This film is part of Free
Life in Her Hands
Kathleen Byron - of Black Narcissus fame - stars in one of the most ambitious recruitment films ever made.
Overview
Your NHS Needs You. Specifically, if you're a woman you, yes you, should consider joining the nursing ranks. Even if (gasp) you're already in your mid-twenties. Enter Kathleen Byron, a great character actress best known for her role as an unhinged nun in Black Narcissus (1946). Byron’s the star of this amazingly ambitious recruitment film, an hour-long drama by the government's Crown Film Unit, distributed to cinemas as a 'B' feature film. Its target demographic in mind, it’s pitched as very much a 'women's picture'. Never far from soap suds, that's actually what makes it impressive. It has a real narrative arc, revealing that nursing's no picnic. A vocation demanding commitment, profoundly rewarding but not without cost. Enter with your eyes open.
No ordinary recruitment film, then. And then there's its sheer scale - and expense. The Crown Film Unit was controversially closed – largely on cost grounds – the year after this production, with the Central Office of Information thereafter commissioning independent production companies rather than in-house filmmakers.
Related
Riding on Air Riding on Air
Documentary 1959 16 mins Location: London
A beautiful and evocative survey of cycling's golden years.
The Fatal Floor The Fatal Floor
Public Information Filler 1974 1 mins
Typically hard-hitting public information film about the threat posed by combining a rug and a freshly polished floor.
Handkerchief Drill Handkerchief Drill
Public Information Filler 1949 1 mins
Another of Richard Massingham’s snappy public information fillers finds the oafish everyman’s personal hygiene in question again.
District Nurse District Nurse
Government sponsored film 1952 27 mins Location: Wadhurst
Never a dull moment for a rural district nurse in the early days of the NHS.
Race Relations Board Race Relations Board
Public Information Filler 1969 1 mins
New law targets discrimination in housing and employment in this eye-opening public information film.
The Smoking Machine The Smoking Machine
Documentary 1964 16 mins
Documentary warning children about the drawbacks of cigarettes – not least their addictiveness.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.