Sister Kenny (1946)

An Australian nurse discovers an effective new treatment for infantile paralysis, but experiences great difficulty in convincing doctors of the validity of her claims.

Director:

Dudley Nichols

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screen play), Alexander Knox (screen play)

Stars:

Rosalind Russell, Alexander Knox, Dean Jagger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rosalind Russell	...	Elizabeth Kenny
Alexander Knox	...	Dr. McDonnell
Dean Jagger	...	Kevin Connors
Philip Merivale	...	Dr. Brack
Beulah Bondi	...	Mary Kenny
Charles Dingle	...	Michael Kenny
John Litel	...	Medical Director
Doreen McCann	...	Dorrie McIntyre
Fay Helm	...	Mrs. McIntyre
Charles Kemper	...	Mr. McIntyre
Dorothy Peterson	...	Agnes
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Burke	...	Undetermined Minor Role (scenes deleted)
Teddy Infuhr	...	Boy (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Elizabeth Kenny, as a young nurse out in the Australian bush discovers an effective treatment for polio, but can't get official recognition or sanction for her techniques and theories. For more than three decades (while she tells her fiancée she can't marry him, and repeatedly confronts the pigheaded orthopedic specialist Dr. Brack), she is prevented from treating acute cases and is ridiculed, while she seeks formal recognition for the efficacy of her treatment.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | based on real person | woman | f rated | nurse | 

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Taglines:

A woman made for love . . . but whose service to humanity became her destiny!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Unlike as portrayed at the beginning of the film, Kenny had no formal nursing education. She earned the title of "Sister" (rank equivalent of a 1st Lt.) during her service in the Australian Army Nursing Service during WWI. She used that title the rest of her life, which was controversial as in the British Commonwealth that title was reserved for senior qualified nurses (the equivalent of a Registered Nurse in the USA).

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Goofs

While Dr. Brack stands in front of his bookshelves dismissing Elizabeth Kenny's unscientific terms, a cut from medium to long shot has him instantly move half a shelf to his left.

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Quotes

Dr. McDonnell: Whatever you do, whatever happens, remember the people are more important than the system. That's true in government, they're fighting a war to prove it. And it's true in medicine. You've got that fight left Elizabeth. It's a big fight, it wont be easy, I wish I could help you.

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Soundtracks

It's a Long Way to Tipperary
(1912) (uncredited)
Written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams
Sung offscreen by a chorus of men

User Reviews

Signature Film of Rosalind Russell

In 1963 (when I was 17), my parents took me and my younger sister on a summer holiday to Whitby a coastal town in Yorkshire, UK.We stayed at a hotel there which showed this film as entertainment for the guests.I never forgot it nor the performance of Rosalind Russell which I regard as her best film and better than "His Girl Friday" with Cary Grant since it deals with a real person and real events, always more convincing in my book than mere fiction.She was well supported by actor Alexander Knox who played an orthopedic surgeon, friend and colleague and known to me as the surgeon "Mr Joyce" in the 1956 film "Reach for the Sky", who operates on the broken legs of Douglas Bader.I would have liked 20th Century Fox to have employed more Australian character actors but as there were few in Hollywood in 1946 and as Americans seem to have a hard time doing the Australian accent and as many were being demobbed in 1946, this is understandable.Other reviewers have described the screenplay and basic biography of Elizabeth Kenny satisfactorily, so I won't reiterate it.I awarded this film 8/10 and am grateful to Youtube for uploading it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor sublime

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1