''The Girl in White'' is a 1952 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963 ...

and starring

June Allyson June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She sign ...

, Arthur Kennedy and

Mildred Dunnock Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award: first ''Death of a Salesman'' in 1951, then '' Baby Doll'' in 1956. Early life Born in Baltimor ...

. It is based on the memoirs of the pioneering female surgeon

Emily Dunning Barringer Emily Dunning Barringer (September 27, 1876 - April 8, 1961) was the world's first female ambulance surgeon and the first woman to secure a surgical residency.Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Fellow student Ben Barringer is one of the few there who encourage Emily, and they also fall in love. Ben plans to continue his education at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, but upsets Emily by asking her to abandon her studies and accompany him. Emily instead moves to New York, where she and Dr. Yeomans share an apartment. Hospitals deny her an internship until a reluctant Dr. Seth Pawling is persuaded to accept her, although he confines her mainly to ambulance duty. Ben, it turns out, has become an intern at the same hospital. A patient is pronounced dead prematurely by a Dr. Graham, but is resuscitated by Emily, who exhausts herself for hours in the process. A nurse informs the press of Emily's heroic act, irritating Graham but impressing Pawling, who recognizes her determination and skills. When a typhoid epidemic breaks out, the need for doctors is so great that Dr. Yeomans is asked to help. She, too, earns the respect of the hospital's men, just before her weak heart gives out. Ben is leaving for Paris to continue his work, but Emily heeds her friend's advice to have a personal life as well as a professional one, so she promises Ben that their careers will not keep them apart.

Cast

as Emily Dunning * Arthur Kennedy as Ben Barringer *

as Marie Yeomans *

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

as Seth Pawling * Jesse White as Alec, Ambulance Driver * Marilyn Erskine as Nurse Jane Doe *

Herbert Anderson Herbert Anderson (March 30, 1917 – June 11, 1994) was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his role as Henry Mitchell, the father, on the CBS television sitcom '' Dennis the Menace.'' Backg ...

as Dr. Barclay *

Gar Moore Joseph Garland Moore Jr. (September 4, 1920 - November 3, 1985), known as Gar Moore was an actor in Italian and American films. He was also in several theatrical productions. He was born in Chelsea, Oklahoma. He had a short marriage to Nancy Walke ...

as Dr. Graham *

Don Keefer Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...

as Dr. Williams *

Ann Tyrrell Ann Tyrrell (February 6, 1909 – July 20, 1983) was an American stage, film and television actress. Tyrrell is best known for her roles in both of the Ann Sothern CBS sitcoms ''Private Secretary'' (1953–1957) and ''The Ann Sothern S ...

a s Nurse Bigley *

James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS television series '' Gunsmoke''. Arness has the distinction of having played the ...

as Matt *

Curtis Cooksey Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Portuguese and Gali ...

as Commissioner of Hospitals Hawley *

Carol Brannon Carol may refer to: People with the name * Carol (given name) *Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor ...

as Nurse Wells *

Ann Morrison Ann Morrison (born April 9, 1956) is an American actress, best known for her Broadway debut as Mary Flynn in the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical, '' Merrily We Roll Along'' directed by Harold Prince for which she won the 1982 Theatre World ...

as Nurse Schiff *

Jo Gilbert Joanne Lesley Gilbert (7 June 1955 – 15 September 2018) was an English film producer and casting director based in Holywood, near Belfast, Northern Ireland, and ran Real Holywood Productions. Career Producing At the time of her death, Jo G ...

as Nurse Bleeker *

Erwin Kalser Erwin Kalser (22 February 1883 — 26 March 1958) was a German-JewishSiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 stage and film actor, best remembered as ...

as Dr. Schneider * Kathryn Card as Mrs. Lindsay * Jonathan Cott as Dr. Ellerton *

Joan Valerie Joan Valerie (born Helen Vlahakis; July 15, 1911 – January 30, 1983) was an American actress, who appeared mainly in B movies in the late 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, Valerie was the daughter of Michael Vlahakis. ...

as Nurse Hanson *

Coleman Francis Coleman Chambers Francis (January 24, 1919 – January 15, 1973) was an American actor, writer, producer and director. He was best known for his film trilogy consisting of ''The Beast of Yucca Flats'' (1961), ''The Skydivers'' (1963) and '' ...

as Orderly * A. Cameron Grant as Elevator Attendant *

David Fresco David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

as Patient

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $904,000 in the US and Canada and $440,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $292,000.

Radio adaptation

''The Girl in White'' was presented on ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' May 18, 1953. The one-hour adaptation starred Allyson and Steve Forrest.

References

External links

* * * 1952 films Films directed by John Sturges Films scored by David Raksin 1952 drama films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American drama films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{1950s-drama-film-stub