Cathie Leavitt on Nostr: For fans of classic film, a study of Hollywood's role in crafting and curating ...
For fans of classic film, a study of Hollywood's role in crafting and curating narrative.
I stumbled onto this archived copy of the 1940 film, Dr. Ehrlich's Silver Bullet. Paul Ehrlich is played by Edward G. Robinson in an outstanding performance transcending his gangster stereotype.
https://archive.org/details/dr.-ehrlichs-magic-bullet
The film portrays Ehrlich's role in the development of hematological staining, serology, immunology, bacteriology, antibiotics, chemotherapy, and intramuscular injection of medicines
There's a great scene where Ehrlich defies his hospital administrator to attend the lecture at which Robert Koch announces his discovery of the tuberculosis pathogen. Ehrlich stands up and describes his work on developing stains for specific microbes. Koch hands him a test tube containing the tuberculosis pathogen, warning, "It's very dangerous"!
Ehrlich went on to discover how to selectively stain tuberculosis bacillus. Later, he worked with von Behring on developing diphtheria antitoxin (a late-19th century hospital clinical trial is dramatically portrayed). He also developed an arsenical antibiotic for treating syphilis (with an unfavorable safety profile, as it turned out).
Ehrlich was awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1908 for his contributions to immunology and has been called "the father of immunology."
The film's themes include:
convergence of industrial chemistry (aniline dyes) with microbiology (targeting specific cells using staining techniques)
values and risks of independent thinking, dedication to truth, defiance of institutional authority, determination to succeed at all costs
ethical considerations of animal and human experimentation
propaganda (speculation): In 1914, Ehrlich signed the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three, which was a defense of Germany's World War I politics and militarism. At the time, Ehrlich (a Jew) probably didn't fully anticipate the future direction of German politics and militarism. But in 1940, the money behind the film probably had reasons for portraying Ehrlich and his contributions to science in such an idealistic way.
I stumbled onto this archived copy of the 1940 film, Dr. Ehrlich's Silver Bullet. Paul Ehrlich is played by Edward G. Robinson in an outstanding performance transcending his gangster stereotype.
https://archive.org/details/dr.-ehrlichs-magic-bullet
The film portrays Ehrlich's role in the development of hematological staining, serology, immunology, bacteriology, antibiotics, chemotherapy, and intramuscular injection of medicines
There's a great scene where Ehrlich defies his hospital administrator to attend the lecture at which Robert Koch announces his discovery of the tuberculosis pathogen. Ehrlich stands up and describes his work on developing stains for specific microbes. Koch hands him a test tube containing the tuberculosis pathogen, warning, "It's very dangerous"!
Ehrlich went on to discover how to selectively stain tuberculosis bacillus. Later, he worked with von Behring on developing diphtheria antitoxin (a late-19th century hospital clinical trial is dramatically portrayed). He also developed an arsenical antibiotic for treating syphilis (with an unfavorable safety profile, as it turned out).
Ehrlich was awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1908 for his contributions to immunology and has been called "the father of immunology."
The film's themes include:
convergence of industrial chemistry (aniline dyes) with microbiology (targeting specific cells using staining techniques)
values and risks of independent thinking, dedication to truth, defiance of institutional authority, determination to succeed at all costs
ethical considerations of animal and human experimentation
propaganda (speculation): In 1914, Ehrlich signed the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three, which was a defense of Germany's World War I politics and militarism. At the time, Ehrlich (a Jew) probably didn't fully anticipate the future direction of German politics and militarism. But in 1940, the money behind the film probably had reasons for portraying Ehrlich and his contributions to science in such an idealistic way.