Florence Nightingale - A life for one's neighbor

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Movie
German title Florence Nightingale - A life for one's neighbor
Original title The Lady with a Lamp
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 1951
length 110 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Herbert Wilcox
script Warren Chetham Strode based
on the play by Reginald Berkeley
production Wilcox-Neagle
music Anthony Collins
and the New Symphony Orchestra
camera Mutz Greenbaum
cut Bill Lewthwaite
occupation

Historical figure Florence Nightingale around 1860

Florence Nightingale - A Life for the neighbor is an American black and white - feature film made in 1951 by Herbert Wilcox . The German first broadcast took place on November 26, 1961 and was shortened by over 20 minutes.

The story of the film describes the work of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War with Anna Neagle in the lead role and is a remake of The White Angel .

action

The young Florence Nightingale lives in England in the 1850s and comes from the so-called better society. Richard M. Milnes wants Florence to marry him, but she seeks a more meaningful role than just being a wife. She feels that God has chosen her to devote herself to nursing. Her family cannot understand this at all, because that is not what their circles are supposed to do. Women have their place in the family and not in the professional world. But Florence doesn't care, she prefers to take care of the sick people in town. Again and again she tries to explain to her family and their friends the disastrous conditions of medical care in the hospitals and that the use of female staff would be very helpful here. This is met with great contradiction because, in the opinion of those responsible, it would be too much of a temptation for the soldiers to meet their moral values.

But Florence doesn't want to continue living in luxury when she has to see so much suffering around her. She decides to go to Salisbury Hospital as a nurse, but unexpectedly she receives an offer from Minister Sidney Herbert to accept the post of matron in the "Hospital for Noble Ladies". She agrees with great joy and is doing her job there with great success. Her training as a nurse, during which she learned the importance of conscientious hygiene and strict discipline, is of great benefit to her.

In 1853 the Crimean War broke out, in which England joined forces with France in 1854. Due to negative war reports from the war reporters about the poor condition of the military hospital in Scutari (today Selimiye barracks in Üsküdar ), Sidney Herbert commissioned Florence Nightingale to find suitable nurses for this hospital. She was given permission to personally care for the wounded soldiers and so in October 1854 she traveled to the military hospital of Scutari, accompanied by 38 nurses and nuns whom she had personally chosen based on their suitability and ability. Once there, the doctor in charge is very hostile to her and so initially only simple cleaning and kitchen work remains for the women. As long as Florence Nightingale does not get permission from him to care for the sick, she is not allowed to intervene. After three days, she can no longer watch the wounded men bleeding to death just because the few doctors are unable to treat the wounded. The sisters are not even allowed to give the men water because it is not their job. Fortunately, a war reporter is currently in the house, to whom the doctor in charge speaks positively about the helpful support of the nurses. This breaks the spell and women can finally do the work for which they are trained. However, innumerable material resources such as shirts, beds, hot water bottles, towels, pillows, eating utensils and much more are missing. So she now has to mess with the quartermaster, who refuses to give her these materials because his war regulations do not allow it. So she turns directly to the English ambassador in Constantinople , but she has to learn that balls and amusements are more important to him than the well-being of the soldiers who fight for their country. The work suffers another setback when one of the younger sisters carelessly writes a letter to her aunt and reports very negatively about the conditions in the hospital. This even leads to Minister Sidney Herbert being removed from office in the British House of Commons. Florence Nightingale also becomes seriously ill, but is held in high regard by soldiers who have recovered from her self-sacrificing care. Although she is supposed to be brought back to England in order to be completely healthy, she refuses. How would it not go until the last soldier was also well?

With the end of the war and the approaching return of the nurses, the British Parliament is beginning to think about how to honor the work of Florence Nightingale. Despite their long resistance to their commitment, which was only enforced by Sidney Herbert, they have to recognize that Nightingale has already received the highest recognition from the British people and that her name is on everyone's lips. And so, on arrival by ship in Dover, they want to give her a reception that is in no way inferior to a queen. But Florence arrives secretly and all alone, without any fuss, at her family's home. She is despondent about the fact that things were going well in England, that men far from home had sacrificed their health and their lives. She cannot forget that “9,000 people died for reasons that could have been avoided.” Day and night she would hear her complaining and wailing. Nevertheless, she still has visions and dreams of reforms that secure better living conditions for soldiers in war and for the wounded. With the death of her only ally Sidney Herbert, she sees this goal in danger.

After 40 years of successful and pioneering work in general nursing in the form of publications, established nursing schools and hospitals, the now 90-year-old Nightingale Florence Nightingale receives the Royal Order of Merit presented to her by Sir Douglass Dawson on behalf of King Edward. Florence is the first woman to receive this award.

background

Florence Nightingale - A life for one's neighbor was based on the play The Lady with a Lamp by Reginald Berkeley .

According to tradition, Florence Nightingale visited the wounded soldiers in the hospital every evening and the sight of them with a lamp in hand became a symbol of hope and humanity:

A bright light in her hand
so they are known all over the country.
The champion of humanity,
of sweetness and mercy.

Reviews

“Herbert Wilcox turned the then very successful stage play about the founder of modern nursing into a sentimental vehicle for his wife Anna Neagle - a star in her home country at the time. The effective, but somewhat naively and romantically told film is nicely presented, has an excellent cast and can convince as a good entertainment film. "

Web links

Individual references and further comments

  1. ↑ Florence Nightingale - A life for one's neighbor at homepagemodules.de, accessed on December 15, 2016.