Sister Kenny

Director: Dudley Nichols

Overview

In this film, Rosalind Russell stars as Elizabeth Kenny, tireless battler of infantile paralysis. It is in the Australian outback that nurse Kenny first confronts the debilitating illness. Kenny battles with the medical establishment in order to bring her radical theories towards conquering the disease to the public.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/07/2015
UPC:	0888574143718
Original Release:	1946
Rating:	NR
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	33,337

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Rosalind Russell	Elizabeth Kenny
Dean Jagger	Kevin Connors
Alexander Knox	Dr. Aeneas McDonnell
Beulah Bondi	Mary Kenny
Philip Merivale	Dr. Brack
Charles Dingle	Michael Kenny
John Litel	Medical Director
Doreen McCann	Dorrie
Fay Helm	Mrs. McIntyre
Charles Kemper	Mr. McIntyre
Dorothy Peterson	Agnes
Gloria Holden	Mrs. McDonnell
Virginia Brissac	Mrs. Johnson
Frank Reicher	Chuter
Paul Stanton	Dr. Gideon
Charles Halton	Mr. Smith
Franklin Farnum	Doctor,Doctor
Alan Lee	Farm Hand
David Martinson	Cobbler
Lloyd Ingraham	Farmer
Ellen Corby	Nurse
Nan Leslie	Nurse
Doris Lloyd	Matron
Egon Brecher	Frenchman
Lumsden Hare	Dr. Shadrack
Regis Toomey	Reporter
Lee Bonnell	Reporter
Daphne Moore	Waitress
Gertrude Astor	Doctor
Mary Gordon	Actor
Karolyn Grimes	Actor
Brandon Hurst	Actor
Alexander Tansman	Composer

Technical Credits

Mary McCarthy

Alexander Knox

Dudley Nichols

Mary McCarthy	Screenwriter
Alexander Knox	Screenwriter
Dudley Nichols	Screenwriter,Producer
Vernon L. Walker	Special Effects
A. Wolcott	Sound/Sound Designer
Clem Portman	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Covering over four decades, Sister Kenny gave Rosalind Russell the kind of showy dramatic part that she relished, and she ran with it. Ageing very believably (and agreeably), Russell is the solid anchor that holds the film together. She believably displays the strength of character required of her, but varies her performance so that it doesn't fall into the deadly dull pit that encircles many virtuous characters in films of the period. Her fiery spirit is put to good use, memorably in the setpiece scene in which she confronts Dr. Brack in an operating observation room filled with students. If some of Russell's performance is clearly acting, that's less due to the actress than to the screenplay; portions of the script call for good old fashioned drama, and Russell delivers. Interestingly, the screenplay also has a (for the time) feminist bent to it, which adds an unusual flavor. The narrative also stumbles occasionally, and directors Lumsden Hare and Dudley Nichols allow the pacing to drag occasionally; they're a bit too reverent to the subject for the film's own good. But overall, Sister Kenny is an involving and inspirational film, and an excellent showcase for the gifted Russell.