''Dawn'' is a 1928 British silent

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wif ...

and starring Sybil Thorndike, Gordon Craig, and

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

. It was produced by Wilcox for his

British & Dominions Film Corporation Imperial Studios were the studios of the British and Dominions Film Corporation, a short-lived British film production company located at Imperial Place, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The studios (one of several facilities historica ...

. The film was made at

Cricklewood Studios Cricklewood Studios, also known as the Stoll Film Studios, were British film studios located in Cricklewood, London which operated from 1920 to 1938. Run by Sir Oswald Stoll as the principal base for his newly formed Stoll Pictures, which als ...

with sets designed by

Clifford Pember Clifford Fanshawe Pember (1881–1955) was a British art director notable for his set designs in British cinema and theatre. Pember worked on films during the late silent and early sound eras. Pember originally trained as an architect. In 1928 ...

. Based on a play by

Reginald Berkeley Reginald Cheyne Berkeley (18 August 1890 – 30 March 1935) was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom, and later a writer of stage plays, then a screenwriter in Hollywood. He had trained as a lawyer. He died in Los Angeles from pneumo ...

, this film tells the story of World War I martyr

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...

. Sybil Thorndike stars as Cavell, a nurse who risked her own life by rescuing British Prisoners of War from the Germans. When Cavell was captured and sentenced to be executed, it sparked international outrage, even from neutral nations.

Production

Herbert Wilcox had just made '' Mumsie'' (1927), starring

Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...

. Wilcox wanted to make another film with Frederick and suggested Noël Coward's ''

The Vortex ''The Vortex'' is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her troubled relationship with her adult son, and drug abuse in British society circles after the ...

'' but Frederick disliked the role. Wilcox then saw the statue of Edith Cavell in London and decided to make a film of her life. Frederick was enthusiastic at first but dropped out. Some claimed it was because there was an outcry at the thought of an American playing Cavell. Wilcox claims Frederick was scared off after the German ambassador said that Germany would boycott her films. She was replaced with Sybil Thorndike. Filming proved difficult.

Censorship

One of the most controversial British films of the 1920s, Dawn was censored because of what objectors considered its brutal depiction of warfare and

anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began wit ...

. Pressure was exerted by both the German Ambassador and the British Foreign Secretary

Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly ...

to prevent the film being passed for exhibition. Edith Cavell's sister criticised the film saying it would promote hate. However,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

praised the film. When eventually released, the film was a big success. Wilcox returned to the subject in 1939 with ''

Nurse Edith Cavell ''Nurse Edith Cavell'' is a 1939 American film directed by British director Herbert Wilcox about Edith Cavell. The film was nominated at the 12th Academy Awards, 1939 Oscars for Academy Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Score. Plot ...

'' starring

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

Cast

* Sybil Thorndike – Nurse Edith Cavell * Ada Bodart – Herself * Gordon Craig – Philippe Bodart *

– Mme. Rappard *

Mickey Brantford Mickey Brantford (26 March 1911 – 18 October 1984) was an English actor and film production manager . Mickey Brantford was born Michael Richard Henry Comerford into a theatrical family, in London. He began his career in the silent film era as ...

– Jacques Rappard *

Mary Brough Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

– Mme. Pitou * Richard Worth – Jean Pitou – Bargekeeper * Colin Bell – Widow Deveaux * Dacia Deane – Mme. Deveaux's Daughter * Cecil Barry – Col. Schultz *

Frank Perfitt Frank James Robert Perfitt (1880 – 1958) was a British film actor, born in Norwich, Norfolk in 1880. He died in Surrey in 1958. Selected filmography * '' The Flying Fifty-Five'' (1924) * '' Love and Hate'' (1924) * ''The Sins Ye Do'' (1924) * ...

– Gen. von Zauberzweig *

Haddon Mason Haddon Mason (21 February 1898 – 30 April 1966) was a British film actor. Selected filmography * ''Every Mother's Son'' (1926) * ''Dawn'' (1928) * '' The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1928) * ''The Lady of the Lake'' (1928) * '' The Woma ...

– German A.P.M. *

Maurice Braddell Maurice Lee Braddell (23 November 1900 – 28 July 1990) was an English actor, author and art restorer. Maurice Braddell was born in Folkestone, Kent, England, and lived in New York City for much of his life. He was the son of Sir Thomas Bradde ...

– British Airman * Edward O'Neill – Lutheran Priest * Griffith Humphreys – President of the Court Martial *

Edward Sorley Edward Sorley (1871 – 16 October 1933) was a British actor. Sorley was born in Camberwell, Surrey and died at age 62 in Blackheath, London. Selected filmography * '' Queen's Evidence'' (1919) * ''The Temptress'' (1920) * '' The Sword of D ...

– German Soldier

References

External links

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918–1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. {{Herbert Wilcox 1928 films 1920s war drama films British war drama films British silent feature films British black-and-white films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox World War I films based on actual events Films set in the 1910s Films set in Belgium Films shot at Cricklewood Studios Films about capital punishment British and Dominions Studios films 1928 drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films Silent drama films Silent war films