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Night Nurse

Play trailer Poster for Night Nurse Released Aug 8, 1931 1h 12m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Live-in nurse Lora Hart (Barbara Stanwyck) is sent to care for two ailing young children. As the health of her patients gets progressively worse, she begins to question the methods of the children's doctor. Eventually, Lora finds irrefutable evidence linking the doctor to a plot to murder the children. Unfortunately, it's the young nurse's word against the doctor's, and no one believes Lora. But she does have one ally -- a hardened criminal named Mortie (Ben Lyon) who owes Lora his life.
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Night Nurse

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Ada Hanifin San Francisco Examiner The story sustains interest and suspense as it mounts in dramatic strength and cumulative action. Jul 7, 2021 Full Review Harry Mines Illustrated Daily News (Los Angeles) Unusual in that It combines wise-cracking farce with harrowing melodrama, it is a distinct triumph for Director William Wellman, one of the finest in the business, who shows his master hand with this Dora Macy yarn. Jul 7, 2021 Full Review Simone de Rochefort Polygon It sounds heavy on paper, but Night Nurse is a high-drama, high-fun pre-Code romp. May 25, 2021 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a disappointing misfire. Rated: 2/4 Jan 13, 2021 Full Review John Beifuss Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) The moral ambiguity more than the exposed skin and spilled booze is what stamps 'Night Nurse' as a definitive pre-code masterwork. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 20, 2014 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion A rough-hewn marvel Apr 12, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D Powerful and beautifully acted. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/03/23 Full Review Robert O The plot made little sense but Barbara and Joan were terrific. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/24/23 Full Review Audience Member I love Barbara Stanwyck, but this one shoots for the middle and achieves it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member This one is definitely a guilty pleasure. It has to be. There are so many moments of obvious exploitation of young actresses Barbara Stanwyck (24 years old) and Joan Blondell (25), and they're all done in an amateurish way by director William A. Wellman, that you may find yourself chuckling at how over-the-top this pre-Code film is. We see Stanwyck undress to put on her new nurse's uniform, while Blondell eyes her up and down, and later takes off her garter for her. We see the two of them return from a night of carousing, and while getting undressed for bed, with Blondell's backside takes center stage. We see Blondell slipping on a uniform for surgery with the help of an assistant. And we see Stanwyck changing into her uniform, again while Blondell looks on admiringly. That's four underwear scenes, and all in the first 30 minutes! The movie does settle in to a plot, with the pair tending to a couple of trust fund babies who are being starved to death by none other than Clark Gable, who is quite sinister. In one scene Gable even knocks Stanwyck out, as Wellman dishes up a side of violence to go with the sex. As it plays out, it's all pretty ridiculous, but the star power of the film is hard to resist. I adore Stanwyck and Blondell, so confess this is not an unbiased review! I loved the chemistry Stanwyck had with Ben Lyon, the bootlegger she befriended on the job, and Blondell is a firecracker in every scene she's in. I found myself torn between being mesmerized by them and hooting over the movie's silliness, including an ending that was comically abrupt. Despite all that, it's probably must-see for anyone who likes pre-Code films, simply for how over the line the filmmakers wanted to take it, and with three superstars early in their film careers. It was certainly entertaining. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member a excellent 1931 pre code forbidden Hollywood Barbara Stanwyck plays a caring nurse during prohibition dealing with alocohol and crime. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A good example of pre-code Hollywood. Barbara Stanwyck gives a strong performance. Clark Gable in an early dark role. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Night Nurse

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Movie Info

Synopsis Live-in nurse Lora Hart (Barbara Stanwyck) is sent to care for two ailing young children. As the health of her patients gets progressively worse, she begins to question the methods of the children's doctor. Eventually, Lora finds irrefutable evidence linking the doctor to a plot to murder the children. Unfortunately, it's the young nurse's word against the doctor's, and no one believes Lora. But she does have one ally -- a hardened criminal named Mortie (Ben Lyon) who owes Lora his life.
Director
William A. Wellman
Screenwriter
Grace Perkins, Oliver H.P. Garrett, Charles Kenyon
Distributor
MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Warner Bros., The Vitaphone Corporation
Production Co
Warner Brothers
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 8, 1931, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 21, 2016
Runtime
1h 12m
Sound Mix
Mono
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