All language subtitles for Florence Nightingale (1985) EN

NARRATOR: To those of you
who ask who was this
Florence Nightingale

and what did she do

you would have to
understand the world
into which she was born.

It was England,
Dickens' England,

where the people were divided
into two classes,

the very rich
and the very poor.

But whether rich or poor,
it was a time of
great medical ignorance,

when to fracture an arm
or a leg was to lose it.

(WALTZ PLAYING)

(ALL CHATTERING)

Look at her, William,
the prettiest
girl in the room.

No wonder Henry
is so smitten.

Our other daughter
does not appear to be
enjoying it quite so much.

Sisters are natural rivals,
all women are.

That's why you men
are so conceited.

Poor Parthe will have
a much better chance
with Florence out of the way.

You still
haven't answered
my question, Flo.

But, Henry, I have.

I've told you
time and time again.

Yes, but you
never tell me the
same thing twice.

Dash it all, Flo,
I have loved you
for so long.

Ever since we
were children.

And I've told
everyone we were
going to be married.

Henry, no!

Is it because
we are cousins?

Now, many cousins marry,
Florence.

My love will
sweep away your fears
about that.

Henry, you deserve more than
a bride full of
doubts and dreams.

All the same,
I won't stop asking you
till you say yes.

Now, what more could you
possibly want from life
than what I will offer you?

Love, honor,
comfort,
a beautiful home.

What man in this room,
in this world,
could offer you more?

Mr. Milnes, you are admiring
my almost sister-in-law.

She and my brother, Henry,
are about to be engaged.

Could you be
warning me off,
Miss Nicholson?

You are a gentleman,
I believe.

Take it as a piece of advice
to save you possible
trouble in the future.

Trouble, my dear,
is the most interesting
thing about the future.

Would you...

Yes, of course, Flo.
Excuse me.

Richard Monckton Milnes,
at your service.

We've not been
introduced.

Now, these are modern times,
Miss Nightingale.

The 1840s are not
the 1700s.

However,
if you feel the tradition
is important to you,

I can arrange
a formal introduction

through your
almost sister-in-law,
Miss Nicholson.

I'm not exactly
known as traditional.

Well, neither am I,
Miss Nightingale.

When I'm not attacking
my fellow parliamentarians

on their indifference
to the plight of the poor,

I'm working on an edition
of the collected poems
of Keats.

And you?

When I'm not pursuing
the more womanly arts,

I'm learning,
trying to learn opera.

Opera?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hMmm.

If it's your passion,
it becomes you,
Miss Nightingale.

And in womanly arts,
you are clearly
second to none.

Would you care to dance?

Yes. Yes.

(WALTZ PLAYING)

WILLIAM: Fanny, are both
the girls going to
join us for this ride?

Florence isn't even down yet.
I think she's trying on
her new outfit.

No, not Flo. She's not
interested in such things.

She has
a man's brain.
She thinks.

She does not,
Papa.

For a girl who complains
about the idleness
of the leisured class,

I think she's
the idlest of us all.

FLORENCE: Am I then?

Good morning, Papa.

Good morning.

Good morning, Flo.
You look absolutely lovely.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThank you.
WILLIAM: Breakfast
is finished.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h(HORSE WHINNYING)
FANNY: Never mind.
She can still have some tea.

Good heavens,
what gall.

Henry, what's wrong?

Why, that Monckton
Milnes fellow is here.

But who could
have invited him?

I did.

You? But you mean you
invited him here yourself?

No, he's my guest.
I invited him.
Such a charming man.

I'm sorry, Henry, I simply
neglected to tell you.

Oh, Henry, do sit down.
Control yourself.

(INAUDIBLE)

Florence.

Good morning,
Henry.

William.

Good morning, sir.
\h\h\h\hGood morning.

I understand
Mrs. Burbage is in
a bad way, sir.

Indeed.

She got burned last night,
sir, while she was helping
over at Winston's place.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so glad you could
join us, Mr. Milnes.

I hope the ride pleases you.

Everything about
this day pleases me,
Miss Nightingale.

FLORENCE: This way.

Miss Florence?

Williams told us
about your accident.

I came to see if
I might be of help.

That's so kind.

May I see the burn?

No, dear.

It's a terrible
burn I've got.
You don't want to see it.

It is fearful, ma'am.
She screams if
you even touch it.

But her wound has
to be kept clean
and changed.

Would you please
bring me some butter?

Oh, no.
No, you mustn't!

Don't be afraid.

No, it isn't that,
it's just...

(CRYING)

Pretty eyes like yours
should never have
to see such a thing.

It's just a burn.

(MRS. BURBAGE CRYING)

Just a hurt that needs
healing, nothing bad.
It will heal.

(SIGHS)

There. There now.

(SIGHS)

Forgive
my curiosity,

but when you left
the ride I couldn't
help but wonder...

You spoke of womanly arts,
Miss Nightingale,

but I had no idea
they encompassed
such a range.

It seems you enjoy
making fun of people's
feelings, Mr. Milnes.

Only when
I'm fond of them.

How could you
possibly be fond of me?
You don't know me.

You only see that
side of me that
everyone can see.

Then tell me
about the rest.

\h\h\h\h\hThat's impossible.
Why?

Because it is.

Well, try to explain it then.

When I was 17,
I heard a call from God.

He spoke to me, Mr. Milnes.

Now you can
laugh if you like.

And what precisely
did God call upon you
to do?

I don't know.
That's what torments me.

Something more. To be
more than a pampered,
wealthy little girl.

Somehow, to use
the gifts I have
to serve,

instead of going
dancing and to parties.

Does that sound
strange?

Florence, listen to me,
it is not strange

that a strong,
intelligent girl
who was blessed by fortune

should wish to be more
than just
an ornament to society.

Remember you're not alone.

There are many gifted people
who believe they
should use their talents

in the service of others.

Besides,
I'm sure Joan of Arc enjoyed
dancing, too, you know.

Now you are making
fun of me.

Florence,

my greatest wish would be
to see you every single day.

(ALL CHATTERING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hCharles.
Florence.

Selina. It's so
good to see you.

I didn't know
you were friends
of Richard Milnes.

Well, nor did we
until he invited us.

It seems that anyone who's
a friend of yours
is a friend of Mr. Milnes.

Marianne,
I'm so happy to see you.
Is Henry here?

Do you think he has no pride?
I only come out of curiosity.

What kind of man is
this Richard Monckton Milnes

to court a young lady
under the very nose
of her intended husband?

Marianne,
I'm not engaged to Henry
and I hardly know Mr. Milnes.

From the way he looks at you,
if you knew him any better

you would be ruined if
he did not marry you.

Florence.

Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Howe
from the United States.

Florence Nightingale.

Miss Nightingale.

Hello.

Hello.

Mrs. Julia Ward Howe
is famous in her own right.

She composes books and poetry,
and Dr. Howe works with
the blind in Boston.

With the blind,
Dr. Howe?

But what can one
do with the blind?

Why, he teaches them,
Miss Nightingale.

Dear friends,
it's time for breakfast.

(ALL CHATTERING)

Do you really
think it's possible?

Oh, Selina, if only...
She's already 22.

She's so beautiful,
so accomplished.

Many men admire her.

But she does not
admire them.

She's so strong-willed.

Where would I be now
if I'd been as
stubborn as that?

You used to be,
didn't you?

Age does wonders
for a woman's
sensibilities, you know.

(GIGGLES)

Dr. Howe,

you said you
worked in a hospital
helping the blind.

Well, we do more
than just help them,
Miss Nightingale.

We teach them to read.

To read?

But how is that done?

Allow me to show you.

But first,
I have to ask

that you pretend
to be blind.

I always thought
that would be horrible.

That is exactly
why what we are doing
is so exciting.

Now, Miss Nightingale,
you are blind,
you cannot see a thing,

so if I were to
give you a piece
by William Shakespeare

and ask you to
read me a few pages,
what would you say?

I would say
you were mad, Dr. Howe.

Mmm-hmm.

So, if I were to
give you another book

and asked you to
read to me
what would you say?

Why, I would still
say the same thing.

Now, Miss Nightingale,
I'm going to give you this.

FLORENCE: What is this?

This is what we have
devised in the Perkins School
in Boston.

Do you feel anything?

Yes. Paper.
There's a small bump on it.

That, Miss Nightingale,
is the letter "A."

Here is the letter "B."

