| Vigil in the Night | |
| Director: | George Stevens |
| Producer: | George Stevens |
| Starring: | Carole Lombard Brian Aherne Anne Shirley |
| Music: | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography: | Robert De Grasse |
| Editing: | Henry Berman |
| Studio: | RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. |
| Distributor: | RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. |
| Country: | United States |
| Runtime: | 96 minutes 102 minutes (US) |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $920,000[1] |
| Gross: | $1,004,000 |
Vigil in the Night is a 1940 RKO Pictures drama film based on the 1939 serialized novel Vigil in the Night by A. J. Cronin. The film was produced and directed by George Stevens and stars Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley.
In Great Britain, nurse Anne Lee takes the blame for a fatal error made by her sister Lucy, also a nurse, and is forced to leave the hospital where they both work. She moves to a large city, where she procures a job at another hospital and falls in love with Dr. Robert Prescott. Overcoming obstacles and personal tragedy along the way, Anne and Prescott work together to bring about better conditions for the care of the sick and fight a meningitis epidemic that threatens the city's children.
The European release of the film has a slightly different ending: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's voice is heard on the radio in Dr. Prescott's office explaining that Hitler has refused to withdraw his troops from Poland and that a state of war exists with Germany. As the United States had not yet entered World War II, the American release does not contain the radio message, and a shot of Anne Lee and Dr. Prescott reacting to the news was deleted.