Sarah Keate

Last updated
Sarah Keate
First appearance The Patient in Room 18
Last appearanceMan Missing
Created by Mignon G. Eberhart
Portrayed by Aline MacMahon
Marguerite Churchill
Jane Darwell
Ann Sheridan
In-universe information
GenderFemale
OccupationNurse
NationalityAmerican

Sarah Keate is a fictional character, the protagonist in a series of medical mystery novels by American author Mignon G. Eberhart.

Contents

Overview

Keate, a nurse with a talent for solving crimes, was introduced in Eberhart's debut novel, The Patient in Room 18 (1929), and later appeared in While the Patient Slept (1930); The Mystery of Hunting's End (1930); From This Dark Stairway (1931); Murder by an Aristocrat (1932) (also published in 1934 as Murder of my Patient); [1] Wolf in Man's Clothing (1942); and Man Missing (1954), as well as in several short stories. Five of the seven novels and one of the stories were turned into movies in the 1930s.

Eberhart was one of the most popular American mystery writers, [2] producing 59 books between 1929 and 1988. Sarah Keate was one of her most famous characters. [3] [4] In fact, Keate proved to be Eberhart's only series sleuth, as the prolific author switched in the mid-1930s to writing mostly standalone novels, with no recurring characters. After that, she brought back Keate only rarely. Eberhart, however, continued to use medical settings and characters in the medical profession in her fiction.

Sarah Keate is a single nurse, middle-aged or perhaps younger, who sometimes works in hospitals and sometimes in the homes of patients. In some of the stories, she works with detective Lance O'Leary. As an amateur sleuth, Keate gets involved in situations that are "closed community" mysteries, with a finite number of potential suspects. Author Ron Backer has observed that "wherever she is employed, murders seem to occur ... she is a shrewd observer of the suspects and the evidence". [5]

Reception of the books

In a review of Eberhart's first novel, The Patient in Room 18, Solomon Posen noted: "Eberhart's Sarah Keate RN spends a good deal of her time assisting detective O'Leary in solving a hospital murder mystery. However, in between discovering interesting objects, attending inquests and pursuing suspects, Miss Keate carries out the duties of a nursing supervisor efficiently and without complaints. She is totally free of the blemishes displayed by most fictional nurses". [6] The second Nurse Keate novel won a $5000 Scotland Yard Prize, from the Crime Club booksellers association. [7]

List of novels

Film adaptations

Sarah Keate (with variations in her name) was portrayed in films by Aline MacMahon, [8] Jane Darwell, Marguerite Churchill, and Ann Sheridan: [9]

Reception

In discussing the shared characteristics of nurses as depicted in film, critic Julia Hallam noted that Sarah Keate was one of the "popular nurse sleuths who worked as private duty nurses for wealthy patients in their own homes and became embroiled in the mysterious goings-on of the mansions' other occupants. The nurses in these films display wit, mental acuity and courage; they are worldly wise, not easily taken in by outward appearances, yet are portrayed as sympathetic and kindly women ... By focusing on nurses as sleuths ... nurses are depicted as intelligent, rational women with logical powers of deduction". [10] But the films were not as well received as the books, partly because they were considered sloppily written broad comedies rather than suspenseful mysteries. There was no consistency in these films even when it came to the character's name, which was presented in various productions as Sally Keating, Miss Keats, and Sara (without an h) Keate. [11]

Related Research Articles

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The Dark Stairway is a 1938 British crime film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Hugh Williams, Chili Bouchier and Garry Marsh.

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<i>Mystery House</i> (film) 1938 film by Noel M. Smith

Mystery House is a 1938 American mystery crime film directed by Noel M. Smith and starring Dick Purcell and Ann Sheridan as nurse Sarah Keate, and is based on the 1930 novel The Mystery of Hunting's End by Mignon G. Eberhart. Sheridan also played the same character in The Patient in Room 18, released in January 1938, while Aline MacMahon played her in While the Patient Slept in 1935.

<i>The Patient in Room 18</i>

The Patient in Room 18 is a 1929 mystery novel written by Mignon G. Eberhart. Eberhart's first published novel, it follows the adventures of Nurse Sarah Keate, who would later appear in six more of Eberhart's works, and became one of the most popular mystery characters of the time. The novel later served as the basis for a 1938 motion picture released by Warner Brothers, with the same title, starring Patric Knowles and Ann Sheridan.