And here is "C."

Now, Miss Nightingale,
you are totally blind,

you cannot see
a thing

yet can you tell me
what letter this is?

B.

Totally blind.

C.

Cannot see a thing.

A.

You see,

Miss Nightingale,
if you have a passion,

I would suggest
the only way to satisfy it
is to pursue it.

NARRATOR: Florence knew
it was considered unthinkable

for a lady of quality
to enter a hospital alone.

But what she didn't know

was that when she
crossed the threshold
of Middlesex Hospital,

she would be
changing her life forever.

(WOMAN CHATTERING)

(WOMAN LAUGHING)

Yes. Begging your pardon,
what do you want?

I just wanted
to know...

This is a men's ward.

They don't want
the likes of you here

anymore than you
want to see the
likes of them.

Didn't you hear
what she said?

Now what you want
is the hospital for the deaf
and dumb up Blackfriars.

(ALL LAUGH)

I told her.

(WHEEZING)

(GROANING)

Help me. Help.

Help me.

(GASPING)

(GASPING)

FANNY: Did you say
the Middlesex Hospital?

Yes.

You mean, inside
the hospital?

Not much to see
on the outside.

You, without asking our
permission, went alone into
all that filth and squalor.

That's a fair
description of it, Mama.
How did you know?

How dare you
address Mama
in that fashion?

Would you have me contradict
her and say
that it was beautiful?

Or that the doctors
and nurses were sober?

Or that the floors were
sparkling and clean instead
of filthy and verminous?

And that the stench was
almost enough to make...

Florence,
that's quite enough.

Florence, if there is one
thing that we have taught you,
it is good manners,

which you seem to
have lost for the moment.

Good manners demand
that we never make
anybody feel uncomfortable.

And I cannot help but
believe that a lady of
your bearing and class

made many people in
that hospital feel very
uncomfortable indeed.

So dreadfully
posturing.

So precious,
meddling about in
a place like that.

Florence.

You have a kind
heart and mean well.

Visiting a cottage in
the country is one thing,

but visiting
a public hospital in London
is another matter entirely.

Unfortunately, Mother,
you are quite right.

"Still as an island
stood our ship

"The waters gave
no sound

"But when I touched
her quivering lip

"I felt the world
go round"

You wrote it?

Mmm-hmm.

I like it.

All but the
"quivering lip."

(BOTH LAUGH)

Why are women's lips
supposed to quiver
and not men's?

I don't know.

I love you, Florence.
Will you marry me?

Richard, I'm always
so happy when
I'm with you.

You know that,
don't you?

Isn't it wonderful,
on a day like this

to know that Flo
is going to make
the perfect marriage.

Of course,
the Nicholsons will
never talk to us again.

Marianne cut me
dead yesterday.
And Henry...

A whole branch of
the family gone.

But Florence is happy,
surely that is
the most important thing.

Richard, something
happened the other day.

I think I learned
something about myself
I didn't know before.

I went to
Middlesex Hospital.

I was drawn there.

I wanted so much to learn
how to heal the sick.

Instead of learning anything
or seeing anything

I was frightened
and ran away.

I want to be brave.
I don't want to be a coward.

I don't want to be sheltered
from the other side of life.

I used to think I
was called to heal,
now I'm certain of it.

But I have to learn.

Your friend from America,
Dr. Howe, told me about
a place called Kaiserswerth

where they train women,
mostly nuns,
to become nurses.

But my family will be
horrified and forbid it.

Will you help me?

Will you be my friend,
my ally?

Florence,
you must believe me.

While others may oppose you
in what you wish to do,

I promise I never,
never shall.

Then you will help me?

Of course,
in any way that I can.

But you still haven't
answered my proposal.

Oh, Richard, hold me.

Tell me that I'm
not mad or morbid
and that if I succeed,

you won't stop loving me.

WILLIAM: Richard,
this is serious.

Do not let your
love blind you
to a very real danger.

I love my daughter, too.
And I'm proud of
her accomplishments.

But this
business of hospitals...

(TSKING)

(SIGHS)

Tenacity has always
been her downfall.

Well, I'm sorry,
William,

but that is a quality
I especially admire in her.

You have not yet
tried living with it.

You know, to be frank,
my wife and I are appalled
by this hospital idea.

We had hoped that when
she actually went to one

she would see how
unsuitable it is.

Thank heavens that she's
agreed to this idea in Europe
with the Bracebridges.

(SIGHS)

Florence is not in Rome
or Paris eating bonbons or
buying frocks, William.

Ah.

She's in Germany at
the Kaiserswerth Institute.

She's trying her best
to learn to be a nurse.

What the devil do you mean?

When Florence has an idea
that's very strong in her

she's like a mother with
a newborn child and hates
to see that idea die.

And I, perhaps just as much,
would hate to see
that idea die in her.

That's understandable,
you're in love with her.

NARRATOR: In Germany,
Florence learned about hygiene
and nutrition.

But above all, at Kaiserswerth
she learned that nursing
was more than just caring.

It was a science.

(DOCTOR SPEAKING GERMAN)

(DOCTOR SPEAKING GERMAN)

(DOCTOR AND NURSE
SPEAKING GERMAN)

(GRUNTING)

(EXCLAIMS)

(SCREAMING)

(NANNY SPEAKING GERMAN)

(CHILDREN LAUGH)

(NANNY SPEAKING GERMAN)

You love children,
yes?

Yes.

You have children
of your own?

No. Not yet.

But surely some day.

If God wills.

(SCRUBBING)

Tell us, what were
you trying to achieve
in Germany?

In London, one sees
the poor everywhere.

Here, all we look out
on are lawns

and beautiful trees,
but behind them...

Come to the point.

What I mean is, Papa,

that none of the people
we know do anything to help
the poor, those in need.

Florence,
do you know what goes on
in those hospitals?

I didn't know,
but I know now.

I mean, what goes on
between the nurses
and the medical students.

And the doctors.
As far as they're concerned,
nurses are just harlots.

Parthenope, will you be quiet?

If I were a fainting woman,
I would faint.

Well, you're not.

Don't you see? We have to
change our attitudes towards
the poor and the sick,

and towards women who would
go among them and help them.

Yes, but how do you
propose to do that?

By example,
my own example.

To give, not just money
and things, but to
give of one's self.

Are you trying to tell us
that you wish to
leave Embley Park

and go and work
inside a hospital?

No one seems to mind
the idea that I go
and leave them

to marry Richard Milnes
and live inside his house.

Look. Please, now listen.

Do you realize
what you're proposing?

You're proposing to
give up everything.

Papa, don't you see,
it's everything
that I want to use,

not throw away
or waste on endless
luncheons and teas.

Florence, all we ask
is that you not
throw away the chance

to make a happy
and successful marriage.

Yes, yes, yes. Well,
you settle it amongst
yourselves. I'm off to London

to get some peace
and quiet.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hPapa...

Oh, William, please.

It's not, truthfully,
that I do not care. I do.

I will not be part of
any more family rows.

See what you've done?

You can't come in here, miss.
This is a gentlemen's club.

I know that.
My father, Mr. Nightingale,
is a member.

All I want to know is,
is he here? Because if so,
I must see him.

I'm not permitted to say,
miss, or madam,
as the case may be.

It's a rule of the club.
If you'd care
to leave a note,

I'll see that Mr. Nightingale
receives it when he is
next on the premises.

If I were a gentleman,
you'd be able to tell me
if he was inside.

Ah, if you were a member,
which is to say
a gentleman,

that would be
a different matter,
madam, I agree.

And were a member
ungentlemanly enough not to
wish his daughter to see him,

would he cease to
be both a member
and a gentleman or neither?

You've got me
mixed up, miss.

Or madam,
as the case may be.

I say, William.
There's a young
woman outside

making an awful fuss
about having to see you.

Oh, now, now, W.E.N.,
what have you
been up to, dear boy?

(MAN LAUGHS)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFlorence!
Thank goodness.

Oh, my dear, you know
better than to come
looking for me here.

Papa, since this is
the place where you are,

surely looking for
you anywhere else
would be rather stupid.

Women are not
allowed in the club
and you know that.

But I'm not in the club,
I'm in the lobby.

(SIGHS) Anyway,
you look radiant.

Papa, there's something
I must discuss with you.

Unless I have your
understanding and help,

especially with
Parthe and Mama...
What I mean is...

(SHUSHING)

I have reached the
conclusion that neither
your mother, Parthe,

nor anyone else
for that matter,

is capable of moderating
or controlling
your interests,

which will free you from
all feeling of
responsibility toward them.

As for me, I am now
totally on your side.

Papa.

But, for goodness sake,
don't tell your
mother or your sister

or the rest of my life
will be made even more
unbearable than it already is.

Oh, Papa.

Now, remember,
we are in the club, not too
much affection in public.

RICHARD: Lord
and Lady Ashcroft,
Florence Nightingale.

Lord and Lady Breerly,
Florence Nightingale.

Lord and Lady Monteagle,
Florence Nightingale.

Lady Monteagle
is on the committee
for the institution

you may have
heard of, Florence.

The Hospital for
Distressed Gentlewomen.

Yes. And I heard
of Miss Nightingale
from Miss Marianne Nicholson.

Come, dear.

Mr. Gregory.
Hello.

Florence Nightingale.

Look at him.
When will Flo put all
this nonsense out of her mind

and make up her
mind to marry him?

Never. I'll wager
that she never does.

Richard is
a very patient man.

Parthe, what was that
you just said?

Ever since Flo
was a little girl,

she has always done
precisely what she wanted
and only what she wanted.

She'll never do things his
way. And after all, that is
what marriage is all about.

Oh, really?
I'd never noticed.

You know
it's true, Papa.

A woman may say
what parties to go to
or how a gown should be cut,

but the real decisions
are made by the man.

Florence will accept that.
She will have to.

Of course, she will marry
and so will you.

If I had Richard
Milnes paying court...

Now there's the man
I want you to meet,
Florence.

Sidney Herbert,
the most gifted and
influential man in England.

Secretary at War,
a brilliant parliamentarian,
vastly rich.

He lives at Wilton,
to my mind the most
beautiful house in England.

Newly married,
so you needn't
make eyes at him,

and very interested
in hospitals.

And why do you care so much
about nurses and hospitals,
Miss Nightingale?

What do you hope
to accomplish?

Women should have some
alternatives to just
being wives, Mr. Herbert.

Alternatives?

Yes. Now they have none.

Not in England.
None they can be proud of.

Nursing in a hospital
is considered disgraceful

when it should be
just the opposite.

For the good of hospitals
and the good of women.

But to change
the condition of the one

it is necessary
to change the condition
of the other.

Bravo, Miss Nightingale.

There's a hospital
that needs a new
administrator, Mr. Herbert,

the Hospital for
Distressed Gentlewomen.

If I could just be considered
for the post, I would attempt
to do the rest on my own.

How do I look?
Am I dressed all right?

You look wonderful,
as always.

I mean, mature,
serious, sober enough
to be an administrator?

I must be mad to even try.

Well, Sidney Herbert
doesn't think so.

And he's an excellent
judge of horses, wine
and sober, serious women.

Please don't tease me,
I'm frightened to death.

What if they laugh at me?

What if they ask me
questions I can't answer?

Richard, you know that
Lady Monteagle is
a friend of the Nicholsons

and is clearly against me
for rejecting Cousin Henry.

Well, I clearly
am for you.

Richard, I am serious.

Now, darling, those biddies
couldn't think up a question
you can't answer.

Now what's the worst
that could possibly happen?

You'd be turned down for this
post but be offered another,
Mrs. Monckton Milnes.

It's bad luck to try
and read the future.

Florence...

Please, help me,
advise me.

Tell me to be brave,
but don't ask me to make
decisions about us now.

I was going to say

that you mustn't let
them think for a moment
that you're their servant.

Now, I know
these committees.

They'll only respect you
if they think
they're serving you.

Richard, you have
that sort of confidence

but I'm so afraid
I'm going to fail.

I'm not frightened
of that, Florence.

What scares me is,
what if you succeed?

I have tried to present
the reasons I believe I would
be a good administrator

and the ways I feel
I can improve
hospital conditions.

LADY MONTEAGLE: Miss
Nightingale.

Yes,
Lady Monteagle.

Your qualifications are well
set out in Mrs. Herbert's
letter of recommendation.

But your ideas,
I believe,
are quite unrealistic.

Which ideas do you mean?

Well, for one,
your suggestion to

"install mechanical
lifts for food delivery."

(ALL LAUGH)

Well, our nurses have
always brought
the patients their food.

Well, of course
they have.

These lifts can save
much time and effort.

But bedside bells
for summoning nurses.

Why, patients will be calling
every moment for
all sorts of silly things.

Not at all. I feel...

What about your
suggestion for piping hot
water to the rooms?

We have cold water
piped to the rooms
and that is quite enough.

Hear, hear.

When hot water is required,
the nurses carry it in jugs,
as they always have.

You speak of these women
as though they were just
pairs of legs, madam.

They have a higher
calling than that.

Do they, indeed?
A lower calling, perhaps.

(WOMEN MURMURING)

My nurses will be
dedicated to healing.

The health and care
of the patient
is the important thing.

Your nurses?

They are not your nurses yet,
Miss Nightingale.

WOMAN: Quite, quite.

Frankly, my dear,
you seem too young to take on
these high responsibilities

as evidenced in these
well meaning but quite
impractical demands.

Ladies, please,
these are not demands,

but ideas for bettering
the lot for both the nurse
and the patient.

Miss Nightingale,
you have had only a few
short weeks of training.

Yet you come here,
you want to change everything.

I feel that this is...

I have come here in
good faith to say
I want to work with you,

to make this hospital
an even finer
institution than it now is.

If you agree, I would be proud
to be its administrator.

And if you choose me,
I will put into effect
any good ideas I have

to make the sick more
comfortable and the
nurses more efficient.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: On July 23, 1853,

Florence Nightingale
was declared
superintendent of nursing

for the Harley Street Hospital
for Gentlewomen.

I must say you're looking
far less "not too bad, miss"
on the whole

than you were
this morning.

(LAUGHS) You do make
me laugh sometimes,
Miss Florence.

(EXCLAIMS)

No. No,
like this,
Miss Stewart.

Remember? One arm under
the head and shoulders,

the other in the
small of the back.

(BOTTLES CLATTERING)

Oh, dear!

Nurse Davis, would you
come here, please?

This bottle is labeled
"Spirits of Balsam."

Luckily, I smelled it
before it was administered.

It is muriatic acid!

Well, that can't be.

From whom did you
order this bottle,
nurse?

From the usual chemist.
He gives us the best price.

No matter what the price,

I want you to tell
that man that we
will not use him again.

I will not have my
patients at the mercy
of a careless man,

no matter what the price!

Your patients?

I were a nurse
before you were born,
and a good one, too.

I worked for pennies,
'cause I cared
whether the sick got well.

You just ask anyone about me.
And now you come accusing me

like I were a common cheat
that took money
from the chemist...

You're accused of nothing,
nurse. I too care.

There's a sick
patient in that room,

who trusts us
and could have died
from this medicine.

We will not use
your man again, ever.

Is that clear?

What if it's not?

Nurse, you're experienced
and well respected,

I had hoped to have
your support in my work here.

But I am the administrator,

and it is my job
to protect and help
the patients get well.

We'll hire our
own chemist

and have a dispensary
right here on
the premises.

That way, there will be
a check on all medications.

Now, if that is not agreeable
with you, then just as we
will hire a new chemist,

we will hire
a new head nurse.

Now, do you understand?

Yes, Miss Nightingale.

Good.

This difficult job needs
both of us. Let us try
to do it together.

My dear, your success
at the hospital
is the talk of London.

You've become
a sort of heroine.

You've achieved
what you set out to do.

Now, I really don't
begrudge the fame,

but, quite selfishly,
I wonder about our plans
for the future together.

I need to ask
you now, finally,
will you be my wife?

Richard, you've been
so kind and patient
with me for so long...

Florence!

Please, I beg you,
don't force me
to an answer now!

I must!

I always believed we
had an understanding.

But if you don't
love me enough to
want to marry me now,

why should you
in the future?

Richard,
I've only just escaped
one kind of domestic life,

the life of family,
and I don't want to be
nailed to it again so soon.

You're making excuses,
Florence.

Have I ever tried
to nail you down?

I have loved you
truly as a friend,

but I have a passionate side
of my nature, too.

And that side of me
has to have an answer.

If you tell me again
that you want more time,
you're saying no,

and I must take
that "no" as final.

You choose to make
it final, not me.

Very well, then,
if it has to be now or never,
then let it be never.

And I shall never marry!

You're talking like a child,
Flo, and a spoiled one.

Of course you will marry.

I, too, have a passionate side
to my nature.

And perhaps I shall satisfy it
outside of marriage.

But I shall never marry.

Florence, don't say
you'll never marry.

Say rather that

you and I will
never fully part.

I love you.

When I say it,

I'm saying goodbye to
one whole side of life
and all of youth.

Past and future,
being torn apart, right here.

And I'm doing the tearing.

And now it's done.

(ALL SHOUTING)

(SOLDIERS SCREAMING)

(GUNFIRE)

NARRATOR: While Florence's
fame grew in the world
of British medicine,

England found itself entangled
in a war with Russia.

The glow of pride which
followed the first
victories on the Black Sea

was soon to be replaced
by a feeling of national shame

as over half
the Army's casualties occurred

not on the battlefield,
but in its hospitals.

But if the medical
supplies were left behind
at Varna and Calamita,

why in heaven's name
haven't they
been shipped

to the main body
of the Army since?

They've had five,
six weeks to do it in.

Surely something so obvious,

something calling for
no more than a simple
shred of common sense,

doesn't require
a direct order
from London.

Well, I wouldn't
believe everything
that this chap, Russell,

writes in the Times,
you know...

In fact,
I do believe it.

And even if only
half of it's true,
it's still an outrage.

And one which the
whole country will
be reading about

and justly feeling
incensed about from
this morning onwards.

Yes, sir.

Miss Nightingale
is here to
see you, sir.

My dear Florence,
what can I do for you?

Sidney, I would like
to help at the
hospital in Scutari.

Scutari? Florence,
there's a big
difference between

running a women's
hospital in London

and trying to merely
survive in a
pest-hole in Turkey.

Here you're respected,
practically a celebrity.

There, well...

Have you any idea
what life might be
like for a woman?

Women are strong,
stronger than you think.

I bow to no man in
my respect for women,
but Scutari is a living hell.

Besides, it is
a British Army installation.

No woman would be
allowed to enter.

And even if she were,
what could she possibly do?

Exactly what the wives
and mothers and sisters of
those young men would do.

Clean them,
take care of them,
nurse them back to health.

Florence, I don't think
you understand
the scope of this tragedy.

But I do, Sidney.

I want to raise
a corps of nurses,
the best that can be found.

Pay them out of
my own pocket,
if I have to.

Take them to Scutari
with bandages and shirts
and medical supplies,

pound down the Army's doors
if they won't let us in,

and take care of
those wounded heroes.

This whole war is
a monumental embarrassment.

We wouldn't even be in it

if the Russians didn't
believe that on land
we are vulnerable

as opposed to our
might on the seas.

And to make matters worse,
the Times sends
William Russell

to record all of the Army's
blunders and the mishandling
of the wounded.

Florence, what do you
suppose will be
the reaction of the military

if they heard
that a woman, worse,
a band of women,

is on its way to
rescuing the British Army?

Give me permission
to try. And if you can,
give me funds.

Enough funds to
show the world

that we won't let our soldiers
rot away in some foreign
land for lack of care.

Sidney, our soldiers
are dying needlessly. What
you're talking about is pride.

What I'm talking
about is saving lives.
Will you help?

Florence, you can't!
The boat sails in 10 days.

You'd have to leave London
in less than a week.

And if I tried,
and if I succeed,

you would be going
to a country so vastly
different from England,

you'd be in the most horrible
of circumstances.

No, Sidney, the most
horrible of circumstances
would be to do nothing.

(WOMEN MURMURING)

FLORENCE: Experience?

MRS. BRENT: Nursed
all me own family.

Spent four years
in St. John's.

And I've done
scrubbing and washing,
too, to raise me kids.

That's perfect
experience for Scutari.
Sister, sit down.

Do you know where
Scutari is?

Some heathen place?

Near Constantinople
in Turkey.

Are you married,
Mrs. Brent?

I never exactly married.

I can go where I please,
and I please to go
to wherever it is.

Why do you please to go?

For the money, miss.
Eighteen shillings a week!

I just always
liked nursing the sick.
It's a sort of calling I have.

At least, I think I have.

I don't really know much
about it, nobody taught me,

but I just seem to know how
to make people feel better.

And I love it.
You know what I mean, ma'am?

FLORENCE: Yes.

Just call me Iris.

FLORENCE: Have you had
any experience
in nursing, Iris?

Well, I sure like soldiers.
Known a lot of them, too.

I don't like to think
of any I've been with
lying in that awful place,

wanting a human hand to hold,

or a woman to sponge them off
and make them better.

I feel the same way
myself, Iris.

I thought my calling
was to be a nun.

I tried,
but it was wrong for me.

So my parents arranged for me
to marry an Englishman.

He's in the Army
somewhere in the Crimea.

Perhaps in Scutari.

(DOOR OPENS)

You look surprised.

I am.

Please sit down, Nurse Davis.

It's the end of a long,
hard day and I'm sure
you're tired, too.

I want to volunteer.

To tend the wounded
soldiers in Turkey?
Are you sure?

Why me less
than those others?

I've watched them in
and out of here all day.
Am I any worse than them?

No. Of course not.

You're a competent,
experienced nurse.
I'm just surprised that...

Surprised I want to go
with you? Well, don't be.

What do you say,
Miss Nightingale?
Will you take me?

TRUDE: Miss Nightingale?

Trude?

Why, I can't believe
my eyes.

What are you
doing in England?

I have been here doing
work for Dr. Fleetner.

I am a nurse,
I come to serve.

You want to go
to Scutari?

Where you go,
if I can be of help,
Miss Nightingale.

If you can be of help?

If you only knew
how I've prayed
for someone like you.

Someone who understands,
who doesn't
have to be taught.

Trude, I'm taking
40 women halfway
around the world,

nearly all with
little training.

And I'm terrified
I won't be equal
to the task.

You will. You will
be equal to anything.

I hope so, I pray so.

And those boys,
they pray, too, I think.
And look, we are coming.

Sometimes I think
prayers are answered.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

(CROWD CHATTERING)

There she is, over there!

But where are
the Bracebridges?

All these women traveling to
the continent unescorted.

I'm so relieved Charles
has agreed to go with them.

Otherwise, I'd never
have allowed her to go.

PARTHENOPE: How could
anyone have stopped it?

Charles,
we're here!

Hello.

(CROWD CHEERS)

Does Florence
know you're here?

No, we cannot
get near her.

She really
is remarkable.

I never would've
imagined she
was capable

of organizing
and carrying out
a venture like this.

Hereditary,
I expect.

I am so grateful
that you and Selina
have agreed to go with her.

She'll need to be among
friends, however strong
she appears to be.

There's not
a lady in that company,
apart from Selina.

No one of our
class would go, Mama.
I certainly wouldn't.

Florence!

I'm so glad you've
come to see me off.

Flo, do be careful.

Turks do not respect
women the way
English gentlemen do.

I will be careful, Mama.

PARTHENOPE: Florence.

(SIGHS)

My sister,
my little sister.

Flo, I'm so afraid
for you.

This all sounds so horrible.
I could not bear to...

Parthe.

I want to go,
I'm not afraid.

I know what I'm doing.

Of course you do, Flo.

Father, I hope you
understand.

Don't ask me that,
I shall never understand.

But I shall always marvel,
with pride,

with awe, at the brave,
noble girl

that we raised in our family
without ever realizing
that she was different.

Godspeed,
my gallant daughter.

Richard.

I had to be here.

I'm so pleased.

You really are
the most adorable patriot
I've ever seen.

I've missed you, Florence.

Richard, I'm happy to
hear that, and to know you're
not angry at me any longer.

Will you write?

Of course.

And expect answers.

And I will send them.

I...
I am afraid
of what's ahead,

but this is what I
was always meant to do.

I believe that,
and I want you to
believe it.

I do, Florence.

CHARLES: All nurses
stay together.
No wandering off, please.

RICHARD: Florence, my dear.

Hold your head high.

How many of us in our
lifetime can ever say,
"I have made a difference"?

You are one of
those rare ones, Flo.

As for us,

I have no
regrets for what is,

only selfishly at times

for what might have been.

Love, Richard.

NARRATOR: The journey
to Turkey took nearly a month.

By ferry from
England to France.

By train to
the port of Marseille.

And by ship to Constantinople.

Florence, Bracebridges,
and her group of 40 nurses

arrived at the
base hospital, Scutari,
on November 4th, 1854.

I'm Charles Bracebridge, sir.
My wife, Selina.

This, of course,
is Miss Nightingale.

I'm Dr. Clarke. Welcome
to Scutari, or as much
welcome as it offers.

This is where you'll be.
Barracks Hospital.

This used to be
a Turkish barracks,
now it's a British hospital.

Strange, this war.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGood God!
This way.

We have at present
some 2,000 cases.

The wounded, some cholera,
some simple dysentery.

Hard to tell
the difference, really.

You'll be staying in
the Barracks Hospital,
if you stay.

And I apologize in
advance for the stench,

but, well, these are
rough military quarters,
you know.

I'll escort you to
Dr. Menzies' office,
if you're ready.

Now this Dr. Menzies,
sir, just who
is he precisely?

Our chief
medical officer, sir.

He will give you
your instructions.

Our instructions, Doctor,
come from the Secretary
at War, Mr. Sidney Herbert.

Certainly
Dr. Menzies knows that.

With all due respect,
Miss Nightingale,

you and your party are a long,
long way from home.

Dr. Menzies gives
the orders at Scutari.

Who is that?

DR. CLARKE: That,
Miss Nightingale, is the man

who gives Dr. Menzies
his orders.

Dr. John Hall, the man
in charge of all medical
services for the Army.

He is here on a tour of
inspection. He just arrived
from the Crimea, actually.

Doctor, please,
don't let us
disturb your dinner.

You've had your dinner,
madam?

No, sir.

I'll see that
a meal is laid out
for you and your ladies.

Later on, when you've rested,
perhaps tomorrow
or the next day,

we'll have time to talk.

Thank you, Doctor,
but we rested quite
enough on the ship.

We are eager to
begin our work.

Perhaps tomorrow,
Miss Nightingale,
or the day after,

something can be
arranged for you
to do.

Something can be
arranged for us to do?

Miss Nightingale,
our problems
here are enormous.

We're already overloaded
with patients and are
about to receive more.

There's been a big battle
at Balaclava near Sebastopol,
with a great many wounded.

That means a mountain
of administrative work.

We're literally
snowed under as it is
with forms,

indents, purveyor's warrants,
accounts to
the paymaster general.

Now if you'd
brought us 40 clerks

instead of 40 nurses,
we could've put them to use.

(MEN MURMURING)

Sir, we are not clerks.

We've come a long way
to tend the sick and wounded

who, by your own description,
need us very badly.

DR. HALL: Miss Nightingale,

let me make
myself very clear.

Why ever you've come,
you are now under my command.

What you suggest is,
of course, quite impossible.

No female has ever
been allowed to nurse
in the British Army,

and that is that!

Have I made myself plain?

Florence,
we're wasting our time.

Dr. Menzies, I understand
all too well the restrictions
of the British Army.

However, common soldiers
who have fought
with uncommon courage

are lying just a few
steps away from here,

suffering for the lack of
what I have brought with me,

medical supplies
and dedicated nurses.

Surely you wouldn't
let your feelings about women

prolong the suffering
of wounded soldiers?

They are not
my feelings alone,
Miss Nightingale.

There's a good
deal of opposition,
prejudice, if you will,

among my divisional officers
against female nurses going
into the men's wards.

Well, in that case, sir,
what the devil
have we come here for?

I would ask you
the same question, sir.

Doctor, when can we
at least get acquainted
with the hospital?

We are medical persons,
as you are. Tending
wounds is our profession.

Very well, Miss Nightingale.
Your curiosity
shall be satisfied.

Immediately after dinner,
my aid, Dr. McGregor,
will escort you himself.

But, Major, it will be dark
at that hour.

The wards will be
as black as pitch.

Miss Nightingale
will light them up
with her presence, no doubt.

(MEN CHUCKLING)

Or better still,
bring a candle.

And Miss Nightingale,

I wouldn't eat
too much beforehand,
if I were you.

SURGEON: Chloroform.

Don't you know, sir?
I gave orders!

No chloroform to be
used in any hospital
under my command!

But this man's leg's
in a terrible way, sir,
mangled to the thigh.

He's got to lose it,
sir.

Smart use of the knife, sir,
is a powerful stimulant.

For it's far better
to hear a man bawl lustily

than to see him
sink silently
into the grave.

Sir.

Gag.

(CRYING)

I've got him, sir.

(SCREAMING)

(RATS SQUEALING)

NURSE: 12 of us in here?

We've only been allotted
these three rooms.

Mrs. Bracebridge,
would you mind
coming here, please?

My God,
what is that?

A dead man from the look
of it. Russian, and a general,
I should think.

Would you mind
giving me a hand
with him?

Oh, God, I can't.
I can't.

Well surely you can try.
Come on. Come on,
take some of the weight.

Come on, lift him.

Come on, help me. That's it,
that's it. Sit him up,
sit him up, sit him up.

Right, Trude,
we're gonna need help!

Charles!

Help us lift.

Got him? Now, lift.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYeah, yeah.

All right.

TRUDE: He's so heavy.

All right, got him.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNURSE: You got him?
Yes.

Dr. McGregor,
be frank with me,
please.

Why are you doctors so
frightened of letting
nurses into the wards?

What do you
imagine we can do?

It isn't a question
of being frightened,

it's just that women
tending common
soldiers in the army,

it's not done.

Doctor, have you ever done
things in your life
that aren't done?

Of course.

So have I.
That's why I'm here.

Now, please show me
the wards.

(RATS SQUEALING)

(SOLDIERS GROANING)

(SOLDIERS COUGHING)

SOLDIER: Have mercy.

(RAT SQUEALING)

What's that sound?

It's rats, madam.

I see they lie here
for the most part just
as they were brought in.

No sheets or blankets?

None.

They're left
where they landed.

Shirts?

What they've got on.

Laundry?

There is none.

Dr. McGregor,
we have clean shirts
and bedding with us.

Please help us
distribute them
to the men.

It would seem simple,
wouldn't it?

But the purveyor
must approve it.

The truth is, if your shirts
were for the officers
there would be no problem.

But for the
common soldier...

Well, you've already had
some introduction to the
prejudice of the British Army.

Yes.

(SOLDIERS MOANING)

SOLDIER: Water.

(SOLDIER EXCLAIMS)

Are the windows
ever opened here?
Floors ever cleaned?

No.

Are the dressings
ever changed?

Are the wounds
ever cleaned at all?

Are the men ever
cared for in any way...

SOLDIER: Doctor.

...or are they just
brought in here to die?

SOLDIER: Doctor!

Have you finished?

No, I have not.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hMa'am.
Yes?

Have you come to
look after us then?

What's your name?

Tom. Tom Miller, ma'am.

Where are you from,
Tom?

Cornwall, ma'am.

Cornwall is beautiful,
isn't it?

Tom, we will be
coming to look after you.
Try to get some sleep now.

I'll come to you soon.
Yes.

SOLDIER: I don't want
to die here.

That boy's wound
is infested.

Most of them are.

Better maggots
than gangrene.

What are you going to say?

"You ought to be
ashamed of yourself"?

Would that help?

Miss Nightingale,
I do the best I can.

Believe me,
if I worked night and day,

if I begged and fought
for medical supplies...

If I killed myself
fighting conditions here,

do you think it would help
these poor wretches one bit?

No, they would
simply be worse off,
with one less doctor.

So I do my best to
live with it, and I stay.

Dr. McGregor, I beg of you,
please help me to do
the work I came to do!

Madam, there are centuries
of prejudice to overcome.

Only one thing has
ever changed anything
in the British Army.

And what is that,
Doctor?

Disaster.

My God, isn't this
disaster enough?

FLORENCE: Dear Sidney,

the conditions of the sick
and wounded arriving
from the battlefront

are even more appalling
than this hospital itself.

Tragically, most never
survive the 12-day
journey from the Crimea

across the open sea.

Those that do are so ravaged
by gangrene, cholera
and exposure

that there is little
anyone can do for them.

Surely, someone
must appeal to Dr. Hall

about this inhumane treatment
of our wounded boys.

For the most part,
they are just boys.

Where's
Mrs. Bracebridge?

Gone for her
morning walk,
I shouldn't wonder.

Why must
you always
pick on her?

Because she
deserves it.

She's got no stomach
for this kind of work
and you know it.

When do we start work,
Miss Nightingale?

We can hear the men
on the wards, miss,
calling out they are.

The stench in this
place is enough to
give a man a fever,

let alone cure him of it.
And there are rats!
I saw them.

Why can't they give
us decent quarters?

I just bet
the officers don't
live like this.

Ladies, hear me out.
Mr. Herbert is
thousands of miles away.

Our patients
are here.

If we are to be
allowed to help them,

then we must
bite our tongues,
do as we are told,

and show the Army that we,
too, can endure
suffering without complaint.

But I never came
all this way to sit
and sew blankets

while men are dying
for want of care.

If you can't make
them let us work,

why don't we just pack up
our things and go home?

Nurse Davis,
you signed an agreement
to accept my orders.

My orders are to be patient,
silent and dedicated
as a nurse should be.

I'm as good a nurse as any,
better than most.

But I'm not here
to waste my time.

I hear the men
crying out in there,
and my stomach turns.

Get us in there,
or let's be gone!

You want to do what?

We want to clean your floors.

There are no
brushes.

We have 200 in our store.

If we may not cleanse
and disinfect the men,

may we not at least
go in and scrub and
disinfect the floors?

And throw open the windows
to stop the spread
of cholera and typhus?

We have four miles of beds.
Four miles of floors.

And do you realize
how filthy they are?

Do you, Doctor?

It seems such a disgrace
to let the women
do it by themselves.

We're not asking to
do it all by ourselves.

That's why we have
200 brushes, Major.

DR. MENZIES: Very well,
Miss Nightingale. Go ahead.

(ALL SHOUTING)

(TRUMPET PLAYING)

(EXPLOSION)

(GUNFIRE)

(SOLDIERS GROANING)

(GROANING)

(GUNFIRE)

(GROANING)

(EXPLOSION)

Miss Nightingale, there's been
a heavy battle at
Mount Inkerman above Balaclava

I've been told to expect
over 1,000 wounded here

within the next seven days.

A thousand? But the
wards are hopelessly
overcrowded already,

and the deaths from
cholera are still rising.

I was hoping we could
improvise something.

If your good ladies
would help out,
as they did in the wards.

In the past several weeks,
your nurses have
done tremendous work.

Really.

Few men would have the courage
to do what you have.

Dr. Menzies, we can help you.

But only if we are allowed
to attend to the wounded.

Is this a bit of blackmail,
Miss Nightingale?

Furthermore, we want
the purveyor's permission

to distribute free
all the shirts that
we brought with us.

And your permission
to hire enough Turkish
workmen to help us.

We have not got
the funds.

We have. Over 29,000 pounds
raised by the Times.

Well, in that case,

if you could do all that,
my dear lady, it would be
something like a miracle.

The miracle, Dr. Menzies,
will not be what
my nurses can do

but that we will
finally be allowed to do it.

(COUGHING)

This man's shoulder
looks to be shattered.
Place him over there, please.

Up the stairs,
please.

Yes, ma'am.

NURSE: This way,
bring him through.

(GRUNTING)

Over there.

I shall look
after him now.

You've had a long journey.

Now you're going to stay here
with me, and I'm going to be
beside you all the time.

And you're going to rest.

That's right.
Close your eyes and rest.

Keep holding my hand.

Do you have a family?

I have a wife.

If she were here,
she'd want to
hold you as I am.

Care for you
and help you to get well.

I'll help you
write a letter to her

and you'll see how
much better you'll feel.

(PANTING)

(GASPS)

NARRATOR: During that
terrible year of 1855,

over 2,000 soldiers
wounded in the line of duty

died in the arms of
Florence Nightingale.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

CHARLES: Florence.
It's us, Selina and I.

Come in.

Selina has something
to say to you.

Flo, I've asked
Charles to take me
back to England.

Which, well, I suppose
I have no choice.

It seems like
such a betrayal
of you, Florence.

Selina, why?

I'm not a nurse.
I have no purpose here.

What possible reason
can there be
for me to stay?

For that matter, Charles,
what possible reason
can there be for you?

I resent that.
We are here to
support Florence!

SELINA: We're not
supporting her,
she's supporting us.

Flo, I know it's you
who's had to cover up
for all our inadequacies.

Selina, you have not been...

I am not
as strong as you.

I cannot suppress
my feelings the way
that you do.

Suppress them?

Is that how you see me?

How else have you
managed to survive
and do what you have done?

Nearly a score of nurses
that you brought with you
have gone down with cholera.

Half a dozen have died.
And yet you go on.

It requires
a hardness, Flo.

You're different from us,
different from what you were.

I wonder sometimes
how you'll manage
to go back.

Well, at least she's not
going back until she's done
what she set out to do,

which is more than
you can say for us!

I mean, ever.

To that world
we all once knew.

I suppose the answer is
you'll manage to do
without it perfectly well,

as you'll manage to
do without us perfectly well.

CHARLES: For God's sake,
Selina.

I'll say goodbye now, Flo.

I'm sorry I failed you.

Goodbye, my dear.

Goodbye, Flo.

Safe journey home.

Miss Nightingale.

That patient,
the gangrene on Ward Two,
I'm going to amputate shortly.

I shall be there, Doctor.

I'll need the chloroform.

Dr. McGregor.

You should know
the symptoms by now.

For God's sake,
for the sake of
this whole bloody hospital,

stay away or you'll
catch the cholera, too.

(SOLDIER SCREAMS)

Stop! You will please
treat these men
with dignity!

God bless you, miss.
Are you Miss Nightingale,
miss?

Yes. Nurse, will you
please see to this man?

Everybody knows your name,
Miss Nightingale.

What the world
has not yet seen
is your face.

And who are you, sir?

William Russell
of the Times.

And you are
Florence Nightingale.

I'm honored to
meet you at last.

I can't believe
the change you've
made here.

In the three months
since you came here,

you've brought some
sense of order, where before
there was only chaos.

I have not been alone,
Mr. Russell.

Do you know that
the soldiers speak of you
in hushed voices,

almost as if
you were an angel?

At the front, you're
all that they talk about.

What's been done here was
done by ordinary people
doing ordinary things.

It's the work of my nurses
that has made the difference,
Mr. Russell, not mine.

And how do you
explain the quiet
when you pass?

I can't. Sometimes,
listening to that quiet,
I'm amazed,

because of
the suffering,
the squalor,

and because in the
middle of it all,

there is this extraordinary
gentleness among men.

And they're the ones the
grandees of the Army call
the scum of the earth.

I've got to know
a lot of them since
I've been out here.

And you're right.
They're brave
and they're good.

But I know no one who's
braver or better than the
woman I'm looking at now.

That sounds like
newspaper talk, Mr. Russell.

No, it's not.
Indeed, you are brave.

And important to
the British people.
You deserve the credit.

And it's my job to
see that you get it.

So you're attempting to
make me a hero?

I'm just trying to describe
the truth, Miss Nightingale.
Only the truth.

I have to leave for
the Crimea in the morning.

Could we go
somewhere and talk?

A man is about to
have his leg amputated.
I promised to be by his side.

Well, maybe afterwards.
I could wait for you.

May not be an afterwards,
Mr. Russell.

That man's probably going
to die by morning.
No man should die alone.

By tomorrow, you'll be gone.

If you're ready to wait
all night with that man,

I'm ready to wait all tomorrow
on the off chance
that you might be free,

even for an hour,
Miss Nightingale.

All right.

NARRATOR: Now William Russell
knew what Florence had
told me years ago,

that she had a calling.

This lady, who carried herself
with such dignity.

This lady, who carried herself
with such grace

that men kissed her
shadow as she passed.

This lady with the lamp.

WILLIAM: Fanny, here's another
article from Mr. Russell
on conditions in Scutari.

Oh, read it, Papa.
Please, read it.

"Due to the heroic exertions
of Miss Nightingale
and her nurses

"conditions of the Barracks
Hospital, so catastrophic
but for a few months ago,

"have improved out
of all recognition
and are still improving."

What an amazing girl.

Yet I shouldn't be surprised.
Her whole life has
been leading up to this.

I am so proud of her!

(ALL MURMURING)

Robert! Robert!
Robert!

Oh! Oh, no!
Oh, Mother of God.

(CRYING) Oh, no! No!

My darling!
My darling! No!

(CRYING)

No!

I know I had given
him up in my heart.

