To all fans of British horror actor Peter Cushing....this was one of the handful of movies he made while working in Hollywood in the late thirties to very early forties. When WWII broke out he returned to England as many British did in Hollywood during this period. Durring his brief stay here he worked with an impressive assemble of talent. for example:
James Wale,Louis Hayward,Carol Lombard,Laurel and Hardy,George Stevens, Miles Mander,Tim Holt,Cary Grant!,Mae Clarke,Patric Knowles and Albert Decker just to name a few.
In 'Vigil" Cushing plays a supporting role of a hapless small town loser who is in love with Carol Lombard, but its an unrequited love for Carol has thoughts only of her sister's nursing career, and later of handsome Dr Brian Aherene. She turns the whiny Joe Shand (CUSHING) down in a pretty condescending manner, when he proposes marriage to her after she takes the rap for her sister's (Anne Shirley) malpractice death of a Small child who's welfare she had been trusted with. Shirley is seen stuffing her face with tea and crumpets as we cross cut to the child choking to death on his own phlem! Then instead of trying to make some attempt at resuscitating the child she panics and runs out of the hospital to look for her big sister in the nurses dorm to help her beat the rap.
Director George Stevens keeps the movie from falling into a melodramatic soap opera which it would have in less skilled hands. The film is a bit dated, but actually keeps you interested throughout. Its an RKO release so it turns up once in a while on Turner classic movies channel, and is well worth catching or taping if you are a collector of Cushing's films. It should also be of passing interest to fans of director George Stevens and fans of nurse films. RECOMMENDED.
James Wale,Louis Hayward,Carol Lombard,Laurel and Hardy,George Stevens, Miles Mander,Tim Holt,Cary Grant!,Mae Clarke,Patric Knowles and Albert Decker just to name a few.
In 'Vigil" Cushing plays a supporting role of a hapless small town loser who is in love with Carol Lombard, but its an unrequited love for Carol has thoughts only of her sister's nursing career, and later of handsome Dr Brian Aherene. She turns the whiny Joe Shand (CUSHING) down in a pretty condescending manner, when he proposes marriage to her after she takes the rap for her sister's (Anne Shirley) malpractice death of a Small child who's welfare she had been trusted with. Shirley is seen stuffing her face with tea and crumpets as we cross cut to the child choking to death on his own phlem! Then instead of trying to make some attempt at resuscitating the child she panics and runs out of the hospital to look for her big sister in the nurses dorm to help her beat the rap.
Director George Stevens keeps the movie from falling into a melodramatic soap opera which it would have in less skilled hands. The film is a bit dated, but actually keeps you interested throughout. Its an RKO release so it turns up once in a while on Turner classic movies channel, and is well worth catching or taping if you are a collector of Cushing's films. It should also be of passing interest to fans of director George Stevens and fans of nurse films. RECOMMENDED.