That Mothers Might Live
Release date: 1938-04-30
Votes: 8
Genres: Drama
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).
Reviews
CinemaSerf
There isn’t any dialogue in this short feature, just an increasingly frenzied narration as Sheppherd Strudwick portrays the visionary Austrian physician Ignaz Semmelweis. He was a man determined to establish just why so many perfectly healthy women died so swiftly after childbirth - but with no obvious cause. Gradually, he began to realise that it might be the doctors themselves who were carrying diseases about their hospitals and so instituted a culture of washing and sterilising. Though this had a profound effect on the mortality rates, his colleagues felt demeaned and embarrassed by his insistence they keep clean so he gets fired. Nobody will listen or read his book and the poor man ends up in a sanatorium. Luckily, others around the world including Pasteur and Lister eventually do read his theories and soon hygiene becomes a watchword for facilities around the globe. It’s not really something particularly visual this, save that as he gets more frustrated Strudwick starts to resemble more of a werewolf than a doctor. It’s essentially a monologue from a narrator that tells us of human belligerence and bloody-mindedness and though it’s certainly a message worth listening to, as a film it’s rather routine.
Movie Recommendation
You Are Free1983-01-01Five former U.S. Servicemen and a prison camp survivor give accounts of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps in 1945.More...
Lola's Secret1984-05-04Young man has his dreams come true when the sexy new maid seduces him. But she also has a secret that leads to trouble.More...
Future Retro2020-11-07Warren Miller’s “Future Retro” will revel in 71 years of movie magic - with fresh stories and perspectives from across the globe, heroes from the glory days, and that retro energy keeping the winter dream alive.More...
Flow2019-12-05A turbulent day in a life, painted by air.More...
Lion2019-09-05A young lonely lion crosses an arid and desert Savannah. He discovers that the only source of water is kept by a tyrannical buffalo.More...
Scream 32000-02-04While Sidney Prescott and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them.More...
Flow2005-01-01Eight woman, one life. Short animation by Sumito Sakakibara. The 9th Japan Media Art Festival Animation Division Grand Prize WinnerMore...
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth1992-09-11Pinhead is set loose on the sinful streets of New York City to create chaos with a fresh cadre of Cenobitic kin.More...
Bloodlust: Subspecies III1994-02-16Still in the thrall of the evil vampire Radu, Michelle yearns to be taught the skills of the vampire. Meanwhile, her sister Becky tries to free her from his evil clutches, and this time, she's brought some help.More...
Pitch Perfect 32017-12-20After the highs of winning the world championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.More...
Lo2017-12-10We must protect this house.More...
They1993-11-14A father experiences strange apparitions after his daughter is killed in a car accident.More...
LOL2006-03-13The relationships of three men are examined through their use of technology.More...
The Color of Money1986-10-17Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and proposes a partnership. As they tour pool halls, Eddie teaches Vincent the tricks of scamming, but he eventually grows frustrated with Vincent's showboat antics, leading to an argument and a falling-out. Eddie takes up playing again and soon crosses paths with Vincent as an opponent.More...
Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes2006-10-28He threw their loved ones into a swamp. Now they want revenge... But when a demon does their dirty work, it comes at a price.More...
Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare2016-04-16On a dark night, the Japanese police is raided by a spy. Different countries' intelligence agencies - such as England's MI6, Germany's BDN, and America's CIA - as well as the FBI's secret files are going to be taken, but public safety officers lead by Tooru Amuro arrive just in time. The spy steals a car and escapes. The spy and Amuro are then locked in a dead heat on the highway, and just as it is about to cause an accident with multiple cars, the spy's car is hit by FBI agent Shuichi Akai's rifle bullet and falls of the roadway. The next day, Conan and his friends go to a newly-remodeled aquarium in Tokyo. Under the main attraction, a Ferris wheel, Conan finds an attractive woman alone and injured. Her left and right eyes are different colors.More...
Almost Adults2016-10-15A film about growing apart when growing up. Two best friends relationship strains when one deals with her newfound sexuality and the other with breaking up with her long term boyfriend.More...
If I Were You 22009-02-01Claudio and Helena are on the verge of breaking up, until the couple experiences another strange phenomenon that looks to help them understand one another more.More...
Qwerty2007-08-16A mentally-afflicted young man is accused of murdering his longtime benefactor. The real truth of what happened lies in his mad obsession with his supposed victim's old typewriter, on which he types relentlessly, day and night.More...
Don Camillo in Moscow1965-09-18Priest Don Camillo blackmails his friendly rival Peppone into letting him join a Communist delegation visiting the Soviet Union.More...
