Night Nurse (1931)

A nurse enlists the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children.

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Grace Perkins (from the novel by) (as Dora Macy), Oliver H.P. Garrett (screenplay)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Lora Hart
Ben Lyon	...	Mortie
Joan Blondell	...	Maloney
Clark Gable	...	Nick
Blanche Friderici	...	Mrs. Maxwell (as Blanche Frederici)
Charlotte Merriam	...	Mrs. Ritchey
Charles Winninger	...	Dr. Bell
Edward J. Nugent	...	Eagan (as Edward Nugent)
Vera Lewis	...	Miss Dillon
Ralf Harolde	...	Dr. Milton Ranger
Walter McGrail	...	The Drunk

Storyline

Lora Hart manages to land a job in a hospital as a trainee nurse. Upon completion of her training she goes to work as a night nurse for two small children who seem to be very sick, but something much more sinister is going on.

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Plot Keywords:

ambulance | nurse | hospital | bootlegger | chauffeur | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

8 August 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

En natsygeplejerskes oplevelser

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$260,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The traffic accident gag at the end is actually the same stunt shown twice, with only the soundtrack altered.

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Goofs

During the surgery scene, all the doctors, nurses, and observers are wearing face masks but only their mouths are covered. Their noses are sticking out above the masks. There is no point in wearing a surgical mask if the nostrils are exposed.

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Quotes

Lora Hart: [into the phone] Operator! Operator! Operator!
[Nick hangs up the phone and knocks her unconcious]

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood and the Stars: The Wild and Wonderful Thirties (1964)

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Soundtracks

Dancing with the Daffodils
(1931) (uncredited)
Music by Jack Little
Played when Lora aids Mrs. Ritchey and is accosted by Mack

User Reviews

Stanwyck Takes Care of Business

A tawdry and downright disturbing pre-code film that stars Barbara Stanwyck giving one hell of a ferocious performance.

Stanwyck plays the titular night nurse, assigned to care for the two small children of a negligent and drunken floozy. The children's' father is dead; the family chauffeur, played by a hateful Clark Gable, is running things, and he wants the children to die so that he can collect the trust money that was intended for them. Therefore, the children are wasting away from starvation while a useless maid dithers around and Stanwyck tries to get the hospital to intervene.

The film would probably be instantly forgettable if not for the fierce performance of Stanwyck, who throws herself (quite literally) into the role of savior, taking punches, getting thrown into a wall, all while dishing out some punches of her own. This is film-making of the sensational Warners variety, featuring lots of suggestive dialogue, shots of Stanwyck and her nurse buddy, the saucy Joan Blondell, in their underwear, and a world in which things like murder are o.k. as long as they're done for the right reason. The movie is certainly no masterpiece, but it does have that energy and sizzle that characterized Warners films from this time period, and it is effective on its own modest terms.

Grade: B+