<i>While the Patient Slept</i> (film) 1935 film by Ray Enright

While the Patient Slept is a 1935 comedy murder mystery film directed by Ray Enright starring Aline MacMahon as a nurse/crime sleuth and Guy Kibbee as her boyfriend and police detective. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Mignon G. Eberhart.

<i>Murder by an Aristocrat</i> 1936 film by Frank McDonald

Murder by an Aristocrat is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Lyle Talbot, Marguerite Churchill and Claire Dodd. The film was based on a 1932 novel of the same title by Mignon G. Eberhart, with sets designed by Hugh Reticker. It was the seventh of 12 B-mysteries released by Warner Bros. as part of their "Clue Club" series between 1935 and 1938.

<i>The Great Hospital Mystery</i> 1937 film by James Tinling

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunt with the Hounds</span> 1950 mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart

Hunt With the Hounds is a mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart. It is one of her stand-alone mysteries. It was published as A Witness for my Love in the June & July 1950 issues of Woman's Home Companion, then published by Random House in 1950 as part of its "Detective Book Club" series. It was reprinted as a mass market paperback in 1963 by Popular Library, and in 2011 by Symonds Press (ISBN 978-1447412625).

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<i>The Dark Garden</i> 1935 novel by Mignon G. Eberhart

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<i>The White Cockatoo</i> (novel) 1933 mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart

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<i>While the Patient Slept</i> (novel) 1930 novel by Mignon Good Eberhart

While the Patient Slept is a 1930 mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart. It was both Eberhart's second novel, and the second of the author's seven novels revolving around the central character of Sarah Keate. The novel received positive reviews upon its release. A film adaptation of the same name was released by First National Pictures in 1935.

<i>The Glass Slipper</i> (novel) 1938 mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart

The Glass Slipper is a 1938 American mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart. Like many of her novels, it features a nurse protagonist and elements of romance. The book was first sold in hardcover in New York by Doubleday, and in London through the Collins Crime Club.

While the Patient Slept may refer to:

<i>Murder Mystery 2</i> 2023 American film by Jeremy Garelick

Murder Mystery 2 is a 2023 American action comedy mystery film directed by Jeremy Garelick and written by James Vanderbilt. It is a sequel to the 2019 film Murder Mystery, and it stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston with Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith and John Kani.

References

  1. ↑ John M. Reilly, ed. 1980. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Macmillan. p. 524
  2. ↑ "4 AUTHORS ON PROGRAM: Famous Detective Story Writers to Speak at Times Hall", New York Times 19 Apr 1944: 21.
  3. ↑ Andrew Whalen. "In Netflix's 'Murder Mystery', Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler Reunite for First Time Since 2011". Newsweek. 6/13/19. https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-movies-murder-mystery-jennifer-aniston-adam-sandler-just-go-1443875
  4. ↑ B. Murphy. 1999. The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery. Springer. p. 275.
  5. ↑ Ron Backer, 2012. Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood. McFarland, Jul 27, McFarland. p. 241.
  6. ↑ Solomon Posen. 2013. Doctor and Nurse in Fiction. The Doctor in Literature. Volume 4. Gender and Sex. University of Sydney. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/9311
  7. ↑ Rick Cypert. America's Agatha Christie. Susquehanna University Press. ISBN   1-57591-088-8 pp. 50-51.
  8. ↑ BOOK NOTES, New York Times, 08 Aug 1934: 15.
  9. ↑ Mel Gussow. "Mignon Eberhart, Novelist, 97; Blended Mystery and Romance". The New York Times, Oct 9, 1996 pg. D19.
  10. ↑ Julia Hallam 2005. "Angels, battleaxes and good-time girls: Cinema's images of nurses". In Graeme Harper, Andrew Moor. Signs of life: cinema and medicine, Wallflower Press. p. 107.
  11. ↑ Michael R. Pitts. 1991. Ch. 7. Nurse Sarah Keate. Famous Movie Detectives II. Scarecrow Press.
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