Never Fear

For young dancer Carol, life couldn't be better until she is diagnosed with polio during a medical examination. Suddenly, her stage career, her body and her plans for the future are called into question – as is her love for her partner Guy... Ida Lupino, who herself contracted polio as a teenager, tells this story without sentimentality. Instead, she focuses on the arduous daily routine of rehabilitation, the associated setbacks and small successes: even in a wheelchair, you can still dance square dancing. Focusing on the inner life of a woman who has to learn to redefine herself, her work on dignity and self-assertion impresses the legendary Howard Hughes so much that he gives her a contract as an independent producer.
(Florian Widegger)