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Doctor Ehrlich's Magic Bullet

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Edward G. Robinson should have netted an Oscar nom for his finest screen portrayal - as the dedicated chemist and researcher, Paul Ehrlich. This is one of the great Warners screen biographies (THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR, THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA, MADAME CURIE). The screenplay is literate and absorbing. The acting is excellent, the direction tight. Ehrlich introduced the idea of treatment with chemical substances and developed a cure for both diptheria and syphillis. The screenplay was deservedly nominated for an Oscar but it is Robinson who shines in an atypical but superb performance.

Tugs at the heart-strings. A compassion-laden film about a true-life German Doctor seeking the cure to some of the world's worst ailments, including syphilis, polio and influenza.

When an epidemic hits the country, he goes about pulling out all the stops to find a so-called "magic bullet" as a veritable cure-all, and finally accomplishes his goal in pill 606, named after the number of tries to perfect this ideal drug. After some unfortunate losses in a few allergic reactions, despite his own warnings to the medical community that there still needed some tests to be done, he is vindicated and is eventually and rightfully awarded the Nobel Prize.

There are some really moving and inspiring moments in the film, with the contemplation of nobility, ingenuity, and the passionate pursuit of knowlege. It is all worth it in the end when you see the faces of those formerly ill children and grown-ups beaming with healthy life again.

Amazing !!! that a top-quality movie such as this is not out on DVD.

I knew that Edward G. Robinson was an exciting performer, but never did I realize how masterful he was until I saw him in this wonderful role. The story is truly fascinating. The screenplay is sheer brilliance. Ruth Gordon excudes poise and sensitivity too. In fact, all the performers, are very well cast in this wonderful film. This movie is outstanding ~ a definite must see. You will be not only be fascinated and intrigued, but become so very well-educated about the pioneers of science regarding the fighting of disease, immunity, anti-bodies, innoculations, etc. FANTASTIC addition to your movie library. Definitely a must have!

I really enjoyed this movie. I didn't know anything about Dr. Paul Ehrlich or what he has done to improve the health of a nation with his serum to cure syphillis and diptheria and help with many other diseases. I had to do a film critique on this filmn and I got a 47/50 because I forgot to put a cover page on my critique. But I was happy with that and I truly enjoyed this film.

If you've only seen Edward G. Robinson in gangster films, give this one a chance and see his range as an actor. Here he portrays German physician and researcher Paul Ehrlich, a pioneer at the turn of the 20th century in the treatment of infectious diseases and the man who found a cure for syphilis. Ehrlich starts out as a general practitioner employed by a hospital in order to provide a stable living for his family but whose real love is for research. His inquiring mind and nonconformist views ultimately makes him a leader in his field, but not before his pioneering ideas get him in trouble with the medical establishment in his country. Robinson has excellent support here with Ruth Gordon playing Ehrlich's adoring wife. Otto Kruger ably portrays Emil Adolf Von Behring, Ehrlich's friend and colleague who find himself at odds with his good friend's professional ideas at one point in their careers.

The film was controversial at the time for mentioning the disease "syphilis" by name, and I'm sure a little bit of sensationalism is why Jack Warner thought that Dr. Ehrlich's biography would be good material for a film, but there's something more subtle going on here. Made in 1940, after the Nazi menace had been recognized by many but before America had been attacked, there are many not so subtle digs at Germany to be found here. Early in the film several of Ehrlich's colleagues are ratting him out to the head of the hospital for not following hospital rules. Specifically, Ehrlich realizes that the sweat baths prescribed as the treatment of syphilis at the time - 1890 - are of no value whatsoever. When a patient of Ehrlich's says that the baths sap his strength and may cost him his job, Ehrlich says that he can skip the baths. This humane act of deviating from a useless treatment is the "rule" Ehrlich has broken, and what gets him called on the carpet by the head of the hospital. The whole incident is one of several that make the Germans look rigid and inhumane. The issue of Ehrlich's colleagues doubting his abilities because of his religion - he was Jewish - also comes up a few times. Finally, when the state budget committee that is financing Ehrlich's lab comes by for an inspection they chastise Ehrlich for hiring a "non-German" doctor. It's very effective but subtle criticism of the Germans that Warner Brothers did so well in the years leading up to the war.

One bone that Warner Brothers did have to throw to the censors because of the open discussion and showing of syphilis patients in various stages of the disease is that they could not show any female patients. They were only allowed to show male sufferers. I guess these guys all got this from "an inanimate object" as Dr. Ehrlich says is possible at one point in the film to downplay the sexual transmission angle of this disease. Wasn't the Breen era of the production code a scream?

The video and audio quality on this DVD-R release are excellent. Do note that there are no extras included, not even chapter stops. You may only go forward and backwards in ten minute increments.

Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet is a beautifully crafted movie that tells the inspirational story of the German physician Paul Ehrlich, who developed the first synthetic antimicrobial drug. His work on infectious diseases saved hundreds of thousands of lives and changed scientific research forever. The biographical story of Herr Ehrlich's life work is masterfully presented by the skilled director William Dieterle, whose long and distinguished cinematic career includes such movies as "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (1935), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1936), "The Hunchback of Nortre Dame" (1939), and "Portrait of Jennie" (1946).
I know I will sound old when I say, "They don't make them like this any more." But the loving care and attention given to every detail of this film is a shining example of the high art to which all movies should aspire. The finely crafted script was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing Original Screenplay in 1941. And the three screenwriters, Norman Burnstine, Heinz Harold, and John Huston, deserved to win.
Edward G. Robinson also should have received an Academy Award nomination for his compelling and poignant portrayal of Dr. Ehrlich in the movie. I think it is one of his finest performances, and that is saying something. Sterling performances from such fine actors as Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp, Maria Ouspenskays, and many others combine to make "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" a remarkable film. The people who acted in and made this film took their art seriously, and the results are exhilarating.
Anyone aspiring to be a good actor should study the fine performances given in this film. Anyone who wants to know what an excellent script should be, and how to bring that script to life, needs to look no further than Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet.
So, if you want to see film making at its very best, don't miss this intelligent and highly entertaining work of art.