The Fight for Life (1940)
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.
Director:
Pare Lorentz
Writer:
Pare Lorentz
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Myron McCormick as Dr. O’Donnell |
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Storrs Haynes as Hanson |
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Will Geer as Ballou |
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Dudley Digges as Chefarzt |
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Woody Guthrie as |
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Dorothy Adams as The Young Woman |
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Dorothy Urban as The Grandmother |
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Effie Anderson as The Receptionist |
| Directing | Pare Lorentz | Director |
| Sound | Louis Gruenberg | Original Music Composer |
| Writing | Pare Lorentz | Screenplay |
| Writing | Paul De Kruif | Original Story |
| Production | Tommy Atkins | Associate Producer |
| Production | Pare Lorentz | Producer |
| Sound | Louis Gruenberg | Music |
| Crew | Floyd Crosby | Cinematography |
| Production | Elizabeth Meyer | Associate Producer |
| Camera | William H. Clothier | Assistant Camera |
| Sound | Alexander Smallens | Conductor |
| Crew | King Vidor | Technical Advisor |
