Movie: That Mothers Might Live

Top 10 Billed Cast

John Nesbitt
John Nesbitt

Narrator (voice)

Shepperd Strudwick
Shepperd Strudwick

Dr. Semmelweis

Rudolph Anders
Rudolph Anders

Doctor (uncredited)

King Baggot
King Baggot

Passerby (uncredited)

William Bailey
William Bailey

Passerby (uncredited)

Barbara Bedford
Barbara Bedford

Nun Reading Book (uncredited)

Ralph Brooks
Ralph Brooks

Medical Student at Lecture (uncredited)

Mary Howard
Mary Howard

Young Stricken Mother (uncredited)

Leonard Penn
Leonard Penn

Semmelweis' Assistant (uncredited)

Beatrice Roberts
Beatrice Roberts

Passerby (uncredited)

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  • Overview

    That Mothers Might Live is a 1938 American short drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann. The short is a brief account of Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis and his discovery of the need for cleanliness in 19th-century maternity wards, thereby significantly decreasing maternal mortality, and of his struggle to gain acceptance of his idea. Although Semmelweis ultimately failed in his lifetime, later scientific luminaries advanced his work in spirit like microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who provided a scientific theoretical explanation of Semmelweis' observations by helping develop the germ theory of disease and the British surgeon, Dr. Joseph Lister who revolutionized medicine putting Pasteur's research to practical use. In 1939, at the 11th Academy Awards, the film won an Oscar for Best Short Subject (One-Reel).

  • Release Date

    1938-04-30

  • Average

    6.182

  • Rating:

    3.1 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

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