Michael L. Foster

 

Professor Reed

 

February 12, 2007

 

US History in Film

 

 

 

 

Film: The Great Moment

Runtime: 83 min.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: USA

Language: English

Color: Black and White

Sound Mix: Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

 

 

 

Cast:

 

Joel Mcrea.......................Dr. William Thomas Green Morton

Betty Field.......................Elizabeth Morton

Harry Carey.....................Professor Warren

William Demarest...........Ebon Frost

Louis Jean Heydt.............Dr. Horace Wells

Julius tannen....................Dr. Charles Jackson

Edwin Maxwell...............Vice President of Medical Society

Porter Hall.......................President Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pangborn...........Dr. Heywood

Grady Sutton....................Homer Quimby

Donivee Lee.....................Betty Morton

Harry Hayden...................Judge Shipman

Torben Meyer...................Dr. Dahlmeyer

Victor Potel.......................First Dental Patient

Thurston Ha......................Senator Borland

 

 

 

Quotes:

 

Elizabeth Whitman (Morton): “He’s going to be a dentist!”

 

Mrs. Whitman: “Oh, and he seemed such a nice young man.”

Ebon Frost: “It was the night of September 30th.  I was in excruciating pain.”

 

 

 

Summary:

 

            It is the winter of 1868, and has been a short while since the death of Dr. W.T.G. Morton.  Ebon Frost has just picked up a silver medal that was awarded to Dr. Morton for his accomplishments as a physician.  He gives the medal to Mrs. Morton, who then begins to tell her daughter Betty Morton that Mr. Frost was the first person that Dr. Morton had successfully treated without any pain due to the aid of his newly found discovery, letheon.  With a few adjustments to the letheon, Dr. Morton was able to treat hundreds of patients without any pain whatsoever.  To help Dr. Morton’s cause, Frost accompanied him on his way to bring the hope of painless anesthesia to the people.  Once the new product is finally proven as successful, Dr. Morton’s fellow colleagues along with many other medical physicians come against Dr. Morton claiming that he has not made a new discovery but has simply altered past ideas and theories of his contemporaries.  He is also accused of hoarding it for himself in order to make money off it.  Dr. Morton is faced with the decision late in the movie when he finds out that the Medical Society will not allow any physician to use his new discovery because the ingredients are not recognized by the physicians.  Consequently, Morton reveals the ingredients in an attempt to save a young girl about to be operated on from terrible pain.  Dr. Morton is summoned to Washington D.C. learning that he has been awarded $100,000 but also of the infringement of his ether inhaler’s patent.  President Pierce does not sign the bill due to the pressure from different newspapers and Dr. Morton’s medical rivals.  Instead he insists that Morton find proof of the infringement on the patent of his ether inhaler.

 

 

My thoughts:

 

            Although many have reviewed this movie as terrible, I beg to differ and will stand in defense of it.  I thought the movie was absolutely great from both a historical and entertainment point of view.  Preston Sturges did a wonderful job and I disagree with many of the critics.  The only thing that I saw could use some improvement was the plot layout.  It was kind of confusing the way it was laid out and you really have to pay attention to get the idea of what’s going on.  Some people, like myself, have had to watch it at least twice before understanding the whole picture.  Other than that though i thought the movie was very entertaining, though it was black and white.  I’d give the entertainment an A, and historical accuracy a B.  For reviews by other critics visit: www.imdb.com