Dawn (1928 film)

1928 British film by Herbert Wilcox

Dawn

Movie poster

Directed by| Herbert Wilcox
Written by| Reginald Berkeley (play)
Robert Cullen
Herbert Wilcox
Produced by| Herbert Wilcox
Starring| Sybil Thorndike
Ada Bodart
Gordon Craig
Marie Ault
Cinematography| Bernard Knowles

Production
company

British & Dominions Film Corporation

Distributed by| Woolf & Freedman Film Service

Release date

* 1 March 1928 (1928-03-01)

Running time

| 90 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

Dawn is a 1928 British silent war film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Sybil Thorndike, Gordon Craig, and Marie Ault. It was produced by Wilcox for his British & Dominions Film Corporation. The film was made at Cricklewood Studios with sets designed by Clifford Pember.

Based on a play by Reginald Berkeley, this film tells the story of World War I martyr Edith Cavell. Sybil Thorndike stars as Cavell, a nurse who risked her own life by rescuing British Prisoners of War from the Germans. When Cavell was captured and sentenced to be executed, it sparked international outrage, even from neutral nations.

## Production

[edit]

Herbert Wilcox had just made Mumsie (1927), starring Pauline Frederick. Wilcox wanted to make another film with Frederick and suggested Noël Coward's The Vortex but Frederick disliked the role. Wilcox then saw the statue of Edith Cavell in London and decided to make a film of her life.

Frederick was enthusiastic at first but dropped out. Some claimed it was because there was an outcry at the thought of an American playing Cavell.[1] Wilcox claims Frederick was scared off after the German ambassador said that Germany would boycott her films.[2] She was replaced with Sybil Thorndike. Filming proved difficult.

## Censorship

[edit]

One of the most controversial British films of the 1920s, Dawn was censored because of what objectors considered its brutal depiction of warfare and anti-German sentiment. Pressure was exerted by both the German Ambassador and the British Foreign Secretary Austen Chamberlain to prevent the film being passed for exhibition.[3]

Edith Cavell's sister criticised the film saying it would promote hate.[4] However, George Bernard Shaw praised the film.[5] When eventually released, the film was a big success.

Wilcox returned to the subject in 1939 with Nurse Edith Cavell starring Anna Neagle.

## Cast

[edit]

* Sybil Thorndike - Nurse Edith Cavell
* Ada Bodart - Herself
* Gordon Craig - Philippe Bodart
* Marie Ault - Mme. Rappard
* Mickey Brantford - Jacques Rappard
* Mary Brough - Mme. Pitou
* Richard Worth - Jean Pitou - Bargekeeper
* Colin Bell - Widow Deveaux
* Dacia Deane - Mme. Deveaux's Daughter
* Cecil Barry - Col. Schultz
* Frank Perfitt - Gen. von Zauberzweig
* Haddon Mason - German A.P.M.
* Maurice Braddell - British Airman
* Edward O'Neill - Lutheran Priest
* Griffith Humphreys - President of the Court Martial
* Edward Sorley - German Soldier

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Bittiard-Marker Who Became Famous Film Producer". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2374\. Western Australia. 8 August 1943. p. 7 (THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE). Retrieved 17 August 2017 - via National Library of Australia.
2. ^ Wilcox p 73
3. ^ Low p.66-68
4. ^ "EDITH CAVELL FILM". The News. Vol. X, no. 1, 430 (HOME ed.). Adelaide. 13 February 1928. p. 7. Retrieved 17 August 2017 - via National Library of Australia.
5. ^ "GEORGE BERNARD SHAW CALLS PRODUCER OF "DAWN" A FILM POET". The Gundagai Independent. No. 3080\. New South Wales, Australia. 9 September 1929. p. 2. Retrieved 17 August 2017 - via National Library of Australia.

## External links

[edit]

* Dawn at IMDb

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Low, Rachael. History of the British Film, 1918–1929. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.

