Robert Loves a Nurse

Robert Montgomery stars as Lieutenant Wally O'Brien in War Nurse (1930).  The film opens at the outbreak of the First World War.  American women from all parts of the country and all walks of life daydream about becoming a war nurse.  Each has their own reason, and their own view of the mission.  The film follows the lives of  Barbara (Babs) Whitney (June Walker), Joy Meadows (Anita Page), Cushie (ZaSu Pitts), Rosalie "Brooklyn" Parker (Marie Prevost), and Marian "Kansas" (Helen Jerome Eddy) as the women venture to France to nurse the wounded. 

Though Mr. Montgomery is given top billing, this film really is about the nurses - all of them.  Sure, Babs is our "heroine", but each of the women has an interesting backstory and a distinct personality.  We grow to like all of them, and to admire their dedication to an awful and dangerous job.  The men in the story are the window dressing; the women are its heart.

Some movies are eternal, and it doesn't really matter when they are filmed.  Some are time capsules of their era.  In a sense, War Nurse is both.  This film looks back 12 years to "the War to end all wars," yet we know what the characters and filmmakers do not.  That, in a scant 8 years, the world will be at war again.  And though the technology may change, the effects of war and the work of the nurse do not.  We can empathize with the characters because their struggle represents the struggle of all nurses in a war zone. 

Based on the book 1930 book War Nurse: The True Story of a Woman Who Lived, Loved and Suffered on the Western Front (AFI Catalog), this is an excellent and compelling story.  We only had one minor complaint with the film, the levity that was inserted into the script felt forced and flat.  Not that one wants the film to be oppressing, but often the wisecracking just didn't belong.  It sometimes seemed to interrupt the flow of the action, and we were eager for the story to continue.

 

June Walker, in the role of Babs, is just wonderful.  Her scenes with Mr. Montgomery have a real feeling of truth.  We were especially impressed by the scene in which Wally visits her in her small flat.  Their interplay is excellent, and you come out of the scene sympathizing with both of them for different reasons.  Ms. Walker had a long career, in both television and theatre.  In 1926 (after making one short silent and one silent feature), she married writer/actor Geoffrey Kerr.  They had one child, actor John Kerr.  The marriage lasted until 1942, after which Ms. Walker made a few movies, but primarily appeared in television, working until 1960.   She also had a long career on Broadway, beginning in 1919, and working until 1958.  She appeared in 34 plays including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1926, as Lorelei Lee), Waterloo Bridge (1930, as Myrna), and The Middle of the Night (1956).  Ms. Walker died in 1966.   

Hedda Hopper is appealing in the small part of Matron Townsend, an experienced, no-nonsense nurse, who looks over both the male patients and her nurses (see this TCM article).  Robert Ames as Robin Neil is also good.  Ames died the year after this film was released.  A severe alcoholic, Ames was trying to recover, but it is suspected that his sudden withdrawal from alcohol resulted in his death (which was attributed to delirium tremens).

We were especially intrigued with ZaSu Pitts as Cushie (her work in the film is briefly noted in this New York Times review).  With her sad face and voice, Ms. Pitts sound career was frequently in comedies.  In the early 30s, she was often partnered with Thelma Todd, in what has often been referred to as Hal Roach's feminine version of Laurel and Hardy (like Stan and Ollie, Thelma and ZaSu also used their real names in these films).  During the silent era, Ms. Pitts received much deserved praise for her work in Greed (1921); in the sound era, a film to not miss is her performance in Ruggles of Red Gap (1935).  She worked steadily, easily moving into television in the 1940s (she was a regular on The Gale Storm Show - also known as Oh, Susanna); her last film was released after her death from cancer in 1963: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.  Ms. Pitts was also an author: she penned a book Candy Hits by ZaSu Pitts, which was published just after her death. Her unusual name was a combination of her two birth names EliZA SUsan (pronounced "Zay-soo").

Though a precode film, the characters of Joy and Robin are both punished for their sins (for more on the plot, and an interesting discussion, visit this Pre-code.com review).  For a modern audience, the lack of background music and special effects (a bombing sequence is very clearly backscreen projection), can be surprising.  Regardless, you are still seeing a grim picture of the war, without viewing a lot of blood and gore.  

