Vigil in the Night

Vigil in the Night
Vigil in the Night
	theatrical poster
Directed by	George Stevens
Written by	Fred Guiol; P. J. Wolfson; Rowland Leigh
Based on	Vigil in the Night; by A. J. Cronin
Produced by	George Stevens
Starring	Carole Lombard; Brian Aherne; Anne Shirley
Cinematography	Robert De Grasse
Edited by	Henry Berman
Music by	Alfred Newman
Production; companies	RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Release date	February 9, 1940;
Running time	96 minutes; 102 minutes (US)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$920,000
Box office	$1,004,000

Vigil in the Night is a 1940 film (produced and distributed by RKO Pictures) based on the 1939 serialized novel Vigil in the Night, by A. J. Cronin. The film was produced and directed by George Stevens and stars Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley.

Plot[]

In Great Britain, Vigil in the Night nurse Anne Lee (Carole Lombard) takes the blame for a fatal error made by her sister Lucy (Anne Shirley), also a nurse, 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. Robert Prescott (Brian Aherne). 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 a measles epidemic which threatens the city's children.

Alternate versions[]

The European release of the film has a slightly different ending: 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. As the United States had not yet entered the Second World War, the American release 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
Donnie Dunagan as Tommy (uncredited)

scene from the film

References[]

^ ^a ^b Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p57

External links[]

Vigil in the Night at the TCM Movie Database
Vigil in the Night at IMDb
Vigil in the Night at AllMovie

[rko-1] Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p57

[1]

v t Works by A. J. Cronin
Novels	Hatter's Castle Three Loves Grand Canary The Stars Look Down The Citadel Vigil in the Night The Valorous Years The Keys of the Kingdom The Green Years Shannon's Way The Spanish Gardener Beyond This Place Escape from Fear A Thing of Beauty/Crusader's Tomb The Northern Light The Judas Tree A Song of Sixpence A Pocketful of Rye The Minstrel Boy/Desmonde
Short stories	"Kaleidoscope in "K"" "The Innkeeper's Wife"
Play	Jupiter Laughs
Autobiography	Adventures in Two Worlds
Film adaptations	Once to Every Woman Grand Canary The Citadel Vigil in the Night The Stars Look Down Shining Victory Hatter's Castle The Keys of the Kingdom The Green Years The Spanish Gardener Web of Evidence
Television adaptations	Escape From Fear Beyond This Place Nicholas The Citadel (1960 American) The Citadel (1960 British) Dr. Finlay's Casebook The Ordeal of Dr. Shannon Memorandum van een dokter La Cittadella (1964) Novi asistent O Jardineiro Espanhol E le stelle stanno a guardare The Stars Look Down Les Années d'illusion The Citadel (1983) Doctor Finlay La Cittadella (2003)