Vigil in the Night

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|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 by A. J. Cronin. The film was produced and directed by George Stevens and stars Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley.

Plot summary

Set in Great Britain, Vigil in the Night tells the story of two nurses 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 an epidemic which threatens to overwhelm all 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 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. 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 Gilson


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