March 7, 1940
1h 9m
EN
Pare Lorentz
The Fight for Life was documentary filmmaker Pare Lorentz' first "dramatic" film, utilizing the talents of several top New York stage actors. A tribute to the Chicago Maternity Center and its efforts to provide the best possible care for destitute mothers, the film is based on the book of the same name by Paul de Kruif. Myron McCormick plays the largest role as a dedicated intern, while others in the cast include such theatrical heavywrights as Will Geer, Dudley Digges and Dorothy Adams. The film's many vignettes range from the tragic (a mother dying in childbirth in the opening scene) to the exultant (another mother rescued from the brink of death in a disease-ridden tenement). Filmed in Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, Fight for Life is a worthwhile effort, though Lorentz seems more comfortable with the "actuality" scenes than with the dramatized passages.
Myron McCormick
Dr. O’Donnell
Storrs Haynes
Hanson
Will Geer
Ballou
Pare Lorentz
4
Dudley Digges
Chefarzt
Woody Guthrie
Cast
Dorothy Adams
The Young Woman
Dorothy Urban
The Grandmother
Effie Anderson
The Receptionist
