Screening Syphilis: Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet Meets the Public Health Service

Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

Volumn 53, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 345-369

  Lederer, Susan E ^a   Parascandola, John ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ART; ARTICLE; AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT; GERMANY; HISTORY; HUMAN; PUBLIC HEALTH; PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE; SYPHILIS; UNITED STATES;

GERMANY; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HUMANS; MOTION PICTURES; PORTRAITS; PUBLIC HEALTH; SYPHILIS; UNITED STATES; UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE;

EID: 0032186428     PISSN: 00225045     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/jhmas/53.4.345     Document Type: Article

References (72)

1. Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet has recently been released on videotape by MGM/UA Home Video, making the film much more accessible to historians and other interested viewers.
2. Richard H. Shryock, American Medical Research Past and Present (New York: Commonwealth Fund, 1947), p. 243.
3. For the genre, see George F. Custen, Bio/Pics: How Hollywood Constructed Public History (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1992).
4. "The story of Louis Pasteur" in The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Feature Films, 1931-1940, ed. Patricia King Hanson (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp. 2062-63. [Hereafter cited as AFI Catalog.]
5. Thomas Elsaesser, "Film history as social history: The Dieterle/Warner Brothers Bio-Pic," Wide Angle, 1986, 8, 15-31.
6. Even before seeing the Pasteur film, one movie-goer wrote to Warner Brothers, suggesting that the studio produce a film about the Japanese scientist Hideyo Noguchi, the subject of a recent biography by Gustav Eckstein. See Seymour Katz to Warner Brothers Studios, 25 January 1935, Warner Brothers Archives, Doheny Library, University of Southern California.
7. Paul de Kruif, Microbe Hunters (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1926).
8. Charles E. Rosenberg, "Martin Arrowsmith: The scientist as hero," in Rosenberg, No Other Gods (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976), pp. 123-31.
9. Arrowsmith, Howard confided to Moran, "has turned out to be one of the most successful movies of recent years." Sidney Howard to John Moran, 22 December 1931, Hench Collection, box 32, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia.
10. The 1938 letter is reprinted in Hal Wallis and Charles Higham, Starmaker (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1980), p. 64.
11. Thomas Parran, Shadow on the Land: Syphilis (New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1937); interoffice correspondence, Finlay McDermid to R. J. Obringer, 30 October 1941, Warner Brothers Archives, (n. 6). Edward Golden of Monogram Pictures approached Parran in 1939 about buying the motion picture rights to Shadow on the Land, but the Surgeon General declined. Thomas Parran to Philip Broughton, 31 March 1939, file folder 539, Thomas Parran Papers, University of Pittsburgh Archives.
12. Clayton R. Koppes and Gregory D. Black, Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits, and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies (New York: Free Press, 1987), p. 21.
13. Rudy Behlmer, Inside Warner Brothers: 1935-1951 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985), p. 105. See also K. R. M. Short, "Hollywood fights anti-Semitism, 1940-1945," in Short's Film and Radio Propaganda in World War II (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1983), pp. 154-56.
14. Rudy Behlmer, Inside Warner Brothers: 1935-1951 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985), p. 105. See also K. R. M. Short, "Hollywood fights anti-Semitism, 1940-1945," in Short's Film and Radio Propaganda in World War II (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1983), pp. 154-56.
15. Wallis and Higham, (n. 10) Starmaker, p. 65.
16. Ernst Bäumler, Paul Ehrlich: Scientist for Life (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1984), p. x.
17. Gregory D. Black, Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics and the Movies (Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 179. See "Dead End," in AFI Catalog, (n. 4), pp. 474-75. Philip Broughton, at the time a Department of Health employee in New York City, believed that the change in Dead End was a striking anomaly that could be used in defending a feature film on venereal disease against censorship. As he told Thomas Parran, "You will recall that the gangster's boyhood sweetheart had turned prostitute and had syphilis in the play. In the movie, she remained a prostitute, but had tuberculosis. Therefore, from Will Hays' point of view prostitution is apparently moral and only syphilis immoral" (Broughton to Parran, 9 February 1939, file folder 539, Parran Papers, [n. 11]).
18. Gregory D. Black, Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics and the Movies (Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 179. See "Dead End," in AFI Catalog, (n. 4), pp. 474-75. Philip Broughton, at the time a Department of Health employee in New York City, believed that the change in Dead End was a striking anomaly that could be used in defending a feature film on venereal disease against censorship. As he told Thomas Parran, "You will recall that the gangster's boyhood sweetheart had turned prostitute and had syphilis in the play. In the movie, she remained a prostitute, but had tuberculosis. Therefore, from Will Hays' point of view prostitution is apparently moral and only syphilis immoral" (Broughton to Parran, 9 February 1939, file folder 539, Parran Papers, [n. 11]).
19. "Marriage Forbidden," in AFI Catalog, (n. 4), p. 1331. After the release of Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet in 1940, a producer at Grand National appealed the decision to deny certification to the 1936 film. Joseph I. Breen explained that the Ehrlich film dealt with syphilis in only a minor way, whereas the disease was central to Marriage Forbidden.
20. Joseph Breen to Walter MacEwen, 24 October 1938, Production Code Administration files, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California. [Hereafter cited as PCA files.]
21. Wallis and director William Dieterle had had earlier problems with Will Hays and Joseph Breen, head of the PCA, over the 1934 film Madame du Barry (a screen biography of the last mistress of Louis XV). See Black, (n. 16) Hollywood Censored, pp. 177-79.
22. Hal Wallis to Will H. Hays, 24 October 1939, PCA files, (n. 18).
23. Susan E. Lederer, "Laboratory life on the silver screen: Animal experimenters and the film industry, 1930-1940," paper presented at the History of Science Society, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 1993.
24. S. Charles Einfeld to Thomas Parran, 14 March 1940, file folder 5, Parran Papers, (n. 11). According to Wallis, the studio eventually paid Ehrlich's family more than $50,000 for scrapbooks, diaries, notes, and "fragments of an unpublished autobiography." See Wallis, (n. 10), Starmaker, p. 67.
25. Warner Brothers Presents a Press Review of Edward G. Robinson in "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet," I February 1940, "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" file, Margaret Hernck Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California.
26. Hedwig Ehrlich to Edward G. Robinson, 12 January 1940, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine.
27. "Production Notes," Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre, 1 February 1940, "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" file, Herrick Library, (n. 23).
28. Fred Andersen, "The Warner Bros. Research Department: Putting history to work in the classic studio era," The Public Historian, 1995, 17, 51-69, p. 64.
29. Bäumler, (n. 15) Paul Ehrlich, p. 114.
30. For other historical inaccuracies of the film, see Bäumler, (n. 15) Paul Ehrlich, p. 230. For more details on Ehrlich's life and work, see also Martha Marquardt, Paul Ehrlich (New- York: Henry Schuman, 1951) and John Parascandola, "The Theoretical Basis of Paul Ehrlich's Chemotherapy," J. Hist. Med. Allied Sci., 1981, 36, 19-43.
31. For other historical inaccuracies of the film, see Bäumler, (n. 15) Paul Ehrlich, p. 230. For more details on Ehrlich's life and work, see also Martha Marquardt, Paul Ehrlich (New-York: Henry Schuman, 1951) and John Parascandola, "The Theoretical Basis of Paul Ehrlich's Chemotherapy," J. Hist. Med. Allied Sci., 1981, 36, 19-43.
32. For other historical inaccuracies of the film, see Bäumler, (n. 15) Paul Ehrlich, p. 230. For more details on Ehrlich's life and work, see also Martha Marquardt, Paul Ehrlich (New- York: Henry Schuman, 1951) and John Parascandola, "The Theoretical Basis of Paul Ehrlich's Chemotherapy," J. Hist. Med. Allied Sci., 1981, 36, 19-43.
33. Frank S. Nugent, Review of "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet," New York Times, 24 February 1940, in The New York Times Film Reviews, 1913-1968, vol. 3 (New York: The New York Times and Arno Press, 1970), p. 1687.
34. Frank S. Nugent, Review of "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet," New York Times, 24 February 1940, in The New York Times Film Reviews, 1913-1968, vol. 3 (New York: The New York Times and Arno Press, 1970), p. 1687.
35. Review of "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet," in Variety: Film Reviews, 1938-1942, volume 6 (New York: Garland Publishers, 1983), 7 February 1940.
36. William Styron, "A case of the great pox," The New Yorker, 18 September 1995, 71, 64.
37. Paul de Kruif to Thomas and Carroll Parran, 8 February 1940, file folder 5, Parran Papers, (n. 11).
38. Thomas Parran to Paul de Kruif, 10 February 1940 and 25 March 1940, file folder 5, Parran Papers, (n. 11).
39. Thomas Parran to Paul de Kruif, 23 February 1940, file folder 5, Parran Papers, (n. 11).
40. Paul de Kruif to Thomas Parran, 23 March 1940, file folder 5, Parran Papers, (n. 11).
41. Thomas Parran to Paul de Kruif, 25 March 1940, file folder 5, Parran Papers, (n. 11).
42. "Good Housekeeping Club Service," Film Scripts re. Venereal Disease, 1939-61, "Magic Bullets" folder, Records of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Record group 442, National Archives Southeast Region, East Point, Georgia. All materials cited from the National Archives SE Region are from this same series.
43. Robert Schmuck to Raymond Vonderlehr, 13 January 1941, 1940 folder, General Classified Records, 1936-44, Group IX, General Files, 1350 (Motion Pictures), Records of the Public Health Service, Record Group 90, National Archives, Washington, D.C. All materials cited from the National Archives, Washington, D.C., are from Record Group 90, General Classified Records, 1936-44. The PHS records are currently housed in the Archives II facility in College Park, Maryland.
44. Bäumler, (n. 15) Paul Ehrlich, pp. 229-30.
45. Parran, (n. 11) Shadow on the Land, p. 85. See also Odin W. Anderson, Syphilis and Society: Problems of Control in the United States, 1912-1964, Health Information Foundation Research Series 22 (Chicago: Center for Health Administration Studies, University of Chicago, 1965), p. 6; Allan M. Brandt, No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880, expanded ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 125.
46. Parran, (n. 11) Shadow on the Land, p. 85. See also Odin W. Anderson, Syphilis and Society: Problems of Control in the United States, 1912-1964, Health Information Foundation Research Series 22 (Chicago: Center for Health Administration Studies, University of Chicago, 1965), p. 6; Allan M. Brandt, No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880, expanded ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 125.
47. Parran, (n. 11) Shadow on the Land, p. 85. See also Odin W. Anderson, Syphilis and Society: Problems of Control in the United States, 1912-1964, Health Information Foundation Research Series 22 (Chicago: Center for Health Administration Studies, University of Chicago, 1965), p. 6; Allan M. Brandt, No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880, expanded ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 125.
48. Brandt, (n. 40) No Magic Bullet, pp. 125-26.
49. Ibid., pp. 122-26.
50. Suzanne Poirier, Chicago's War on Syphilis, 1937-1940: The Times, the Trib, and the Clap Doctor (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995), pp. 82-83.
51. Brandt, (n. 40) No Magic Bullet, pp. 138-60; Anderson, (n.40) Syphilis and Society, pp. 7-9.
52. Brandt, (n. 40) No Magic Bullet, pp. 138-60; Anderson, (n.40) Syphilis and Society, pp. 7-9.
53. Quoted in "Special VD Education Circular No. 2," U. S. Public Health Service, 28 October 1940, p. i. National Library of Medicine.
54. James Dolce to Philip Broughton, 27 June 1942, 1942 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38).
55. Howard Ennes, Jr. to Noka Hon, 14 March 1941, 1939 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38).
56. Gordon Mitchell to Raymond Vonderlehr, 22 September 1941 and accompanying press release from Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 18 August 1941; Raymond Vonderlehr to Claude Pierce, 26 February 1942, "Know for Sure" folder, Group X, National Defense, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38).
57. For the Tuskegee Study, see James H. Jones, Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (New York: Free Press, 1981; rev. ed. 1993).
58. Philip Broughton to Raymond Vonderlehr, 1 July 1938, "V.D. film" folder, Group IX, 1350, (n. 38).
59. Raymond Vonderlehr to William Snow, 3 July 1937, 1937-38 folder; E. R. Coffey to D. A. Dance, 29 August 1942, 1942 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n 38).
60. Raymond Vonderlehr to Donald B. Armstrong, 1 August 1938, 1937-38 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38).
61. Raymond Vonderlehr to Carl Millikin, 17 January 1941, 1940 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38).
62. Elizabeth Fee, "Sin vs. science: Venereal disease in Baltimore in the twentieth century," J. Hist. Med. Allied Sci., 1988, 43, 141-64, p.150. On this topic, see also Poirier, (n. 43) Chicago's War, pp. 82-83.
63. Elizabeth Fee, "Sin vs. science: Venereal disease in Baltimore in the twentieth century," J. Hist. Med. Allied Sci., 1988, 43, 141-64, p.150. On this topic, see also Poirier, (n. 43) Chicago's War, pp. 82-83.
64. Parran, (n. 11) Shadow on the Land, pp. 4-6. 207.
65. Raymond Vonderlehr to Fred H. Kiser, 30 September 1936, 1934-35-36 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38).
66. Leland Hanchett to Carl V. Reynolds, 23 October 1942, 1942 folder, Group IX, 0425 (venereal disease), National Archives, (n. 38).
67. Raymond Vonderlehr to Carl Millikin, 17 January 1941, 1940 folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38); Raymond Vonderlehr to Leroy Burney, 27 March 1943, "Magic Bullets" folder, National Archives SE Region, (n. 37).
68. Lawrence Kolb to Jack Warner, 18 May 1943; Raymond Vonderlehr to Jack Warner, 7 June 1943; PHS Contract bid form, 7 June 1943; script for PHS version of the film; "Magic Bullets" folder, National Archives SE Region, (n. 37).
69. Raymond Vonderlehr to Jack Warner, 7 June 1943, and "Magic Bullets," undated two-page typescript, "Magic Bullets" folder, National Archives SE Region, (n. 37).
70. Magic Bullets (United States Public Health Service, in cooperation with Warner Brothers Pictures, 1943). A copy of the film is in the National Library of Medicine.
71. Short, (n. 13) Film and Radio Propaganda, p. 157.
72. Suzanne White, "Mom and Dad (1944): Venereal disease 'exploitation,'" Bull. Hist. Med., 1988, 62, 252-70; Otis Anderson to Mary Switzer, 3 April 1944, "To the People of the U.S." folder, National Archives SE Region, (n. 37); John Costley to A. N. Franzblau, 21 September 1944, "To the People of the U.S." folder, Group IX, 1350, National Archives, (n. 38). Mom and Dad, produced by a small film maker anxious to make a profit on what he claimed to be an "educational" film, was released not long after the legion complained about To the People, and undoubtedly confirmed the organization's worst fears about sexual exploitation films.