Sister Kenny

In 1963 (when I was 17), my parents took me and my younger sister on a summer holiday to Whitby a coastal town in Yorkshire, UK.We stayed at a hotel there which showed this film as entertainment for the guests.I never forgot it nor the performance of Rosalind Russell which I regard as her best film and better than "His Girl Friday" with Cary Grant since it deals with a real person and real events, always more convincing in my book than mere fiction.She was well supported by actor Alexander Knox who played an orthopedic surgeon, friend and colleague and known to me as the surgeon "Mr Joyce" in the 1956 film "Reach for the Sky", who operates on the broken legs of Douglas Bader.I would have liked 20th Century Fox to have employed more Australian character actors but as there were few in Hollywood in 1946 and as Americans seem to have a hard time doing the Australian accent and as many were being demobbed in 1946, this is understandable.Other reviewers have described the screenplay and basic biography of Elizabeth Kenny satisfactorily, so I won't reiterate it.I awarded this film 8/10 and am grateful to Youtube for uploading it.

Rosalind Russell is "Sister Kenny" in this 1946 film also starring Alexander Knox, Dean Jagger, and Philip Merrivale. It's the romanticized story of Australian Sister Kenny, a "bush nurse" who developed an alternative treatment for polio that was met with great controversy from the medical profession, even though it worked.

The film chronicles the personal sacrifices Kenny made, giving up a chance at marriage, in order to help the children she encountered with polio and to try to convince the medical profession that her treatment was viable.

Rosalind Russell, whose nephew was helped by the Kenny Method, plays Sister Kenny, and she's wonderful. She ages during the film, but it's more than gray hair and some shadows drawn on the face - the age is in her walk, her attitude, and her carriage. A fantastic job that earned her an Oscar nomination.

Actor Alan Alda, opera star Marjorie Lawrence, and "Li'l Abner" creator Al Capp all were treated with the Kenny Method. Though the medical profession attempts to blow off alternative treatments, I've seen them work. This film is a reminder of the wall they put up, and one person's determination to break through it.

"Sister Kenny" (RKO Radio, 1946), directed by Dudley Nichols, stars Rosalind Russell in a respectful biography of Elizabeth Kenny (1886-1952), a Australian nurse who fought her entire life to bring her own methods of treating polio victims to international acceptance. For her performance as Sister Kenny (The title "Sister," which is often associated with that of a nun, is an Australian term for "Nurse"), Rosalind Russell, was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress, and a worthy award, but lost to Olivia De Havilland in "To Each His Own" (Paramount, 1946).

The story, which runs almost two hours, opens with Elizabeth Kenny graduated to nurse, traveling to the Aussie where she encounters the ravages of infantile paralysis. She becomes so involved with her efforts to ease the pain of the children who have become polio sufferers that she finds little time for romance with Kevin Connors (Dean Jaggers). Sister Kenny develops a system of therapy based upon the maintenance of a bright mental outlook, to continue her effort to move apparently paralyzed muscles, continuous hot packs to the affected muscles, and the abandonment of all splints. While one of the most respected doctors in the medical profession, Dr. Brack (Philip Merivale), criticizes and ridicules Kenny's supposed unorthodox methods, it is Doctor Aeneas McDonnell (Alexander Knox), a Scottish physician, who believes in her ideas, but gets into trouble with the medical superiors.

In the supporting cast are Beulah Bondi as Mary Kenny; Charles Dingle as Michael Kenny; Doreen McCann as Dorrie, the little girl suffering from polio (muscle spasms) who becomes Kenny's first curable patient; among others. But it is Rosalind Russell, who has left a legacy in her career as "Auntie Mame" on both stage and screen, giving a standout performance covering a 40-year period in the life of Sister Kenny. One of the highlights in the story includes the now middle-aged Kenny's heated encounter with the inflexible Dr. Brack in the operating room in front of stadium of observing medical students, fighting for her rights to continue her own methods of treating children with polio. In spite of everything, nothing stops Sister Kenny, who gets to set up her own medical institute in Minnesota.

While not as famous as some of the 1930s bio-pics, including "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (1936) with Paul Muni, "Sister Kenny" is worth viewing not only as a history lesson but a look at the true story of one woman's struggle in proving her theory over what she believes to be wrongly treated by the medical profession, and standing up against them. In as much that it's quite obvious that the screenwriters rearranged portions of Kenny's life to give it a satisfying story, it avoids the usual clichés found in some other biographical dramas, with the final results being quite satisfactory. Another plus to the story are the authentic use of sets and costumes worn in the period for which the story takes place.

"Sister Kenny" is sadly an overlooked gem that is worthy of rediscovery. It's available on video cassette and DVD, formerly presented on American Movie Classics prior to 2001, currently on Turner Classic Movies. (***1/2)

This fine movie has a very inspirational message and Rosalind Russell's strong performance delivers it. Based on a true story, Sister Kenny never wavers from her conviction about the amazing treatment she has discovered for helping polio sufferers. This film should be considered a classic and a must see for the encouragement of dedication towards a worthy cause, as this story delivers so strongly. Rosalind Russell was a perfect choice to play the strong-willed nurse with an important mission. Philip Merivale is equally good as the stubborn nemesis Dr.Brack, whom Sister Kenny must continually battle against his cynicism of her treatments. Presented well, this film does not mire down in sentimentality, but rather, proceeds at an entertaining pace, sufficiently delivering an uplifting story. I found this to be an enjoyable and worthwhile movie that has stood the test of time.

This movie was most interesting to find and watch. At the age of three I had polio and received the Sister Kenny treatment in Minnesota during an epidemic. The results were as dramatic as the movie portrays. After one month in the hospital I walked out and without braces. My ability to speak clearly returned slowly but completely and my legs remained normal except for extreme exercise which would result in intense pain only relieved by wet heat and massage- that too eventually faded away especially after discovering the benefits of calcium and magnesium for the nerves and muscles.

The film was interesting and a commentary on medical protectionism that has merit as a present day commentary regarding alternative medicine. The US government also issued a commemorative stamp in Sister Kenny's honor. It really did deserve the Golden Globe award for Rosalind Russell's acting.