The Silent Village
- Cwmgiedd
- 1943
An indefatigable district nurse crisscrosses her rural patch to tend to the sick at home and on the farm.
Idyllic rural vistas and soothing classical music provide the backdrop to scenes of injury, illness and imminent childbirth in this attractive and inspiring film. Structured as the diary of a typical working day, it shows the non-stop work of a wartime district nurse. Our indefatigable heroine takes all in her stride, with a home visit before breakfast, then whisked off to a farming accident and a queue of patients from then on, with just the occasional cup of tea to keep her going.
Director John Page made several films about women on the home front, notably The Countrywomen (1941), about the Women's Institute. Scriptwriter Arthur Calder-Marshall was a well-known novelist (and a card-carrying communist). District nurses, at this time, were usually unmarried women whose accommodation was often provided by local nursing associations. In rural areas this would often be houses or cottages such as the one seen in this film, where several nurses lived together.
In the early days of the war, cinemas were closed as a public safety measure, but authorities were soon persuaded of film's many virtues in wartime. Newsreels kept spirits up and relayed vital information, documentaries rigorously explored every aspect of life and work on the home front, and an array of animations and short films imparted practical tips and guidance.
Feature films, meanwhile, offered equal parts inspiring wartime stories and escapist fantasy to bring relief from everyday trials. And with gender roles evolving and so many men away from home, producers were forced to pay more attention (long overdue!) to the tastes and interests of women cinemagoers - with fascinating and enduring results.