This film is part of Free
Dawn
Controversial true story about a First World War nurse who risked her life to save others.
Overview
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.
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