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.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.