Dawn

Controversial true story about a First World War nurse who risked her life to save others.

Dame Sybil Thorndyke stars as nurse Edith Cavell in this controversial telling of her true story. Working as a nurse in German-occupied Belgium during WWI, Cavell helps a deserter to escape. She realizes that many soldiers need her help to flee and proceeds to assist them, despite grave risk to herself. Thorndyke delivers a terrific performance as the Norwich-born nurse who became one of the Great War's most controversial martyrs, alongside a cast including Madame Bodart, one of the women who actually assisted Cavell in Belgium in 1915.

Refused a certificate when originally submitted to the British censor, Dawn was eventually released in 1929. It was remade by the director 10 years later as the Oscar-nominated Nurse Edith Cavell, starring Anna Neagle.