Customer Reviews

Miss Evers Boys [VHS]

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From my perspective as a professor of nursing, I would say the movie depicted well ethical issues of the most serious type. In this fact-based story, nurse Eunice Evers (Alfre Woodard) was drawn into the Tuskegee syphilis research study by promises that treatment would be coming, hopefully in six months to a year. Her responsibilities included recruiting African American subjects. They were screened for being syphilis positive and then brought into the research study without full disclosure that no actual effective treatment was being provided. Even when penicillin became available, "Miss Evers' Boys" would not be given the life-saving medicine. Only one of the "Evers'Boys", Caleb Humphries (who was expertly played by Laurence Fishburne) escaped the ravages of progressive syphilis by receiving penicillin immediately upon joining the military during World War II. Miss Evers' was portrayed sympathetically, even as she used all of her cultural skills to do the wrong thing -- recruit and retain subjects in this unethical study spanning 40 years. The HBO movie is excellent for students, nurses, medical researchers, doctors, and the general public interested in ethical issues in medicine.

It's no secret that Hollywood has backed off of traditional socially conscious dramas. Oh, sure, issues of race and class are often touched on in cinematic releases, but in recent years, it has been pretty much up to cable channels such as HBO and TNT to produce meaty fact-based dramas with socio-political heft. We can only be thankful that someone has picked up the slack and that such work is still being done. "Miss Evers Boys," a dramatization of what has become the now-scandalous Tuskegee Negro Syphilitic Study, is a case in point. It is as powerful an indictment of racism as you are likely to see. It is also a nuanced and complex a statement on same. It is hard to see how any viewer could remain unmoved by this film.

Much of "Miss Evers'" impact stems from Alfre Woodard's astonishing performance as the title character. Had this actually been a theatrical release, she would likely have walked off with an Academy Award. She had to settle for an Emmy, which was certainly well-deserved. I have seen Alfre Woodard in roles in which she did not appear comfortable, but she inhabits the role of Nurse Eunice Evers totally (or perhaps, Eunice Evers inhabits her). Her performance alone would be enough to recommend the film. But it does indeed have much more to offer--including a great supporting cast (including producer-leading man, Laurence Fishburne, Joe Morton and Craig Sheffer), an intelligent and complex script, and capable direction. Thanks be unto the heavens that someone is still producing powerful, fact-based social drama. We need them now more than ever.

Unfortunately, the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphillis in the Negro Male", which began in 1932 in Alabama, is strong proof that clinical studies were not created equal. In this experiment, poor African American males were not treated for syphillis and not told of their true condition.

When penicillin became available as a treatment, the subjects were not afforded the option of getting the shots. (NOTE: Depending on the stage of syphillis, penicillin may not be a safe treatment option)

As a result of unethical treatment on the part of the experimenters in this study, the US National Health Investigation Board was developed in 1979. This board promulgated Institutional Review Boards and ethical guidelines for the conduct of clinical research studies. None of the clinical staff of this study faced any criminal charges.

"Miss Evers Boys" is a made for television dramatization of the Tuskegee Study from the point of view of Nurse Eunice Evers (Woodard).

The film details the RN's enthusiastic enlistment into the study because she believed The New Deal was for everyone and was going to help African Americans.

According to the film, the original study offered treatment for syphillis patients--who were told they had 'bad blood' because the doctors believed most of the men would not understand the physiology of their disease.

Later, when treatment funds dried up, researchers were encouraged by the National Health Service to continue the study to determine the effects of the disease. At the time, they believed that monies for treatment would be available within six months to a year, tops. The experimenters were depicted as sympathetic and trapped in an unfortunate situation. The Congressional Hearing panel who conducted the expository hearings on this study apparently felt similarly because no researchers were charged with cruelty regarding this study.

The film is an excellent study in medical ethics. It's impossible to watch this movie without tears in your eyes and anger in your heart. I believe "Miss Evers Boys" would be a good education for students of Black History as well as medicine, nursing, and ethics.

This is a made for cable drama based upon true events. As such, historicity takes a back seat to drama. That being said, there is no real reason to complain about this film. It depicts a despicable human experiment that took place near Tuskeegee, Alabama, beginning in 1932 and continuing for several decades. In a government study, black men with syphilis were offered treatment and records were kept on their progress. They got better. Suddenly, the funding for the program was cut. Some time later, a new program was begun. In this one, the black syphilitic men were studied and treated but the treatments were placebos. They served as a control group. Originally, the promise was that, upon completion of the program, the patients would be given the real treatments. In actuality, so much data was derived from these men that the program continued and continued for years with no real treatment. Eventually, the men began to die off and their minds an bodies succumbed to the devastation of the disease.

One might well wonder why men would agree to take part in a study like this. The key was, they were never told that they were not being treated. They thought they were getting good health care but the system considered them expendable.

One might well wonder why caring medical practitioners would agree to be involved with this study. They did not think they had any real choice. If the study was not done, the men would get no care at all. At least with the study, other health care treatments were given.

This story is told from the point of view of a black nurse who was a part of the study from the beginning. It deals with her interactions with the patients and with her personal battles with her conscience. It is well done which just makes the film all the more distressing.

Faced with having their federal funding cut off entirely, the staff of a syphilis treatment center in Tuskegee, Alabama is forced to institute a government-mandated research project in which they study--without the patients' knowledge--the effects of the disease on untreated black patients. Based on the true story of the decades-long Tuskegee experiment. I must say that this was one of the best TV movies I've ever seen. Not only were there quality actors (Alfre Woodard, Laurence Fishburn, Joe Morton), but the people involved succeeded in making this an honest drama. One of the most well written movies ever and I encourage people to see it.

I cannot attest to the historical accuracy of the story told in this film, but I would say that it offers a richer, less cartoonish account of this experiment than one usually encounters. You are beside the physician and nurse who run this experiment as they sort out the reasons for and against cooperation with what is clearly a problematic experiment. The result is an account that requires a more thorough ethical analysis than most students engage in when they condemn this experiment outright. I found it engrossing as a story and extremely effective as a case study in medical ethics.

i think all people of african descent should see this movie. this movie gives the true yet tragic story of how the u.s. government treats its african-american citizens. how dare the government feel that it has the right to use live human-beings in a experiment to study the effects of a disease. the very thought of giving a deadly disease to an innocent,unsuspecting group of people. this movie lets you know just how far the government of the u.s. will go to get what it wants.

A friend of mine needed this for nursing. She needed it asap. Thanks for the prompt service :) Very pleased

I needed to get this for my class that I am taking. It is quite a good movie, especially for RN's and ethics! Amazon is always great with their shipping also!

I was required to watch this movie for a Developmental Psychology Class; however, I liked the movie so much I ordered it. My husband also enjoyed it.