Vigil in the Night
Vigil in the Night is a 1940 film (produced and distributed by RKO Pictures) based on the 1939 serialized novel Vigil in the Night, by A. J. Cronin. The film was produced and directed by George Stevens and stars Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley.
Vigil in the Night | |
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theatrical poster | |
Directed by | George Stevens |
Produced by | George Stevens |
Written by | Fred Guiol P. J. Wolfson Rowland Leigh |
Based on | Vigil in the Night by A. J. Cronin |
Starring | Carole Lombard Brian Aherne Anne Shirley |
Music by | Alfred Newman |
Cinematography | Robert De Grasse |
Edited by | Henry Berman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes 102 minutes (US) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $920,000[1] |
Box office | $1,004,000[1] |
Plot
In Great Britain, Vigil in the Night nurse Anne Lee (Carole Lombard) takes the blame for a fatal error made by her sister Lucy (Anne Shirley), also a nurse, and is forced to leave the hospital where they both work. She moves to a large city where she procures a job at another hospital and falls in love with Dr. Robert Prescott (Brian Aherne). Overcoming obstacles and personal tragedy along the way, Anne and Prescott work together to bring about better conditions for the care of the sick as well as fighting a measles epidemic which threatens the city's children.
Alternate versions
The European release of the film has a slightly different ending: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's voice is heard on the radio in Dr. Prescott's office explaining that Hitler has refused to withdraw his troops from Poland and that, therefore, a state of war exists between Germany and Great Britain. As the United States had not yet entered the Second World War, the American release contains no such radio message and a shot of Anne Lee and Dr. Prescott reacting to the news was deleted.
Cast
- Carole Lombard as Anne Lee
- Brian Aherne as Dr. Robert Prescott
- Anne Shirley as Lucy Lee
- Julien Mitchell as Matthew Bowley
- Robert Coote as Dr. Caley
- Brenda Forbes as Nora Dunn
- Rita Page as Glennie
- Peter Cushing as Joe Shand
- Ethel Griffies as Matron East
- Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Martha Bowley
- Emily Fitzroy as Sister Gilson
- Donnie Dunagan as Tommy (uncredited)
See also
References
- Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p57
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vigil in the Night (film). |