We'll leave you with this clip from the film.  We highly recommend it.

Joan and Her Roommates

Our Blushing Brides (1930) introduces us to three roommates and colleagues in a local department store: Jerry March (Joan Crawford), a no-nonsense young woman, focused on her career, who doesn't have a whole lot of regard for men; Franky Daniels (Dorothy Sebastian), a lazy person, looking for a husband - any husband; and Connie Blair (Anita Page), a fairly naive girl who is deeply in love with the boss (David Jardine, played by Raymond Hackett), and who sees him as her ticket to a life of ease and happiness.

After a date with Marty Sanderson (John Miljan), Franky, in a drunken stupor, elopes with him.  It doesn't hurt that he appears to be quite wealthy.  Then, Connie moves into an apartment that David has rented for her - without benefit of marriage.  But Connie is sure they will wed, as soon as David convinces his father of their deep love.  Jerry meets Tony Jardine (Robert Montgomery), David's older brother, who woos her.  But when she realizes he is interested only in a quick visit to his bachelor pad treehouse (yes, you read that right - a treehouse), she walks out.

We were really impressed by the art design in this film.  The settings are attractive, but appropriate to each economic level.  The apartment Jerry shares with Connie and Franky is slightly more upscale than the one she ends up in when she is alone, and appropriately so.  But the designers still make the apartments places that young women would live, not just sets.  The one exception to this was Tony's treehouse - it is just much too large on the inside to fit the dimensions outside.  Perhaps Tony knows how to cast an Undetectable Extension Charm (a la Harry Potter). 
Jerry works in the store not only as a model, but as a salesperson.  One of our group recalled that her mother told her of a store practice in which salespeople did try on clothing for their preferred customers.  We felt that the film gave us a little insight into the business world of the 1930s.  The emphasis on  clothing in the film also provides a display of some lovely dresses of the period (all far more expensive than the average woman would be able to afford), but the fashion shows finally got a bit over the top.  In the last one,  it looked like they were channeling Busby Berkeley.

As always, Robert Montgomery is a pleasure to watch.  He makes Tony attractive, though he is not afraid to show him as a bit of a cad.  But he also allows us to see Tony grow as a person.   We found the male characters in general to be interesting. They run the gamut from coward to thief to someone who grows into a good guy. 

We were very impressed both with Joan Crawford, as well as with her character.   Jerry is a good person, very devoted and loyal to her friends. When she sees David in a movie theatre with his fiance, Evelyn Woodforth (Martha Sleeper), Jerry goes to Connie to be a support, but cannot bring herself to tell her of what she witnessed.  The beauty of this section is Crawford's reactions.  Without speaking a word, we see all the emotions running through her head - Crawford's silent film training is evident.  Jerry's loyalty to her friends is also admirable because of the obvious differences between her, Connie and Franky.  Quite honestly, Jerry is a lot smarter and more ambitious than either of them - Connie, especially comes across as a complete dolt.  Yet, Jerry sticks with them, even when their stupidity has gotten both of them into untenable situations.

We have a wealth of interesting performances here.  Hedda Hopper is back for a brief bit as Mrs. Weaver, a woman who is quite unpleasant.  We also have Edward Brophy as Joe Munsey for some  comic relief.  Brophy's long career extended from 1920 until 1961.  He died in 1960, at age 65, during production of his final film, Two Road Together. Anita Page also had an interesting career.  She appeared in many films from 1925 until 1936.  Then, after a long break, she appeared in a few more movies, first in 1961, then again in 1996.  She died in 2008, at age 98; her final film was released in 2010.  Dorothy Sebastian acted until 1948, dying in 1957 (age 53) after a long bout with cancer.

Interestingly, Crawford and Paige had already starred in the silent films Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and Our Modern Maidens (1929), MGM's "jazz age" trilogy (. Sebastian joined them in Our Modern Maidens.  This TCM article gives a bit more detail on the film and the trilogy.

The opening scene immediately places us into the world of the film, and introduces us to our heroines and their various personalities.  We see the girls clocking into work and listen to their discussions of their jobs and men.  Though the final scene in the film is a bit jarring in its abruptness, all in all, this is a well-paced film. We should mention, however, that the title is more ironic than a reflection of the story.
Before we go, here is an introduction to Jerry and Tony: