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Arrowsmith

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This highly touted 1931 film, based upon the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Sinclair Lewis (who refused to accept the Pulitzer), was named one of the ten best films of the year by none other than The New York Times. It also received a number of Academy award nominations, including that of Best Picture. Directed by the now legendary John Ford, I had high expectations of the film that were, unfortunately, not met.

This is a film that has not aged that well. While Ronald Colman, in the role of the central character, Martin Arrowsmith, is excellent, the film does not live up to its reputation. This film was shot in the early years of talkies, and it still carried some of the earmarks of a silent film. Exaggerated posturing, odd segues, and somewhat disjointed scenes mark it as such. It also suffers from a somewhat uneven screenplay.

The story revolves around a young, idealistic man who wishes to become a research doctor, rather than a practicing physician. He runs into a nurse, Leora Tozer (Helen Hayes), whom he falls in love with almost immediately and marries right away. One wonders what the urbane Arrowsmith sees in this somewhat pedestrian woman, as there appears to be no chemistry between them.

After they marry, he gives up his dream to be a medical researcher and, instead, moves to South Dakota, where his wife, Leora, is from and sets up a country practice. While working as a local physician, he interests himself in the plight of the local bovine, as they have fallen prey to disease. He comes up with a serum that saves the day, and he publishes his findings.

His research comes to the attention of the well respected McGurk Institute in New York City, where his medical school mentor, Dr. Gottlieb, is established. They make him an offer he cannot refuse, and he and the devoted Leora relocate to the big apple. There, he has a break through, having created a bacteria destroying serum. When Bubonic plague besets the then British West Indies, he goes down there to conduct a clinical trial with his serum. Leora also goes with him, against his better judgment.

While in the British West Indies, the authorities refuse to let him conduct clinical trials. They want him to give the serum to everyone. Arrowsmith is not prepared to do that as a medical researcher. He is then approached by a black doctor, a graduate of Howard medical school, who is working with the native population in one of the outer islands. He is willing to have Dr. Arrowsmith conduct his clinical trials on the native population. So, Arrowsmith goes off, leaving Leora behind on the main island, where he believes she will be safe.

A tragic set of circumstances causes the devoted Leora to contract the plague, while Arrowsmith is away. By the time he returns to her, it is too late. Going off the deep end, he stops his clinical trials and does the humanitarian thing, indiscriminately giving the serum to all. When he returns home, he is hailed as a hero, but he knows that, as a man of science, he has failed in his objective.

The most interesting segments of the movie are those scenes that take place on the islands. They are beautifully shot, moody and atmospheric. It was interesting to see the inclusion of the black doctor, at a time when Hollywood films generally only included blacks as eye rolling, singing, dancing Stepin Fetchit characters.

Ronald Colman is his usual velvet voiced and handsome self, competent and sympathetic in his role as the idealistic man of science. Helen Hayes I found to be lackluster and annoying in the role of Leora. When she contracted the Bubonic plague, I could not help but think that Arrowsmith would now be free of this stupid and insipid albatross. Myrna Loy has a bit, and I mean bit, part in this film, as a lovely looking woman, who is definitely interested in Arrowsmith.

Notwithstanding its shortcomings, fans of Ronald Colman, as well as those who love vintage films, will enjoy this one.

Don't let the "professional" editor's review for this DVD stop you. This movie was far from "creaky". The picture quality is beautiful, the camera moves very well for being an early talky, and the plot moves as well. There are also some interesting visual/arty shots in the film that impressed me, and the acting was quite good too, although there were a few scenes that had overdramatic elements. But, I don't find this a problem.

Ronald Colman is, as always, charming; the story and role are good for him, and as I said above, the direction was excellent. So many early talkies ARE stagey and static - this one is not.

One scene that I found really cute was the one where he pulls out a little boy's tooth and remarks to the boy that he "hasn't been making the most of his toothbrushing opportunities".

