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).
John Nesbitt
as Narrator (voice)
Shepperd Strudwick
as Dr. Semmelweis
Rudolph Anders
as Doctor (uncredited)
King Baggot
as Passerby (uncredited)
William Bailey
as Passerby (uncredited)
Barbara Bedford
as Nun Reading Book (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks
as Medical Student at Lecture (uncredited)
Mary Howard
as Young Stricken Mother (uncredited)
Leonard Penn
as Semmelweis' Assistant (uncredited)
Beatrice Roberts
as Passerby (uncredited)
Edward Van Sloan
as Hospital Chief of Staff (uncredited)
E. Alyn Warren
as Professor (uncredited)