* v
* t
* e

Films by Herbert Wilcox

As director|

* Chu-Chin-Chow (1923)
* Southern Love (1924)
* Decameron Nights (1924)
* The Only Way (1926)
* Nell Gwyn (1926)
* London (1926)
* Tip Toes (1927)
* Madame Pompadour (1927)
* Mumsie (1927)
* Dawn (1928)
* The Bondman (1929)
* The Woman in White (1929)
* The Loves of Robert Burns (1930)
* The Chance of a Night Time (1931)
* Carnival (1931)
* The Blue Danube (1932)
* Goodnight, Vienna (1932)
* Money Means Nothing (1932)
* The Little Damozel (1933)
* Bitter Sweet (1933)
* Yes, Mr Brown (1933)
* The Queen's Affair (1934)
* Nell Gwyn (1934)
* Peg of Old Drury (1935)
* This'll Make You Whistle  (1936)
* Three Maxims (1936)
* London Melody (1937)
* Limelight (1937)
* Victoria the Great (1937)
* Sixty Glorious Years  (1938)
* Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
* Irene (1940)
* No, No, Nanette (1940)
* Sunny (1941)
* They Flew Alone (1942)
* Forever and a Day (1943)
* Yellow Canary (1943)
* I Live in Grosvenor Square  (1945)
* Piccadilly Incident  (1946)
* The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947)
* Spring in Park Lane (1948)
* Elizabeth of Ladymead  (1948)
* Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
* Odette (1950)
* Into the Blue (1950)
* The Lady with a Lamp (1951)
* Derby Day (1952)
* Trent's Last Case (1952)
* Laughing Anne (1953)
* Trouble in the Glen (1954)
* Lilacs in the Spring (1954)
* King's Rhapsody (1955)
* My Teenage Daughter (1956)
* These Dangerous Years (1957)
* The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1958)
* Wonderful Things! (1958)
* The Lady Is a Square (1959)
* The Heart of a Man (1959)

Producer only|

* The Wonderful Story (1922)
* Flames of Passion (1922)
* Paddy the Next Best Thing (1923)
* A Peep Behind the Scenes (1929)
* When Knights Were Bold (1929)
* Black Waters (1929)
* Splinters (1929)
* Rookery Nook (1930)
* Wolves (1930)
* Warned Off (1930)
* On Approval (1930)
* Plunder (1930)
* Tons of Money (1930)
* The Speckled Band (1931)
* Almost a Divorce (1931)
* Up for the Cup (1931)
* Mischief (1931)
* A Night Like This (1932)
* Life Goes On (1932)
* The Mayor's Nest (1932)
* Thark (1932)
* The Love Contract (1932)
* Leap Year (1932)
* The Flag Lieutenant (1932)
* Say It with Music (1932)
* The Barton Mystery (1932)
* The King's Cup (1933)
* Discord (1933)
* One Precious Year (1933)
* The Blarney Stone (1933)
* Lord of the Manor (1933)
* It's a King (1933)
* Summer Lightning (1933)
* Purse Strings (1933)
* That's a Good Girl (1933)
* Up for the Derby (1933)
* Just My Luck (1933)
* Trouble (1933)
* Night of the Garter (1933)
* Sorrell and Son (1933)
* Faces (1934)
* Lucky Loser (1934)
* It's a Cop (1934)
* General John Regan (1934)
* Girls, Please! (1934)
* Up to the Neck (1934)
* The King of Paris (1934)
* Lilies of the Field (1934)
* Brewster's Millions (1935)
* Escape Me Never (1935)
* Come Out of the Pantry (1935)
* Fame (1936)
* The Frog (1937)
* The Rat (1937)
* The Return of the Frog (1938)
* A Royal Divorce (1938)
* No Parking (1938)
* Blondes for Danger (1938)
* The Beggar's Opera (1953)
* Yangtse Incident (1957)
* The Navy Lark (1959)

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