Nurse Edith Cavell

This is a shocking account of war directly from reality, telling the story of the indefatigable effort of a nurse to work against it, by simply nursing wounded soldiers and helping them back to life - and to go on fighting. For that she is ultimately prosecuted by the Germans and promptly executed, despite the fact that she is a woman and a nurse at that, who has saved many lives and only worked idealistically for humanitarianism. It is also the story of other brave women who assisted her, like Dame Edna May Oliver in one of her formidable roles, and her fellow nurses, who never gave up on her. The film is upsetting but overwhelming in its uncompromising realism and deals a definite stamp of inhumanity on the always absurd business of any war, that never in any circumstances made any sense.

Deeply moving dramatisation of the heroism of the English nurse Edith Cavell and her Belgian supporters, who smuggled about 200 Allied soldiers and airmen out of German-occupied Belgium until she was caught, tried and on 12 October 1915 shot at dawn. Notable for the immense restraint and dignity shown by Anna Neagle in the title role, caring equally for wounded German troops and completely unafraid of blustering German officers. A devout Anglican, above her duty to her country she placed the overriding duty of saving life.

Diplomats at the Brussels embassy of the neutral USA made huge efforts to save her life once captured but the Germans were implacable. After the war, her disinterred remains were given a state funeral in Westminster Abbey and then reburied at Norwich Cathedral. This film came out as sacrifices were again being asked from English women, while the USA watched Belgium being crushed a second time by an even more vicious German regime.

It has been over 100 years since the Germans murdered Edith Cavell but every time I see this film I still get angry that this really happened. Despite being British she wasn't interned during the war but continued to work as a nurse caring for all nationalities. Despite this she was tried for treason whilst being a British citizen and not German then executed. The Americans tried to stop it, just not hard enough.

A moving story highlighting one of many atrocities undertaken by the then German army who murdered thousands of Belgian and French civilians for no good reason. A warning of things to come and could again if we are not careful.

Anna Negale was well known for playing historical figures and despite being some 15 years younger than Cavell puts in a fine performance. Also a mention for George Sanders as the stiff Prussian officer tasked with bringing Cavell and her organisation down.

Previous reviewers have complained about the quality, well if you didn't know it has been beautifully remastered, Talking Pictures have shown it recently and it is also available on DVD

Beautifully shot (if you find decent print) and reasonably accurate - unlike Cinderella Man, Quills, Hurricane and other despicable "biography" junk. What is the most surprising that the story is not "sexed up": the main heroes are mostly middle-aged or elderly women - Edna May Olivier as the Countess steals the whole show!

If you're savvy enough during the opening credits, when the producers thank the family and assistants of the real Nurse Cavell for helping with the historical records, you can figure out how this movie ends. It really kills all suspense, and I wish the thank-you note had been included at the end.

Because I was able to guess how it all turned out, there was zero suspense during what was supposed to be a tense war drama. The story followed the title character as she worked in a hospital in Brussels during German occupation in WWI. Because of one personal connection to a young soldier, she helps the boy sneak out of the country when he escapes from a POW camp and returns home for shelter. With the help of her friends, May Robson, Edna May Oliver, and Zazu Pitts, she successfully saves the boy's life right under German soldiers' noses.

One leads to another, and soon the four women have an underground operation. Anna Neagle stars as the famed nurse, but her energy is extremely low, and her unenthusiastic whispered delivery of each line made it very hard to get involved in her character or her plight. She was so unlikable, I found myself not really caring whether she'd get caught or not. She didn't seem to care either - either that, or she had a fresh Botox injection on her forehead and was unable to make any expressions.

I was looking forward to the supporting cast, which is why I rented it. But the only one among them who was given anything to do was George Sanders, who played a German officer. His accent was very good, but hardly made the movie worth watching. Try Edge of Darkness for a truly exciting underground operation.