Get this movie. It comes highly recommended from me as a fan of both Ronald Colman and old films.

"Arrowsmith," the 1931 film directed by John Ford and adapted from Sinclair Lewis' classic novel by screenwriter Sidney Howard, was actor Ronald Colman's favorite film until he made "A Tale of Two Cities." Colman stars as Martin Arrowsmith, the idealistic young doctor who seeks a cure for bubonic plaque. Inspired by his mentor Professor Gottlieb (A. E. Anson) to pursue medical research, Arrowsmith gets his medical degree and marries nurse Leora Tozer (Helen Hayes) and ends up being set up by her family as a country doctor in South Dakota. He proves to be a poor physician, but he does come up with a serum to cure cattle of a disease. After returning to New York to work with Dr. Gottlieb, Arrowsmith is inspired by the Swedish doctor Gustav Sondelius (Richard Bennett) to go to the West Indies where the bubonic plague is raving the islands. Gottlieb wants Arrowsmith to give the test serum to only half the patients, to do a sound clinical study. But after Leora succumbs to the disease, Arrowsmith gets drunk and ends up giving the serum to all of the patients. Although the British authorities credit him with ending the epidemic, Arrowsmith knows he has betrayed science to be a humanitarian.

Certainly an interesting film, which Sinclair Lewis considered an excellent cinematic representation of what he had tried to do in his novel, even with the major cuts and changes mandated by Howard's screenplay. The author had refused the Pulitzer Prize for his 1925 novel, so if he is happy with the adaptation I am not going to accuse him of merely being polite. The choice of John Ford to direct the film does not end up being significant in any noticeable way and I would think most viewers would be surprised to see his name on this one. Colman's performance is excellent in a part that plays to his strengths, and since his character dominates the movie he gets the main credit for making it work. His scenes with Hayes, who won the Oscar that year for "The Sin of Madelon Claudet," are quite effective as if young Myrna Loy as Joyce Lanyon, who briefly catches Arrowsmith's eye. The story is certainly atypical in that it speaks for the important of scientific research over the healing arts that Hollywood usually associates with great doctors. "Arrowsmith" received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Writing (Adapted), Cinematography and Art Direction, and the score is by Alfred Newman.

This highly touted 1931 film, based upon the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Sinclair Lewis (who refused to accept the Pulitzer), was named one of the ten best films of the year by none other than The New York Times. It also received a number of Academy award nominations, including that of Best Picture. Directed by the now legendary John Ford, I had high expectations of the film that were, unfortunately, not met.

This is a film that has not aged that well. While Ronald Colman, in the role of the central character, Martin Arrowsmith, is excellent, the film does not live up to its reputation. This film was shot in the early years of talkies, and it still carried some of the earmarks of a silent film. Exaggerated posturing, odd segues, and somewhat disjointed scenes mark it as such. It also suffers from a somewhat uneven screenplay.

The story revolves around a young, idealistic man who wishes to become a research doctor, rather than a practicing ohysician. He runs into a nurse, Leora Tozer (Helen Hayes), whom he falls in love with almost immediately and marries right away. One wonders what the urbane Arrowsmith sees in this somewhat pedestrian woman, as there appears to be no chemistry between them.

After they marry, he gives up his dream to be a medical researcher and, instead, moves to South Dakota, where his wife, Leora, is from and sets up a country practice. While working as a local physician, he interests himself in the plight of the local bovine, as they have fallen prey to disease. He comes up with a serum that saves the day, and he publishes his findings.

His research comes to the attention of the well respected McGurk Institute in New York City, where his medical school mentor, Dr. Gottlieb, is established. They make him an offer he cannot refuse, and he and the devoted Leora relocate to the big apple. There, he has a break through, having created a bacteria destroying serum. When Bubonic plague besets the then British West Indies, he goes down there to conduct a clinical trial with his serum. Leora also goes with him, against his better judgment.

