[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Fight for Life

  • 1940
  • Approved
  • 1h 9m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
98
YOUR RATING
Dudley Digges and Myron McCormick in The Fight for Life (1940)
DramaHistory

An intern witnesses the death of a young mother in a maternity hospital delivery room. Disturbed that he might have overlooked something that could have prevented the death, he goes to a mat... Read allAn intern witnesses the death of a young mother in a maternity hospital delivery room. Disturbed that he might have overlooked something that could have prevented the death, he goes to a maternity clinic in a city slum to learn more about the mortality of motherhood and to find n... Read allAn intern witnesses the death of a young mother in a maternity hospital delivery room. Disturbed that he might have overlooked something that could have prevented the death, he goes to a maternity clinic in a city slum to learn more about the mortality of motherhood and to find new ways to prevent it.

  • Director
    • Pare Lorentz
  • Writers
    • Pare Lorentz
    • Paul De Kruif
  • Stars
    • Myron McCormick
    • Storrs Haynes
    • Will Geer
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    98
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Pare Lorentz
    • Writers
      • Pare Lorentz
      • Paul De Kruif
    • Stars
      • Myron McCormick
      • Storrs Haynes
      • Will Geer
    • 2User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination total

    Photos3

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast8

    Edit
    Myron McCormick
    Myron McCormick
    • The Intern
    Storrs Haynes
    • The Teacher
    Will Geer
    Will Geer
    • Second Teacher
    Dudley Digges
    Dudley Digges
    • Head Doctor
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • The Young Woman
    Dorothy Urban
    • The Grandmother
    Effie Anderson
    • The Receptionist
    Woody Guthrie
    Woody Guthrie
    • Citizen
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Pare Lorentz
    • Writers
      • Pare Lorentz
      • Paul De Kruif
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    5.498
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    Mozjoukine

    Curious mix of fact and fiction from the most respected US documentary film maker.

    Pare (`The Plow That Broke the Plain') Lorentz' try to break into Hollywood is unsatisfactory both as the medical training film that they seemed to think they were making and as drama. It stops half way through - presumably to make it a suitable length for a short and then starts up again with another home birth.

    It is still interesting to watch all this talent stretching themselves - McCormick, later in `The Hustler', Crosby who filmed De Kruif's `Arrowsmith' and `High Noon' - not to mention the B movies of Maury Dexter and Roger Corman and Gruenberg who scored `All the Kings Men.'

    A lot of the playing is stilted, even by skilled performers like Digges, and the film loses all credibility with its bloodless natal deliveries but the seriousness of purpose of the makers registers and their filming of the Chicago slums remains graphic and alarming.

    Suzanne Davenport's 1977 "Chicago Maternity Hospital" gets stuck into this one mainly for it's not crediting female medicos with the achievement - other times, other customs!

    More like this

    Women in War
    5.8
    Women in War
    Typhoon
    5.6
    Typhoon

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      As revealed in "Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie" by Ed Cray, singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie had a small acting role in this movie, thanks to his friend Will Geer, who's also in it.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 7, 1940 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Chicago Maternity Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Production company
      • United States Film Service
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 9m(69 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.