That Mothers Might Live

Apr 30, 1938

0h 10m

★ 6.1

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).

Genres

Drama

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

That Mothers Might Live Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator (voice)

John Nesbitt

Dr. Semmelweis

Shepperd Strudwick

Doctor (uncredited)

Rudolph Anders

Passerby (uncredited)

King Baggot

Passerby (uncredited)

William Bailey

Nun Reading Book (uncredited)

Barbara Bedford

Medical Student at Lecture (uncredited)

Ralph Brooks

Young Stricken Mother (uncredited)

Mary Howard

Semmelweis' Assistant (uncredited)

Leonard Penn

Passerby (uncredited)

Beatrice Roberts

Hospital Chief of Staff (uncredited)

Edward Van Sloan

Professor (uncredited)

E. Alyn Warren

The novelist Shiga Naoya lives with his wife Haruko and their 4-year-old daughter Saeko. He is paranoid about Saeko’s health, making her wear heavy clothes even in summer in order to prevent her from catching a cold. Their child before Saeko died due to an epidemic, and he believes thorough enforcement is a natural consequence. In 1918, the Spanish flu reaches Japan. As the number of infected people grows, Shiga starts to suspect their servant Ishi might have gone to watch a travelling entertainment troupe’s performance which drew a great number of villagers. It is something Ishi is likely to do. But when Shiga questions her, she says that she did not go. However, she makes him have misgivings on a regular basis and he decides to take this opportunity to make her quit. An uproar ensues. Shiga feels that he has become a tyrant and refrains from kicking her out but he loses all reason and faith in humanity amid the pandemic…

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