While in the British West Indies, the authorities refuse to let him conduct clinical trials. They want him to give the serum to everyone. Arrowsmith is not prepared to do that as a medical researcher. He is then approached by a black doctor, a graduate of Howard medical school, who is working with the native population in one of the outer islands. He is willing to have Dr. Arrowsmith conduct his clinical trials on the native population. So, Arrowsmith goes off, leaving Leora behind on the main island, where he believes she will be safe.

A tragic set of circumstances causes the devoted Leora to contract the plague, while Arrowsmith is away. By the time he returns to her, it is too late. Going off the deep end, he stops his clinical trials and does the humanitarian thing, indiscriminately giving the serum to all. When he returns home, he is hailed as a hero, but he knows that, as a man of science, he has failed in his objective.

The most interesting segments of the movie are those scenes that take place on the islands. They are beautifully shot, moody and atmospheric. It was interesting to see the inclusion of the black doctor, at a time when Hollywood films generally only included blacks as eye rolling, singing, dancing Stepin Fetchit characters.

Ronald Colman is his usual velvet voiced and handsome self, competent and sympathetic in his role as the idealistic man of science. Helen Hayes I found to be lackluster and annoying in the role of Leora. When she contracted the Bubonic plague, I could not help but think that Arrowsmith would now be free of this stupid and insipid albatross. Myrna Loy has a bit, and I mean bit, part in this film, as a lovely looking woman, who is definitely interested in Arrowsmith.

Notwithstanding its shortcomings, fans of Ronald Colman, as well as those who love vintage films, will enjoy this one.

With the advent of sound, it seems movie directors forgot what pictures could be. Certain technical problems of the early sound era (positioning of microphones, for example) were a major source of these difficulties, but generally speaking the movies made furing this time period (1929-1934 or so) are incredibly stagey and stiff.

In this picture Ronald Coleman plays Dr. Martin Arrowsmith, the idealistic young medical doctor who discovers a serum for plague; Helen Hayes is his devoted wife, who dies from the disease. The script is almost laughably inane, the acting utterly wooden. Coleman, with his highbrow English accent and stiff manner, seems miscast; Hayes at least shows a little bit of life. For some inexplicable reason the movie struck a chord with the public and it was nominated for an Academy Award, though it lost to GRAND HOTEL.

Note and question: For years it's been reported that the movie originally ran 10 minutes longer, with much of the part with Myrna Loy as the "other woman" being cut and apparently lost. I notice the running time of the movie given on the DVD is about 10 minutes longer than the time given on older VHS copies. Does this mean the snipped film has been restored??

United Artists presents "ARROWSMITH" (1931) (108 min/B&W) -- Starring: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, A.E. Anson, Myrna Loy

Directed by John Ford

Based on a Sinclair Lewis novel "Martin Arrowsmith". A medical researcher is sent to a plague outbreak, where he has to decide priorities for the use of a vaccine.

Colman and Hayes are an attractive pair of leads. Myrna Loy has a much abbreviated role in the film as a New York socialite that Colman meets down in the islands.

Earnest and already quite distinguished looking as young Arrowsmith is Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes suffers nobly as his neglected wife, infected herself through a careless action by her doctor husband.

Near the end of the story, we get a glimpse of the young and seductive Myrna Loy in an underwritten role. Editing seems to be very obvious from the original ending in the novel.

