- Vigil in the Night
Infobox Film
name = Vigil in the Night
director =George Stevens
producer =George Stevens
writer =A. J. Cronin (serial)
Fred Guiol
starring =Carole Lombard
Brian Aherne
Anne Shirley
music =Alfred Newman
cinematography =Robert De Grasse
editing =Henry Berman
distributor =RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
released =February 9 , 1940
country = USA
runtime = 96 min./USA: 102 min.
language = English
imdb_id = 0033221"Vigil in the Night" is a 1940 film (produced and distributed by RKO Pictures) based on the 1939 serial
short story byA. J. Cronin . The film was produced and directed byGeorge Stevens and starsCarole Lombard ,Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley.Plot summary
Set in
Great Britain , "Vigil in the Night" tells the story of thenurse s Anne Lee and her sister, Lucy. Anne takes the blame for a fatal error made by Lucy 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. Prescott. 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 anepidemic which threatens to overwhelm all those around them.The European version of the film has a slightly different ending in recognition of the
Second World War which the United States had not yet entered at the time of its release: British Prime MinisterNeville 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. The American version of the film 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 GilsonExternal links
* [http://tcmdb.com/title/title.jsp?scarlettTitleId=3629 "Vigil in the Night" at Turner Classic Movies] (trailer)
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=115590 "New York Times" overview]
*imdb title | id=0033221 | title=Vigil in the Night
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