Similar Movies
The Midwife
2017-03-22Claire is a midwife and has devoted her life to others. At a moment when she is preoccupied by the imminent closure of the maternity clinic where she works, her life is further turned upside down when Béatrice, her father's former mistress, turns up on the scene. Béatrice is a capricious and selfish woman, Claire's exact opposite.I Am Legend
2007-12-12Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.My Girl
1991-11-27Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse...Yesterday
2004-09-03After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school.Dead Within
2014-08-23Set six months after a deadly outbreak has all but ended the human race, a man and woman have survived by isolating themselves in a remote cabin and never opening the door. Now they don’t have a choice. Starved for resources, they must confront the horrors that threaten them… but what’s inside may be even more toxic than what remains outside. When it all ends, this is what remains.Ryuukou Kanbou
2021-04-10The 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…Carriers
2009-09-04A deadly virus has spread across the globe. Contagion is everywhere, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. Four friends race through the back roads of the American West on their way to a secluded utopian beach in the Gulf of Mexico where they could peacefully wait out the pandemic. Their plans take a grim turn when their car breaks down on an isolated road starting a chain of events that will seal their fates.The Rye Horn
2023-10-11Maria is a shellfisherwoman and midwife in a small village in the Illa de Arousa in 1970s Galicia. After an unexpected event, she is forced to flee to Portugal.The Rage
2023-04-24An unprecedented epidemic of rabies is breaking out in the taiga. Infected wolves become more and more ferocious, and even the slightest bite brings certain death. At the same time, a desperate father decides to forcibly isolate his son in one of the hunting lodges in order to save him from addiction. Soon, he and several local residents will have to fight not only with a rabid pack, but also with the most dangerous predator of the forest.Pandemic
2009-01-17ER doctor Tsuyoshi Matsuoka receives a patient with a virus unlike anything he's seen before. His symptoms include high fever, convulsions, vomiting of blood and multiple organ failure. Could this be a new form of influenza or is it some other variety of virus? As the situation worsens and more cases begin arriving, a medical officer from the World Health Organization named Eiko Kobayashi is dispatched to the area. At the rate the virus is spreading, the entire city’s transportation system and infrastructure would be brought to a halt within 3 months. Within 6 months it could spread to tens of millions of people--reaching a death toll far worse than any war.Contagion
2011-09-08As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus - that kills within days - rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.Infection
2004-10-02Infection takes place in a dark, isolated hospital, where one doctors mistake has led to dire consequences for a patient. In a hospital death is just a breath away.Mia
2020-10-30Alba, a young woman, lives with her boyfriend in a small apartment. One morning she receives terrible news along with the few month-old baby Mía, who is dropped off in her life. Upon her arrival, Alba experiences a series of insecurities and fears that will cause her into a mental breakdown. After her father is dead, Alba is forced to take care of the baby he left, even though the baby represents imbalance in her life.The Cured
2017-11-24What happens when the undead return to life? In a world ravaged for years by a virus that turns the infected into zombie-like cannibals, a cure is at last found and the wrenching process of reintegrating the survivors back into society begins.The Swimmers
2014-08-07After falling pregnant to her boyfriend's best friend, a young woman commits suicide. She returns to haunt her unborn child's father while her friend seeks revenge on the person who drove her to her fate.Breakdown
1978-12-04A journalist lives his smooth citizen life, married to a woman from respected family. But, conflicts with manager at work are becoming more often, his marriage is unstable and the outer manifestation of all this is a strange skin disease. Doctors recommend resting in nature and self-examination. In the mountains, in a lonely house near the lake, he meets a woman, also unadjusted and lonely. The consequences of this encounter are beneficial. Capable to love again, he gets his moral strength, and disease retreats. He breaks off his contacts with his wife's family and with "petit bourgeois" of his former life, confronts his boss and wins, realizing that this is only a first victory which has straightened him up.Rot
2019-11-07A grad student breaks up with her boyfriend to focus on her thesis, not realizing something has infected him and that he's going to wreak havoc on her life.Nang Nak
1999-07-23In a rural village in Thailand, Mak is sent to fight in a war and leaves his pregnant wife, Nak. Mak is injured and barely survives. He returns home to his doting wife and child, or so he thinks.Monsters
2010-06-18Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures," while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.The Happy Housewife
2010-04-15Lea is an immaculate 30-something wife whose husband’s job in real estate allows her an enviably glossy lifestyle. The word ‘emancipation’ simply isn't in her vocabulary and as long as the money rolls in, all is rosy. So, when Harry Jr. arrives, she is a little traumatized at having to swap canapés for nappies.