The Lamp Still Burns

Monica Dickens' novel One Pair of Feet provided the basis for this propaganda effort, enlivened immeasurably by Rosamund John's sterling central turn as the architect who feels a calling towards nursing, but has to start on the bottom rung during wartime. But it's not quite a recruiting poster. The film posits the need for change in demanding working conditions which force women to choose between a career in the service or a fulfilling domestic life. Youthful Granger is a wooden romantic prospect, the direction merely functional, yet John finds a tensile determination behind her usual gentility, and there's sterling support from Nesbitt, the battle-axe matron who's had to make her own sacrifices. Producer Howard died midway through filming, when his plane was downed by the Germans, believing erroneously that Churchill was on board.