War Nurse

Although its style is clearly 'old school' or pre- pre-code, this has an almost modern feel with respect to its cynical attitudes and brutal realistic content. Its evocative depiction of WW1 is genuinely harrowing.

If you're a shallow voyeur who watched this just to see Anita Page bouncing around in her undies you'll feel very guilty and a little soiled because this is proper film. It's a hard hitting condemnation of war. It's a life affirming story of how amazing the human spirit is.

Veteran director Edgar Selwyn wasn't one of those experimental filmmakers pushing boundaries in the late twenties but neither was he one to make those appalling stodgy static filmed stage play types of thing. By focusing on how it affects real people, Selwyn evokes the never ending relentless horror and despair of war by making it personal.

It's based on a notorious anonymously written autobiography of an actual war nurse which caused quite a scandal with its no holds barred revelations of what life was like for those young amazing heroines. Although this was made in 'the pre-code era' the saucy story was heavily censored and sanitised - in terms of any sexual shenanigans anyway. The true mental and physical brutality of conflict however was left undiluted.

Like all the best stories this tells its tale through the eyes and experiences of real people. The acting style is a bit more 1920s than 1930s but once you acclimatise, the characters do feel authentic, like real people. It's a story about how war doesn't just change people but society. These volunteer girls, hundreds and in the case of the Americans, thousands of miles from home, like the men there, realise that have to live as though each day might be their last. Consequences and convention have no role in a world without a future. The only way to survive was to pretend it's just a nightmare and live in a sphere of self deception.

Overall it's a clever and engaging fast-moving film. It's professionally made and a lot more entertaining than you might imagine... and if you're still wondering, yes Anita Page does bounce around in her undies!