I began to think I'd
never see him again.

And I did see him again.

FLORENCE: Richard,
though I am hardly
ever alone in this place,

I feel very much alone.
Everyone here has
felt the strain.

If there is a hell on earth,
this must be it.

And when I think of you
and what our life
would be together

I feel I must be mad or
possessed by
the devil himself to be here.

I miss you, Richard.
I love you, Richard.

When did that
bed become vacant?

Early this morning,
ma'am, took him away.

Isn't he the third man
to die in that bed
in two weeks?

That's right, ma'am.

It's kind of
a hard-luck bed.
I'm glad I'm not in it.

It smells bad
down there, too.

(SNIFFS)

Nurse, Doctor.

Nurse Davis, take Tom
out of that bed. Put him
into the far end of the ward.

Don't put any new
patients in this area.

But we're so
short of space.

Nurse, please. Do as I say.
It may save lives.

(RAT SQUEALING)

(GASPS)

(RAT SQUEALING)

So, Dr. Clarke, how long
have you been out

in this
infidel wilderness?

DR. CLARKE: Too long, sir,
I assure you.

What is that?

I believe it is
Florence Nightingale.

The lady with the lamp.

May I present
Dr. John Sutherland,

Dr. Hector Gavin
and Mr. Rawlinson
of the special commission.

Gentlemen,
you could not have chosen
a more opportune moment.

When I explain to you why,
it will explain to
you my appearance.

I think your
appearance is just grand,
Miss Nightingale.

You do?
Then please follow me,
Dr. Sutherland. Gentlemen.

DR. SUTHERLAND: My God!

(RATS SQUEALING)

DR. GAVIN: Shocking!

Doctor, this entire
building is a
veritable death trap.

The gases from
the sewerage channels
are killing our men.

That's impossible.

Dr. Menzies.

What you have down there
beneath this
imposing structure

is a sea of decaying filth.

The sewerage channels
are hopelessly blocked

by the bodies of
dozens of dead animals.

Every breeze,
every puff of wind

blows poisonous gases
into the air works,

killing all those whose beds
are near the vents.

Worse yet, Doctor,
it appears your water supply

passes right
through the carcasses
of two dead horses!

Dr. Menzies,
we will hire workers to clean
these channels right away

or I am telegraphing London
to demand your
immediate resignation!

Is that clear?

Miss Nightingale,
there's a soldier
asking for you in Ward B.

She just left.
She should be
there by now.

She's doing too much.
She'll wear herself out.

I can't bear
to see how pale
she looks.

No paler than us,
locked up in this
dungeon 18 hours a day.

Oh, I'm sick of
your complaining.

Why don't you leave then
and go home where you belong?

Who are you to
say where I belong?

You're no nurse,
you're just a common thief,
a slut,

here to collect your
18 shillings. It's easier than
earning them on your back!

Why, you!

(BOTH SHOUTING)

NURSE: Iris!

(ALL CLAMORING)

NURSE: Let go!

Oh, my God!

Go!

Go from here.
You disgrace
your calling!

Wait!

She called me names,
Miss Nightingale.
Terrible names.

Ask the others if
it ain't the truth.

And I'll say them again.
Thief! Woman of the streets!

Don't you dare...

Nurse Davis!

Why do you torment
your sisters so?
You're a fine nurse,

but ever since we came here
your hand that is so
gentle with the soldiers

seems to be set against us.

Not against them,
against you!

But why?

If I'd been
born in your place,
I'd be the leader here.

Shame on you.
For shame!

You think that's
such an enviable job?
Then take it.

If it were in my power alone,
I would gladly give it to you.

This has been a terrible
burden on all of us.

Let us all try to
get some sleep now.

"It is Christ that died,
yea rather that
has risen again.

"Who was even at the
right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.

"Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?

"Shall tribulation,
or distress,
or persecution, or famine,

"or nakedness or perils?

"As it is written,
for thy sake, we are killed
all the day long,

"we are accounted as sheep
for the slaughter.

"Nay, in all these things,
we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.

"For I am persuaded
that neither death nor life,

"nor angels,
nor principalities,

"nor powers,
nor things present,
nor things to come

"nor height, nor depth

"nor any other creature
shall be able to separate
us from the love of God."

NARRATOR: On September 7th,
1855,

John Sutherland wrote
Sidney Herbert in London,

"You little know what
daily anxiety it causes me
to see her dying by inches.

"This woman, who tends to the
soldiers and to her nurses.

"This woman tends to
everyone but herself."

Miss Nightingale, since I
arrived, I've done everything
you asked me to. True?

Yes, Doctor. True.
And more than true.

Well, now I want you
to do something for me.
Will you grant it?

Hadn't I better
know what it is first?

And what if when
you'd ordered me
down the sewers I'd said,

"I think I'll have to know
what's down there first"?

I trust that's not
a strict parallel,
Doctor?

Far from it,
I'm hoping.

Tell me, how long is it
since you enjoyed
a decent meal,

served on china plate,

with knives and forks that
weren't bent out of shape, and
a good-sized glass of wine?

I can't even remember.

Well, there's a small cafe
down in Scutari, I'm told.

Now you need, in fact, we
both need a few hours outside
of this place or we'll go mad.

And then what use
will we be to anybody?

Dr. Sutherland,
is that an invitation
to dinner?

If you prefer,
not so much an invitation
as a prescription.

You persist in calling
me doctor. Well, what if
I said in that capacity

that your work is suffering
from a lack of recreation?

Is that true?

No. But what if
I were to say it?

Then I suppose I would
have to do what you
want me to do and come.

Dressed.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWhat?

None of that nurse's garb.
The real benefit only comes
when you're all dressed up.

At 8:00, Miss Nightingale,
if you please.

And by the way,
thanks very
much for the honor.

RICHARD: "My dear friend,

"I hesitate to write this,
yet I know I must.

"I hesitate because I sense
that in the turmoil
that surrounds you,

"you are much alone
and face many problems.

"Yet, and before anyone else
knows about it,

"I feel in duty bound to
tell you that I'm going
to be married.

"If, my dear Florence,
we could live forever,

"I would wait for you
to come to me.

"But I cannot
make time stand still
for either of us.

"I love you and will always.
Richard."

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

To the future
and us.
To us tonight.

Somehow this
makes me feel silly.

It's good for
you to feel silly
once in a while, Florence.

You've been
cooped up in that place
for far too long.

I was joking earlier
about being your doctor,
but your hand is trembling.

Is there something wrong
with you, Florence?

Nothing.

You must tell me,
you know.

Nothing that as
a doctor you'd need
to know about. I promise.

Then perhaps,
may I ask not as a doctor?

Today I received a letter
from the man I once
thought I would marry,

only he's going to
marry someone else.

Forgive me.

He has every right to marry,
and I have no right
to shed a single tear.

You loved him?

Yes, I loved him.

But when he proposed,
I could not say yes.

I put him off
again and again.

I think I knew even then
that if I gave myself to him
wholly and completely,

I could not do my work.
One passion would
cancel out the other.

One of the reasons
I invited you here
with me was that,

even though I see you
surrounded by people,
I feel you're very lonely.

One has to be alone to be
able to think in the midst
of all this turmoil.

I don't mean
being alone to think.

I mean, it's as though
the path you've chosen
in life is lonely.

I am lonely,
but I don't want to be.

Sometimes,
in the middle of the night,
I long to cling to someone.

But then I get
frightened and I...

I feel that if I give
myself to someone,
I'll lose my way altogether.

It seems the only thing
you're afraid of is love.

Dr. Sutherland...
Florence.

Do you really believe
that a love will take
you away from your work?

That will never be.

Florence, you're
a divinely gifted healer.

Whatever you want
to do, you'll do.

Wherever you want
to go, you'll go.

And I would be most grateful
if in any capacity you choose

you would allow me
to go with you.

Forgive me, John,
I must get back.

Florence.

It won't help those people
hungry at the hospital
if you eat well tonight.

I know that,
but don't you see?
I can't swallow it down.

I don't choose to be as I am.
This is not what I wanted.

This, it is kind of a curse.

I can never have
a life like other women.

When I was 17
I heard a call from God.

I hear that voice still.

Go your own way, John.

Don't ask to go at mine.

NARRATOR: As Florence's fame
continued to grow,

a vengeful Dr. Hall took steps
to relieve her of her command.

Left with no other choice,

Florence made preparations
to confront the man who
clearly was her enemy.

