

The film made a profit of $38,000. ''

Modern Screen ''Modern Screen'' was an American fan magazine published between 1930 and 1985 that featured articles, pictorials and interviews with film stars (and later television and music personalities). Founding ''Modern Screen'' magazine debuted on ...

'' gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, stating that the film was "a powerful message against war and hatred", and that it maintained its level of suspense throughout the course of the picture. They praised the acting, particularly that of Anna Neagle in the title role, as well as May Robson, Edna May Oliver, and ZaSu Pitts, in their roles of women who aid the fleeing soldiers. The performance of Rex Downing was called "notable", and that of Lionel Royce was described as "stand-out". Also commended were George Sanders, Mary Howard, Sophie Stewart and H.B. Warner. The magazine was especially enthusiastic of Herbert Wilcox's direction, in that he managed to make every part credible, and even the roles of the "heavies" managed to be shown with compassion and understanding.

Awards and nominations

References

External links