Private Nurse (1941)

60-61 mins | Drama | 22 August 1941

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HISTORY

According to a HR news item, Private Nurse was one of the first films to implement a plan announced by Twentieth Century-Fox that would give "considerably stronger casts to its lower budget productions than heretofore." The news item also noted that "not only are stronger top names to head the casts, but the lesser roles are to be filled with better players than previously." According to another HR news item, writer Samuel G. Engel was assigned to prepare a sequel to Private Nurse. Although it is not known if the screenplay was completed, a sequel was not produced. ...

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According to a HR news item, Private Nurse was one of the first films to implement a plan announced by Twentieth Century-Fox that would give "considerably stronger casts to its lower budget productions than heretofore." The news item also noted that "not only are stronger top names to head the casts, but the lesser roles are to be filled with better players than previously." According to another HR news item, writer Samuel G. Engel was assigned to prepare a sequel to Private Nurse. Although it is not known if the screenplay was completed, a sequel was not produced.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
26 Jul 1941
---
Daily Variety
24 Jul 1941
---
Film Daily
25 Jul 1941
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
2 Apr 1941
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
18 May 1941
p. 5
Hollywood Reporter
1 May 1941
p. 1
Hollywood Reporter
2 May 1941
p. 15
Hollywood Reporter
16 May 1941
p. 7
Hollywood Reporter
27 May 1941
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
24 Jul 1941
p. 3
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
26 Jul 1941
p. 197
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
6 Sep 1941
p. 251
New York Times
29 Aug 1941
p. 13
Variety
30 Jul 1941
p. 18
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCER
Exec prod
WRITER
Orig scr, Orig scr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Virgil Miller
Dir of photog
ART DIRECTORS
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Al De Gaetano
Film ed
SET DECORATOR
Set dec
COSTUMES
Cost
MUSIC
Mus dir
PRODUCTION MISC
Pub dir
STAND INS
Stand-in for Brenda Joyce
DETAILS
Release Date:
22 August 1941
Production Date:
1 May--23 May 1941
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
22 August 1941
LP10791
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
60-61
Length(in feet):
5,450 , 5,493
Length(in reels):
6
Country:
United States
PCA No:
7277
SYNOPSIS

After she travels to New York City to marry her childhood sweetheart, nurse Mary Malloy is stood up at the marriage license bureau. Desperate to find a job, Mary goes to the Lexington Nurse's Registery, but the manager, Miss Phillips, warns her that it will be several weeks before she can place her. As Mary is leaving, however, she hears a call come in from Smitty, butler to drunken playboy Henry Hoyt. A message is left for Miss Adams, one of the senior nurses, but Mary, believing that she can get there first, goes to Henry's apartment. Henry and his friends confound Mary, but Adams arrives and, after hearing Mary's story, helps her with the case. They soon get rid of Henry's guests and put him to bed, then Mary accompanies Adams to her rooms. Adams takes Mary under her wing, allowing her to stay with her and accompany her on jobs. Mary is forced to gently repulse the attentions of Henry, who continually sends her flowers and presents. One afternoon, one of Adams' neighbors, Eddie the chauffeur, calls Mary down to his car, where his boss's daughter, young Barbara Winton, lies injured. Mary and Eddie take the child home, where a doctor ascertains that she has a badly fractured leg. Barbara's father, businessman John Winton, comes home and is horrified to learn that his daugther is injured. Winton, whose life revolves around his daughter, allows Mary to stay when he sees how well Barbara responds to her. Mary learns from Barbara that her mother is dead, and then is warned by Winton never to speak to the child about ...

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After she travels to New York City to marry her childhood sweetheart, nurse Mary Malloy is stood up at the marriage license bureau. Desperate to find a job, Mary goes to the Lexington Nurse's Registery, but the manager, Miss Phillips, warns her that it will be several weeks before she can place her. As Mary is leaving, however, she hears a call come in from Smitty, butler to drunken playboy Henry Hoyt. A message is left for Miss Adams, one of the senior nurses, but Mary, believing that she can get there first, goes to Henry's apartment. Henry and his friends confound Mary, but Adams arrives and, after hearing Mary's story, helps her with the case. They soon get rid of Henry's guests and put him to bed, then Mary accompanies Adams to her rooms. Adams takes Mary under her wing, allowing her to stay with her and accompany her on jobs. Mary is forced to gently repulse the attentions of Henry, who continually sends her flowers and presents. One afternoon, one of Adams' neighbors, Eddie the chauffeur, calls Mary down to his car, where his boss's daughter, young Barbara Winton, lies injured. Mary and Eddie take the child home, where a doctor ascertains that she has a badly fractured leg. Barbara's father, businessman John Winton, comes home and is horrified to learn that his daugther is injured. Winton, whose life revolves around his daughter, allows Mary to stay when he sees how well Barbara responds to her. Mary learns from Barbara that her mother is dead, and then is warned by Winton never to speak to the child about her mother. Mary sends for Adams to help care for Barbara, and all goes well until Henry sends Mary more flowers. When Winton sees the box, which is from Helene's Flower Shop, he reacts strangely and orders Mary to stop the deliveries. When Mary explains the situation to Henry, he tells her that Winton was a notorious bootlegger and racketeer during Prohibition, but that he went straight for Barbara's sake. Henry then phones the florist to cancel his standing order, and shop owner Helene, who is actually Barbara's mother, learns about the child's injury. The worried Helene calls Mary, who agrees to meet her the next evening. Mary goes to the flower shop, where Helene explains the circumstances of her divorce from Winton, whose influence resulted in his gaining sole custody of Barbara. Soon after, Barbara is walking with the aid of crutches and decides to throw a birthday party for Adams. While she and Mary are shopping for party supplies, Barbara insists on going to Helene's flower shop because of the pretty flowers Mary received from Henry. Helene is overwhelmed to see her child, but valiantly keeps her identity a secret. When they return to the house though, Barbara tells Winton which flower shop they visited. Believing that Mary and Adams deliberately disobeyed his orders, Winton fires them and orders them out, but not before they tell him that he is wrong to separate a mother and child. Barbara overhears the argument, and her brokenhearted sobs convince Winton that he has made a mistake. He promises to ask Helene to remarry him, and Mary and Adams, happy that Barbara will soon have a normal home life, answer another call from Smitty.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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