Florence Nightingale (1915 film)

Florence Nightingale (1915) is a British biographical film about the nurse of the same name. It tells the story of her life with a focus on her efforts to improve the care of wounded British soldiers during the Crimean War. It was marketed as a patriotic war film and well-reviewed in the contemporary press. The film is now lost.

The film has been lost.^[1] A synopsis was published in the Kinematograph Weekly, a trade magazine, in 1915. A girl is born in Florence, Italy in 1820 and named Florence Nightingale after her birthplace. As a child, she plays at being a nurse and bandages a broken doll. She grows into a young woman who helps others; assisting the poor and treating a sick dog. Nightingale has a comfortable lifestyle but, unlike her friends, is troubled by the suffering of other people. She rejects offers of marriage and convinces her parents to allow her to train as a nurse with the Sisters of Mercy in Paris. She returns to London after her training and explains her desire to become a nurse to the Secretary of State for War. He initially disapproves but is persuaded to find Nightingale a job managing a hospital in Harley Street.^[2]

Following the outbreak of the Crimean War, wounded British soldiers suffer from poor medical treatment. Nightingale convinces the sceptical War Office to allow her to travel with a group of nurses to Scutari to improve conditions in the British military hospital there. She finds that the hospital is poorly furnished and overcrowded. The surgeons are reluctant to accept women's presence in the hospital but Nightingale persuades them to take her advice. She and her nurses work quickly to improve conditions in the hospital. She gains the affection of the wounded men but enforces a rule against sexual relationships between nurses and soldiers. Nightingale travels to another hospital in Crimea where she discovers a nurse has a lover among the patients. She dismisses the woman and takes on her work. Nightingale falls ill with "Crimean flu" and is helped by the soldiers and nurses; she survives but never fully recovers.^[3]

After returning home, Nightingale persuades the government to conduct a Royal Commission into the conditions of soldiers. She is regularly visited by admirers and continues charity work. In her old age she receives an honour from Edward VII. The film ends with her death.^[4]

Florence Nightingale was an English nurse who became famous during the Crimean War for improving conditions in British military hospitals. Her fame continued throughout her lifetime and after her death in 1910.^[5]

The film was based on a biography of Florence Nightingale by Edward Cook.^[1] It was a silent, feature-length production made in the United Kingdom by British and Colonial Films.^[1][6] It starred Elisabeth Risdon as the titular character^[1] and was directed by Maurice Elvey.^[7]

The film was released in 1915. It was marketed as factual and promotional materials linked Nightingale's activities to the context of the First World War.^[1] The government was not using film for domestic propaganda purposes in the early part of the war but the film industry's magazines were strongly supportive of the war effort.^[8] An advertisement in the Kinematograph Weekly, intended to persuade cinemas to order the film, commented that it "Traces with simplicity and power the thrilling life of one of the noblest women in English story. It draws tears and cheers, and makes us proud of our English woman kind."^[9] An advertisement in the Galway Express described it as "A True Story of a Noble Woman, showing you really what a woman can do, especially during the present crisis of warfare."^[10] An advertisement in the Morpeth Herald marketed the film to a young audience, stating that "All Children should see this wonderful War Picture". It elaborated that each child viewer would be given a free orange and that competitions where children could win prizes would be held.^[11]

A positive review of the film appeared in the trade magazine, The Bioscope, it began by emphasising that the film was timely and beneficial to Britain's war effort. It also praised the film's technical merits; "the costumes of the early and mid-Victorians add greatly to the pictorial aspect of the subject. Some of the scenes in the hospital at Scutari, show very striking effects of light and shade." The review commented that the lead actor, Elizabeth Risdon, gave "a highly meritorious performance" but that her acting could have been better in some of the earlier scenes. It concluded that the film was of "undeniable interest and cannot fail to be received with universal favour".^[12] The Fife Free Press, a local newspaper, was also complimentary, stating "Mr Farquhar [a local cinema owner] has booked another great picture of historical fame ... This magnificent film detailing the life and work of the Lady of the Lamp gives a splendid picture history of the stirring and eventful war in the Crimea ... Full of war's excitement and pathos, 'Florence Nightingale' occupies a place which ought to appeal to all, especially at the present time."^[13] A 1915 review in an American trade magazine, Variety, praised the film, commenting "It was a fine idea to place before the general public the life of that wonderful woman whose name will go down to history as one of the greatest humanitarians who ever lived ... This beautiful film with so pure a subject would make a welcome addition to any picture program." However, it criticised the film for not mentioning the Red Cross, or Nightingale's pet parrot "which died the day she left it behind".^[6]

The film was discussed in a 1987 academic paper on depictions of Florence Nightingale in the media. The article comments that the film depicted Nightingale as a heroic figure and focused on her desire to help others. It suggests that the film reinforced Nightingale's prominence in collective memory and may have helped to persuade certain young women to volunteer for the British Red Cross.^[1] A 2006 biography of Maurice Elvey commented that Florence Nightingale was one of a group of biographical films he made at around the same time which "reveal a Janus-faced director, working firmly in a tradition of Victorian hagiography, but clearly searching for contemporary relevance. They show some startlingly modern touches of associative editing and a facility for location and crowd scenes."^[7]

• Florence Nightingale at IMDb