Four Girls in White (1939)

Four student nurses cope with life and career problems while interning at a major hospital.

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Dorothy Yost (screen play), Nathalie Bucknall (original story)

Stars:

Florence Rice, Una Merkel, Ann Rutherford

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Florence Rice	...	Norma Page
Una Merkel	...	Gertie Robbins
Ann Rutherford	...	Patricia Page
Mary Howard	...	Mary Forbes
Alan Marshal	...	Dr. Stephen Melford
Kent Taylor	...	Robert Maitland
Buddy Ebsen	...	Express
Jessie Ralph	...	Miss Tobias
Sara Haden	...	Miss Bennett
Phillip Terry	...	Dr. Sidney
Tom Neal	...	Dr. Phillips
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Tyler	...	Corey (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Four student nurses cope with life and career problems while interning at a major hospital.

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | low budget film | damsel in distress | duplicity | 1930s | 

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Taglines:

Romantic Secrets of the Girls Who Hold Your Hand! (original poster)

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diary of a Nurse

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film's initial telecast took place in Los Angeles took place Tuesday 16 July 1957 on KTTV (Channel 11); it first aired in Altoona PA 2 September 1957 on WFBG (Channel 10), in Chicago 9 September 1957 on WBBM (Channel 2), in Philadelphia 3 November 1957 on WFIL (Channel 6), in Seattle 5 November 1957 on KING (Channel 5), in Norfolk VA 2 December 1957 on WTAR (Channel 3), in Honolulu 6 January 1958 on KHVH (Channel 13), and in San Francisco 21 January 1958 on KGO (Channel 7); the Four GIrls, still in White, finally made it to New York City 26 September 1962 on WCBS (Channel 2).

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Connections

Referenced in Electrical Power (1938)

User Reviews

The Nurses Of Rutland

Watching Four Girls In White and knowing what I know about how these decisions were made back in the day, I got the feeling that this was a film probably made because Louis B. Mayer did not want to keep the Dr. Kildare sets idle too long. So this predictable, but still decent medical melodrama was made concerning for nurses doing their training at Rutland Hospital.

Our four protagonists are sisters Florence Rice and Ann Rutherford, young mother Mary Howard, and for comic relief Una Merkel. The four start their training at the same time and become roommates. The four are very different personalities ranging from the serious minded Mary Howard to Florence Rice whose real aim is to land a rich doctor.

The doctors there are also pretty different and they're giving Rice the once over. Alan Marshal who is a dedicated ER man likes what he sees, but is repelled by her attitude. Never mind though, Rice sets her cap for rich doctor Kent Taylor who would rather be mixing business with pleasure. His idea is to take the family yacht to the South Seas and combine research into tropical diseases with a little cruise.

Rounding out the cast are supervisors Sara Haden and Jessie Ralph and hospital orderly Buddy Ebsen also more comic relief.

There are laughs and heartaches and tragedy in this film about the nurses from Rutland. Though this film may very well have been an afterthought from the studio bosses and it doesn't contain any A list cast members, it's still a decent though predictable medical story.