Miss Nightingale,
before you leave,

I should like to take
this opportunity of
wishing you a safe journey.

Thank you, Dr. Menzies.

I also want to tell you
that I owe you an apology,

and not just because
you're to see
the Inspector General.

We did not receive you very
graciously when you came.

I'm the first to
acknowledge that.

But your pluck
and persistence,

well, those virtues are two
I particularly admire.

Every soldier does.
No man could have shown more.

That's what I wanted to say.

And you saying it
means a great deal.

NARRATOR: Of the original
40 nurses that Florence
brought to Turkey,

only 12 had survived
when she left Scutari.

Now, sick with fever,
Florence led her small band
of travelers to Russia

for her meeting with destiny.

(SOLDIERS CHEERING)

God bless you, ma'am!
You're a saint!

Florence, you look exhausted.
The journey was far too long.

I am a little tired
but pleased by
our reception.

The men seem
so encouraged
that we're here.

You're like
a miracle to them,
Flory.

Is that you,
Miss Nightingale?

Yes.

How long ago
were you wounded?

A couple of hours.
Stray bullet it was,
miss.

This man's wound
should have been
cleaned on the spot

and the clothing
round it cut away.

Why has this not
been dealt with
immediately?

Well, do it! Don't you have
orders to do that as soon as
the man is found wounded?

Yes, ma'am.
Very good, ma'am.

Florence,
gently does it.

You told me that when
I was so angry with Menzies
I wanted to hit him

because of the conditions
of the sewer. Remember?

I remember, John.
Yes.

You Miss Nightingale,
ma'am?

Yes, I am.

Where's Dr. Hall,
please?

His tent is just
over there, ma'am.

Thank you.

Bless you for coming, ma'am.

SOLDIER: Sir,
Miss Nightingale, sir.

Ah.

Miss Nightingale.
A pleasure, indeed.

Forgive me, Doctor.
But there was a wounded man
being brought in.

They said he was picked up
over two hours ago,

but in those two hours
his wound had
not been cleaned,

the clothing round it
had not even been cut away.

\h\h\h\hIsn't it possible that...
In that case,

I trust you gave
the orderly in charge
a thorough dressing down?

Dr. Hall, we've sent so many
letters and reports

imploring your men to take
these elementary measures
at the frontlines.

Do you know how many
hundreds and hundreds

of cases of gangrene
we've had at Scutari?

Miss Nightingale,
I do not intend
to be subjected

to a harangue by
a hysterical woman.

If that's the method
that got results at Scutari,

then I must warn you that
I'm a much sterner man
than Dr. Menzies,

and far less susceptible
to the wiles of a woman.

Miss Nightingale,
are you quite all right?
Would you like tea?

Yes, please.

Orderly!

Sir.

Tea for Miss Nightingale.

Sir.

(TRUMPET PLAYING)

(SOLDIER BARKING ORDERS)

Oh, well,
you feeling better?

Yes.

Yes, you're a frail
little thing.
I can see that now.

I'm not trying to
belittle your work,
Miss Nightingale.

But when I read the papers,

with the magnificent
achievements attributed to you
and you alone at Scutari,

it does grit
one's teeth a bit.

Believe me, Dr. Hall,
I have never made any
such claims for myself.

Well, you do not
appear to disavow them,
all the same.

You have no real
authority here at all,
I've told you that before.

Your report states that
you're the superintendent
in charge

of the female nurses
at Scutari. That's Turkey,
this is Russia.

British-occupied Russia,
but Russia nonetheless.

I did not come to exercise
any authority, Dr. Hall, but
to discuss my ideas with you.

And to try, with your help,

to prevent the tragedies
of last winter
from happening again.

Dr. Hall, much has been
accomplished at Scutari.

I had hoped to ask your
permission to stay on there.

But I see...

Oh, how softly
you speak now,
Miss Nightingale.

Well, you may visit
my hospitals, if you wish.

It's the least you deserve.
But I shall need no help
from you or your nurses.

I have a well-trained staff,
thank you,
who don't coddle our soldiers.

We are not interested
in your wildly applauded
ideals on morale.

We do not have
a little girl's army.

We have come here
to gain a victory, madam.
We're interested in glory.

Men who can bear
pain without flinching,
obey orders without question.

Something you
might think about.
My advice to you would be

to spend a few days here,
enjoy our hospitality,
and then go back to England.

But, Dr. Hall, I...

Miss Nightingale,

the British Army has a long,
long history.

And it will flourish long
after you and your nurses
have disappeared and left...

Dr. Hall, don't speak to me
of the British Army!

The army is men, sir!

Unless we see every soldier,
every single one,
as a human being

deserving of proper treatment,
medical or otherwise,

deserving equally,
whether he be of
high or low degree.

Unless we do that, Dr. Hall,

your British Army
will become what it was
but a few months ago,

an army of well-fed
officers who make wars,

and dying soldiers
who have to fight them.

I am interested,
not in prejudice,

and certainly not in conceit,

but in proper
treatment of human beings,

bodies and even minds.

I have come here to
ask you to help me,

not to learn the rules
of the British Army,
but to change them.

Or the proud, great country
that we both love
will one day be humbled

and lost because
of men like you!

Miss Nightingale!

She will get well, she must.

It is in God's hands.

Aye. If we can only
bring the fever down.

We have done all
we can. What is there
left now but to pray?

Like us, all the soldiers,
they are praying, too.

I've come to
relieve you.

No, no. I'll stay
a little longer.

You'd best get
some sleep.

What good is it if
you get cholera, too?
Who'll take care of her then?

She is right, Doctor.
You are exhausted.

I sleep to get
strength to serve her.

Without us,
she's helpless now.

I will sleep
for an hour.

I'll be here
when you get back.

You're on fire.

Well, little Nightingale,

you're brought low now,
aren't you?

Not so pretty now.

Sickness can do that,
can't it?

To the rich and
the poor alike.

One thing to do
they haven't done.

They'd never believe it
weren't for spite, though.

What would you do
if you were me?

What would I want
if I were you?

I'd want to live, little lady.

I'd want to bring
that fever down.

You heard the news?
Miss Nightingale's
been taken very bad.

Go on.

They think she'll die.

Dear Mother of God.

Don't say it's
that cholera.

They said it was
the Crimean fever,

that's what they said.

Richard.

(SHUSHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hRichard.
(SHUSHING) It's
all right, Flory.

It's all right.

My hair.

It had to be done to
break the fever, Flory.

And it is broken.
You'll get well.

Who?

Nurse Davis and Trude.

They've been in here,
faithful as mother hens,
tending you

and coaxing you
back to life.

You, you look like
a Madonna.

Beautiful lady.

The lamp shines
on your hair,

on your gentle,
sweet face,

on your eyes.

Let me comfort you now.

Let me love you now.

OFFICER: Come on, pick them up
there, pick them up.
Left, right, left, right...

It is Lord Raglan to see you.
The commander-in-chief,
Miss Nightingale.

Major Sutherland.

Lord Raglan.

Miss Nightingale.

I'd heard you were better,
but I had to come
and see for myself.

Very kind of you,
Lord Raglan.

I should've come sooner,
but I've had
a message from the Queen.

From the Queen?

Asking me to make sure that
"that excellent and valuable
person, Miss Nightingale,

"is making a safe recovery."

I should like to
telegraph her tonight

that you have indeed made
the recovery which she
and all of England prays for.

May I?

Yes.

I'm also giving you a copy
of today's general orders,
signed by me.

Because it concerns you.

I have also sent a copy
to Dr. John Hall,
whom I believe you know.

"Miss Nightingale
is recognized by
Her Majesty's Government

"as the general superintendent
of nursing of all military
hospitals of the Army.

"The principal medical
officer will, therefore,
communicate with her

"on all matters connected
with that establishment

"and will give
and receive orders only
through that lady."

Miss Nightingale,
I believe this
is also for you.

This brooch was created
in your honor by Her Majesty,
Queen Victoria.

I've been asked to present it
to you on her behalf.

The inscription reads,
"Blessed are the Merciful."

NARRATOR: Six months later,

the war with Russia
was finally over.

Though a hero's
welcome awaited her,

Florence chose to slip
quietly back to England.

Back to her home.

FANNY: Florence!

Mama.

PARTHENOPE: Florence.

Florence!

I'm home.

I'm home.

Oh, my darling Flo.