Nominated Oscar for Best Art Direction (Richard Day), Best Cinematography (Ray June), Best Picture (Samuel Goldwyn), Best Writing, Adaptation (Sidney Howard)

BIOS:
1. John Ford [John Martin Feeney] (Director)
Date of Birth: 1 February 1894 - Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Date of Death: 31 August 1973 - Palm Desert, California

2. Ronald Colman [aka: Ronald Charles Colman]
Date of Birth: 9 February 1891 - Richmond, Surrey, England, UK
Date of Death: 19 May 1958 - Santa Barbara, California

3. Helen Hayes [aka: Helen Hayes Brown]
Date of Birth: 10 October 1900 - Washington, District of Columbia
Date of Death: 17 March 1993 - Nyack, New York

4. Myrna Loy [aka: Myrna Adele Williams]
Date of Birth: 2 August 1905 - Radersburg, Montana
Date of Death: 14 December 1993, New York City, New York

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 3 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 108 min on DVD ~ United Artists ~ (March 8, 2005)

I have become a fan of Sinclair Lewis over the years and it all began when I read "Arrowsmith". I admit that I was initially befuddled by the book until I came to understand the relationship between Medicine and Science; Money and Research. Into this mix comes a man who knows what he wants to do but is twisted into something else. In the end, his pursuit of his avocation costs him the one he loves the most.

Many years after I read the book, I got a chance to see the movie. I was looking forward to the opportunity because it was directed by my favorite master of the trade, John Ford. Although I noticed some of his usual techniques were missing, I had to acknowledge that Ford did a great job. I thought the best imagery he created was the fog in the pestilent island home. As the leading lady was succoming to an illness, we saw the fog creeping into the open doorway and into the darkness therein. There were other images that I enjoyed but much of the enjoyment was with the acting. I have come to realize that it is no coincindence that Ronald Colman happens to keep showing up in impressive movies. Here he is teamed up with a very young Helen Hayes (how did she manage to skip middle-age and transform from a young actress to en elderly one in her career?). There is a good supporting cast with a few of the Ford stable of supporting character actors. (Did you catch the unbilled Ward Bond playing a cop in an early scene in the movie?) The movie, naturally, skips a lot of the book's details and I'm bothered that they changed the location of the heroine's home town from North Dakota to South Dakota. However, the movie did well to bring out the focal points of the book while finishing in a better dramatic flair.

I found the movie "Arrowsmith" to be a strong picture for its' time just as the book was a strong challenge to its' time as well. There were some aspects that were dated but there were also some aspects that were treated better than Hollwood's usual approach in that era. For example, the work that the doctors did among the Black islanders failed to conjure up the usual embarrassing scene of the overt bigotries of the time. In the end, amidst the grief, there is hope. That is a stock trait of Ford's movies that I was glad to see included.

For starters, "Arrowsmith" was not an ideal project for director John Ford. He doesn't seem to be particularly engaged by the material and his usual flair is lacking in this production. That said, this enterprise is saved by the superb screenplay by Sidney Howard adapted from Sinclair Lewis' novel and an excellent cast. Lewis' tale of an idealistic physician who compromises his principles and his marriage as he rises through the ranks of his profession is told intelligently and compellingly. Ronald Colman, though maybe a little old for the role and a wee British for a Midwestern doctor, is dynamic as Arrowsmith. Helen Hayes does wonders with her role as Arrowsmith's long-suffering wife. On paper there is little substance to her character but Hayes does the most with what she is given. Though made in 1931, this film holds up remarkably well because it's central themes are as relevant today as they were then.

ARROWSMITH IS JUST ANOTHER FINE EXAMPLE OF THE INTENSE ABILTY AND CREDIBILITY THAT ONLY RONALD COLMAN COULD BRING TO LIFE.THIS MOVIE IS MOST CERTAINLY A MILESTONE FOR COLMAN, AND DIRECTOR JOHN FORD.ARROWSMITH IS AN ALL AROUND, SOLID AND BELIEVABLE FILM THAT IS WORTH VIEWING SEVERAL TIMES. TRULY A LOST CLASSIC!

"Arrowsmith" is a 1931 film based on the 1925 Sinclair Lewis Pulitzer prize-winning novel of the same name. Coming from Lewis, the novel was an indictment of the medical profession.

