Her Honor, the Nurse

This RKO-Pathe Screenliner short looks at the duties of the modern nurse. The story tracks the education of a student nurse as she works toward graduation and shows the earning of her cap during her student days, in retrospect. At the beginning, she wears the Student Nurse uniform dress and apron only, with no cap. She appears later in the movie as a more experienced Senior student with her cap already wearing a stripe. This was frequently done in the three year hospital programs to differentiate the Junior level students from the Seniors, more experienced and closer to Graduation. The capping ceremony illustrated shows the bare headed students receiving their plain white cap, and addressing it as something from her past that she will remember fondly.

Directed by Harry W. Smith, Her Honor, the Nurse leans on a strong ensemble — Peter Roberts — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1956.