not horrible nor great

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It doesn't take long into the film to see Night Nurse is a very negative portrayal of the health service. Dr Kildare this is not and even makes 1934's Men In White come off as a more an idealised vision on the health care system in the 1930's; Night Nurse is anything but. All within the first ten minutes Barbara Stanwyck is turned down for the job as a nurse but then gets it after catching the fancy from a doctor, one of the interns is a pervert and Joan Blondell recommends tricking patients into thinking you've saved their life in order to get money out of them. Blondell's character in particular I really found myself loathing from an actress who normally played such likable characters. She clearly dislikes her profession and even recites the Florence Nightingale pledge while chewing gum. Night Nurse is a movie with a wide range of despicable human beings on display. There is even a scene which appears to show an actual baby in distress and another in which children talk about in graphic terms of the abuse they have received: not very comfortable viewing.Night Nurse is a perfect example of the kind of pictures Warner Bros produced during the 1930's; a thought provoking socially conscious melodrama. Whether or not it's exaggerated the plot of hospital corruption and the ineffectiveness of both the hospital and the authorities to prevent child abuse, the movie does succeed in packing a punch. What does it say when the intervention of gangsters is required to save the life of a child? Warner Bros where also known for featuring ethnic casts in their movies. At the beginning of the movie a shot focuses on a group of Chinese people sitting around a hospital bed speaking in their native language although here it doesn't have any bearing on the rest of the plot. There is also an emphasises that the shop which is broken into in order to steal milk for a bath in order to save the lives of malnourished children is from a Kosher delicatessen. Is there a particular reason for this? This was 1931 but history has made of this scene of the delicatessen windows being smashed unintentional creepy.The best reason to see Night Nurse though is Clark Gable in a role which I point to as proof of his acting ability. Gable is scary enough as a character who wants to murder children and isn't afraid to punch a woman but this is multiplied by the fact that he's dressed like a Nazi. OK not really, it's a chauffeur's uniform but when I first saw him wearing this, my instant reaction was "Why is he dressed like an SS officer?" He could have had a knack at playing villains; such unrealised potential. His character's introduction with the use of a camera zoom and the uttering of "I'm Nick...the chauffeur" gives me chills - melodramatic perfection.

This Pre-Code Film takes More Risks than just the Risqué Underwear Shots and Double Meaning Dialog. After the First Half Establishing the Medical Template and Barbara Stanwyck's Title Character with Scenes Among Horny Interns and Medical Procedures, the Movie Explodes into Lurid Exploitations of Alcohol Abuse, Drug Sniffing Doctors with Nose Twitches, and a Plot to Starve Children to Death to Collect Trust Funds.There is Crackling Dialog about Ethics, and Stanwyck Standing Up to a Brutish Villain, Played by Clark Gable, who Punches and Slaps Around Anyone Within Arm's Reach. The Drunks here are So Inebriated They can Barely Stand Up or Speak Clearly and Spend a lot of Time Weaving Around and Falling on the Floor.Especially the Mother of the Victimized Children Drowning Her Guilt and Blaming it on the Booze. "I'm a Dipsomaniac and proud of it". She Slurs. Stanwyck says..."You Mother..." and then Pauses. Even in the Pre-Code Films the F-Word was Forbidden in Hollywood.This Touching, Grim, and Stunning Look at the Dark Side of Humanity is a Must See for Fans of Pre-Code Movies, Stanwyck, Gable, and the Always Bubbly Joan Blondell. It is Typical Warner Bros. Social Concern, Director William Wellman Crafts an Example how Nastiness and Evil could be Shown Before the Code in an Entertaining and Enlightening way with Two-Dimensional Characters like the "Hero" Bootlegger, without Pussy Footing Around. It Deals with the Thug in this Story in a Realistic and Finalized Way, that would be Impossible in Postcode Cinema.

...and lingerie's of silk and satin...Roommates Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell get to show off their fine figures in this pre-code drama of sin discovered in the service world of nursing by a recent graduate of a hospital nursing school. Stanwyck seems to have luck on her side everywhere she goes; Rejected by the hard-nosed head nurse (Vera Lewis) on her way in, she bumps into chief of staff (Charles Winninger) on her way out, and before you know it, she's in training, oiling babies, assisting in surgeries and breaking curfew to have a night out on the town. Then, when she gets on her first case, it's as a private nurse to some mal-nutritioned children, victimized by a sinister chauffeur (a very young Clark Gable) and determined to expose the doctor on the case as a quack who shouldn't only loose his medical license, but end up in jail as well.Stanwyck's tough persona was established early on in her career, and here, she's nobody to mess with. She slaps down mashers, gets right into Gable's face, and even risks loosing her career by standing up for what she believes is right. This has some delightfully tough dialog, with Stanwyck and Blondell trading some wonderful wisecracks, yet their friendship never suffering even with all the acid dripping. Blondell is a far cry from her matronly character actress days, an absolute delight as the best pal a tough-talking nurse could have, and the two ladies suit each other very well. Gable's character is even more amoral than any of the early roles he played over at MGM, while Charlotte Merriam as the drunken mother of the two exploited children and Blanche Friderici as the seemingly sinister housekeeper offer convincing performances as well. This is topped off by one of the most delightful pay-offs in pre-code, giving Stanwyck's love interest (Ben Lyon) a great exit line.

"Night Nurse" released in 1931, in the depths of the Great Depression, was the kind of film Warner Brothers cranked out at that time. Barbara Stanwyck plays Lora Hart, a woman down on her luck who applies to become a nurse. She does so, with success. The initial part of the film takes us into the inner workings of a hospital -- circa 1931. Stanwyck is befriended by a fellow nurse, played by Joan Blondell, who provides much comic relief throughout the film. Stanwyck's first assignment is to take care of two sick children of a wealthy mother. Soon she begins to realize there is a sinister plot to starve the children so various people can profit from the children's trust fund. The children's mother is a serious alcoholic and seems to completely ignore her children, leaving them in the care of nurses and a housekeeper. A young Clark Gable has an eerie and threatening presence playing a chauffeur, who apparently is in league with the alcoholic mother and the children's sleazy doctor. Brought into the mix of all these characters is a charming bootlegger (prohibition was still the law of the land) played by Ben Lyon. He falls for Stanwyck after she patches him up from a bullet wound and doesn't report it as required. The film is clearly "pre-code" meaning the code was down in ink but largely ignored by studios until enforcement in 1934. There are some scenes of Blondell and Stanwyck dressing and undressing, and we see them in their undergarments several times! Liquor flows freely, despite prohibition and there are several scenes of various drunken party-goers. One drunken man tries to assault Stanwyck. There is some fairly graphic violence by 1931 movie standards. There is also some funny, snappy dialogue from Stanwyck and Blondell. My favorite line is when Stanwyck, after wrestling with the drunken, neglectful mother, looks down at her passed out on the floor and says "You mother..." I won't give away the ending, as it is a bit bizarre, but this is an entertaining film. See it just for Stanwyck. She gives a spirited and tough performance.