Handsome Ronald Coleman (1891-1958) plays Dr. Arrowsmith. Coleman was a silent film actor whose rich, melodious voice propelled him to stardom when talkies came out. He was Oscar nominated for two films in one year - 1929 ("Bulldog Drummond" and Condemned"), and again in 1942 ("Random Harvest") and finally won in 1947 ("A Double Life"), for which he also won the Golden Globe.

FWIW - Although Coleman was a great actor, at 30 years of age he was getting a little too old to be playing a medical student. That's probably why Ford shot the initial scenes from the back without showing Coleman's face, however, his voice is clearly the voice of a middle aged man and not a young medical student.

Helen Hayes (1900-93) plays a nurse whom Arrowsmith weds. Hayes, the "First Lady of American Theatre", is one of only 12 people to win the quadruple crown - an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony. In her case, she was the first woman to achieve this status and she ran up a total of 7 - 2 Oscars ("Airport", "The Sin of Madelon Claudet"), 2 Tonys ("Happy Birthday", "Joan of Lorraine"), 1 Special Tony Award, and 1 each for an Emmy ("Harriet Beecher Stowe") and a Grammy. Her life was more devoted to the stage, but she managed 50+ performances on TV and 20+ films. My favorite Hayes performance was from "Anastasia" (1956).

Myrna Loy (1905-93) plays a New Yorker whom Arrowsmith assists (and becomes his second wife in the book, but not in the film). Loy started in silent films in the mid 20s, appearing as an uncredited slave girl in "Ben Hur" (1925) and then appeared in more than 50 silent films before transitioning to sound. Her persona as a comedienne slowly emerged in films like "The Prizefighter and the Lady" (1933) that was directed by Woody Van Dyke, who would help transform Myrna Loy into Nora Charles, the other half of "The Thin Man" series (1934 - 47) for which she is best known.

Clarence Brooks (1896-1969) has the distinction of being the first Black person to appear in films as a highly educated person. He made about a dozen more films through 1951 but ultimately ended up playing a butler, a porter, and a half naked savage.

Look for Ward Bond in an uncredited appearance at the start of the film as a cop. Bond was a close friend of Ford and appeared in dozens of his films. Look real closely and you'll also see everyone's favorite grandma Beulah Bondi, Ford favorite John Qualen, and cowboy star Ray Hatton.

John Ford (1894-1973) was a struggling director in the early 30s, and his 76th film was the first that distinguished him and hinted that he might have a future. Ultimately he won 4 Oscars ("The Quiet Man", "How Green was my Valley", "The Grapes of Wrath", "The Infortmer") and was nominated for "Stagecoach". He had 3 DGA nominations and 1 win and 4 wins by the New York Film Critics.

FWIW - Ford's greatest as a director is not apparent in this film, although in retrospect you may detect some clues.

The music from Alfred Newman (1900-70) is impressive. Newman was nominated more than 30 times for an Oscar and won 9 times - "Camelot" (1967), "The King and I" (1956), "Love is a Many Splendid Thing" (1955), "Call Me Madam" (1953), "With a Song in My Heart" (1952), "Mother Wore Tights" (1947), "The Song of Bernadette" (1943), "Tin Pan Alley" (1940), and "Alexander's Rag Time Band" (1938).

1931 was a great year for film. The top grossing films were "Frankenstein", "Cimarron", "Mata Hari", "City Lights", and "Dracula". The Oscars went to "Cimarron" (Picture), "The Champ" (Actor), and "Min and Bill" (Actress). Other notable films released that year include "M", "Public Enemy", "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde", and "Monkey Business".

The NY Times' Mordaunt Hall called the film "intelligent and forceful" and "highly praiseworthy", and praised the acting and the direction. The film was nominated for Best Picture, Writing, Cinematography, and Art Direction, but didn't win.

The movie is the only ever filmed version of the book, so it's interesting from that POV, but it's really a watered down version of the book without the harsh criticism of the medical profession. And Coleman is just too old for the part. OTOH, it's a chance to see the great Helen Hayes in action and the supporting cast has a plethora of great character actors.